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Policy simulations

are interactive, participatory activities with the application of social simulation

What are policy simulations?

Policy simulations are interactive, participatory activities with the application of social simulation. 

They are used to explore real policy issues. Unlike social simulations that apply role-playing and stylized settings, policy simulations require that participants assume their real-life roles, work with real-world data, and operate within their own cultural contexts. We are talking about policy simulations when all listed 4 conditions  are completed:

Real-world stakeholders

Its target users are experts and practitioners concerned about the future of a region or an organization. They assume roles reflecting the ones they have in reality.

Real-world representation

The simulation allows them to develop strategic insights by building on selected representations of real-world structures and processes.

Real-world policies

Specifically, participants in policy simulations explore actual policy issues, work with real-world data and work on policy development – projects and solutions that can be implemented in the real world.

debriefing bridging activity outputs with real-world solutions implementation

At the same time, design elements derived from social simulations and serious games facilitate communication between participants and enable them to get feedback on their decisions.

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How policy simulations work?

While taking part in a policy simulation, participants set goals that they want to achieve (“desired futures”), and then collectively explore possible strategies to reach them. These strategies, also known as pathways, are tested against a range of external scenarios that challenge the goals. This process allows the participants to understand key challenges on the way to their desired futures, as well as to develop solution options (policy interventions) that are required to overcome them.

The process of a policy simulation

Although it is presented in sequential order, the process is not entirely linear – the elements are fluid and may overlap with each other during a simulation. 

In a policy simulation process, we identify three domains (illustrated below). An arena of control is where problem owners can effectively make decisions and develop pathways to their desired futures. Problem owners can range from a small organization to a large country or region, a river basin, or a group of countries (e.g. EU). Problem owners function in a larger context of the arena of influence, where they encounter other important stakeholders. The pathways they develop can both impact and be impacted by stakeholders and their worldviews, decisions, and actions. Finally, these two arenas together function within an even larger uncertainty space, which encompasses a range of external scenarios. To ensure that their pathways are robust to the scenarios, participants look to this space and identify the most important drivers and constraints that translate to various opportunities and threats for the internal arenas.

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Benefits

This process allows experts and practitioners coming from different backgrounds and holding different worldviews to:

tap into their own creativity and inventiveness

explore actual policy issues and work with real-world data

collectively explore possible strategies to reach them

understand key challenges on the way to their desired futures

develop solution options (policy interventions) that are required to overcome them

develop strategic insights

confront different perspectives and leverage them in navigating future challenges

find a common ground and forge a shared vision for the future

get feedback on their decisions