Teaching negotiation skills: A simulation game for low level radwaste facility siting

A scored game simulating low level radioactive waste facility siting was commissioned by the Department of Energy (DOE) to assist in the complicated task of siting disposal facilities. The game was designed to teach cooperative problem solving as a technique for managing conflict in facility siting situations. After a test of the game at a DOE-sponsored workshop, participants were queried through a questionnaire and through telephone interviews on whether the simulation had encouraged them to approach complex siting disputes in a more cooperative manner. The responses indicated that more than half the participants left the workshop intending to behave cooperatively in future siting negotiations.