In September 2008, the Center received a major grant from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation to help the new Administration confront 50 years of strategic failures. Building on President Eisenhower's "Solarium Exercise," the Center is conducting a comprehensive assessment of the challenges and opportunities facing the nation as well as the resources available. Three influential strategic leaders are guiding the project: David Walker, President and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former Comptroller General of the United States; Norman Augustine, former Chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation; and Roy Romer, former Governor of Colorado, former Superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District, and Chairman of Strong American Schools.

A Steering Committee of eminent public and private sector leaders developed the project's methodology and are providing guidance and insight throughout the effort. Members of this group include: The Honorable C. Fred Bergsten, former Assistant Secretary of Treasury; former Senator Chuck Hagel; former Congressman Lee Hamilton; The Honorable Carla Hills, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Trade Representative; and The Honorable Thomas Pickering, Former Ambassador to the United Nations, Israel, Russia, India, Jordan, Nigeria, and El Salvador.

During all phases of this project the Center is working closely with the President, Vice-President and Congressional leaders to assist the work of the new Administration and to communicate the project's findings to the American people.

SAFI issue teams:

• U.S. Innovation and Growth: Small and Mid-size Business
• Infrastructure and Transportation
• Education and Competitiveness
• Budget and Taxes
• Energy, Climate Change, and Resource Management
• Finance, Trade and Economics
• Commission on U.S. Federal Leadership in Health and Medicine
• Restoring America's Trust and Influence Abroad
• National Security
• Science and Technology
• Innovations, Comparative Advantage and Synergies (ICAST)
• Revitalizing the U.S. Armed Forces
• U.S. Geopolitical Relations