{"151261":{"#nid":"151261","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Public Policy  Students Tackle Pension Problems in 2012 Case Competition","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESix teams of graduate students from universities across Georgia competed to provide policy recommendations for a real world case: the underfunded state pension system of Illinois. The second annual School of Public Policy Case Competition was hosted August 31\u0026nbsp;by the Public Policy Graduate Student Association (PPGSA) at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The importance of using the Illinois case was for the teams to not only think about the policy implications, but also make informed recommendations given the current political, economic, and financial factors we are faced with right now,\u0022 said Jenna Howard, lead organizer of the event and a graduate student in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts School of Public Policy. \u0022Our goal for the competition is for it to simulate a real-world problem, and we felt like this case was perfect for teams to have to balance these factors in their recommendations.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach team - comprised of three to five graduate students from\u0026nbsp;Kennesaw State University, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech,\u0026nbsp;and the University of Georgia - were given 24 hours to develop and present a policy proposal during the two-day competition. A panel of six judges ranked team\u0027s presentations on factors that included quality of statistical analysis,\u0026nbsp;presentation logic, and professionalism.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022All six teams did a stellar job trying to balance the interests of various parties while keeping in mind the current political and economic environment,\u0022 said Howard.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe University of Georgia\u0027s MPA team took first place for recommending a hybrid model for pension contributions and increased education for state employees in making wise investments for their future. Second place went to Georgia State University\u0027s Economics team, which recommended raising the retirement age and suggested a tiered model approach for employee contributions. Georgia Tech\u0027s team, the only team comprised solely of first-year graduate students, argued for an optional employee pension plan and a five-year review by an impartial party.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPPGSA and other\u0026nbsp;School of Public Policy students and faculty were responsible for coordinating the event, raising funds for prizes, and seeking permission to use the case, titled \u0022Tough Choices for the Illinois Pension System\u0022 and distributed by the Harvard Business School.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESix teams of graduate students from universities across Georgia competed to provide policy recommendations for a real world case: the underfunded state pension system of Illinois. The second annual\u0026nbsp;School of Public Policy Case Competition was hosted\u0026nbsp;August 31\u0026nbsp;by the Public Policy Graduate Student Association (PPGSA) at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27663","created_gmt":"2012-09-04 11:40:43","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:47","author":"Rebecca Rolfe","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-08-31T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-08-31T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"151231":{"id":"151231","type":"image","title":"2012 SPP Case Competition","body":null,"created":"1449178848","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:40:48","changed":"1475894784","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:24","alt":"2012 SPP Case Competition","file":{"fid":"195189","name":"2012sppcasecompetition_presenting.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2012sppcasecompetition_presenting_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2012sppcasecompetition_presenting_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":101172,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2012sppcasecompetition_presenting_0.jpg?itok=lZQkBew9"}},"151241":{"id":"151241","type":"image","title":"2012 SPP Case Competition","body":null,"created":"1449178848","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:40:48","changed":"1475894784","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:24","alt":"2012 SPP Case Competition","file":{"fid":"195190","name":"2012sppcasecompetition_gtteam.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2012sppcasecompetition_gtteam_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2012sppcasecompetition_gtteam_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":78852,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2012sppcasecompetition_gtteam_0.jpg?itok=7drWn1yl"}},"151251":{"id":"151251","type":"image","title":"2012 SPP Case Competition","body":null,"created":"1449178848","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:40:48","changed":"1475894784","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:24","alt":"2012 SPP Case Competition","file":{"fid":"195191","name":"2012sppcasecompetition_gtorganizers.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2012sppcasecompetition_gtorganizers_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2012sppcasecompetition_gtorganizers_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":79485,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2012sppcasecompetition_gtorganizers_0.jpg?itok=_wsHUPMT"}}},"media_ids":["151231","151241","151251"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/spp.gatech.edu\/case-competition-2012","title":"Case Competition 2012 Website"},{"url":"http:\/\/spp.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Public Policy"}],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"42831","name":"PPGSA"},{"id":"14214","name":"Public Policy Case Competition"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERebecca Keane\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-1720\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["rebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}