Role-playing game: Researchers, Policymakers and Medias

Format – Role-playing game Researchers / Policymakers / Medias

Introduction: What is the format about?

– A role-playing game that puts participants in the situation of making decisions in a political context

– The idea: to put Researchers, Policymakers, and sometimes the representatives of civil society or Media in the situation to see how science can (or cannot) influence Policy choices

How does the format work?         

An idea for a role-playing game where researchers and policymakers swap roles for a day was conceived to better understand the real dynamics between research and policymaking.

Faced with challenges such as a health crisis, an environmental disaster, or a sensitive energy issue, participants can learn to navigate between the need to use scientific data and economic, social, and political pressures.

The aim is to experience the complexity of the dialogue between science and policy, and to better understand the challenges of decision-making in a fictional situation.

Participants are assigned different roles that are not their own in real life:

Either as researchers whose role is to analyze data and advise policymakers by providing them with clear and usable recommendations.

Policymakers, whose role is to make choices based on scientific advice, but also on economic, social, and media pressures.

Media and civil society actors (depending on the version of the game) add a level of complexity by influencing public opinion and exerting pressure on decision-makers.

The game takes place in several stages, with new information being introduced gradually, requiring participants to adjust their strategies. It highlights the challenges of communication between Researchers and Policymakers, managing uncertainty, and the necessary compromises in decision-making.

Challenges and how to address them

Of course, there are many challenges to this complex role-playing game.

Our approach involves a service provider who creates role-playing scenarios from a sociological perspective to help participants understand each other’s roles and responsibilities. However, preparing the game is still a significant amount of work, particularly preparing a consistent scenario and situations that are appropriate for the setting without being too realistic, so as to create arguments.

Managing balance: the different theatrical acts must be stimulating. And the scenes played by the actors must maintain the interest of the different participants who do not know each other.

At the same time, a lesson must be learned from this role-playing game, rather than exacerbating areas of conflict, for example, by the way a politician plays the researcher and vice versa.

Tasks and resources

This role-playing game is run by an external partner, which handles the learning side of role-playing. However, setting up a role-playing game on this scale is a significant organizational task for the knowledge officers.

Furthermore, to ensure the game runs smoothly, it is important not to reveal too much about the day and the learning expectations so that it has the desired effect. It is therefore challenging getting researchers and policymakers to free up their day.

Required resources at a glance

Examples

Scientific-Political Cooperation Workshops Day (ACooSP) September 12, 2023, in Dijon, organized by the University of Burgundy Franche-Comté in partnership with INGSA.

Sources and further reading

The International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA) regularly offers this type of workshop to help researchers and decision-makers work better together.