Serious Gaming to Strengthen Urban Multistakeholder Processes

Serious gaming is a type of simulation game. In collaboration with T-Xchange, Cordaid has developed two serious board games: the Urban Collaboration Game and the Urban Planning Game. These games were designed as a tool for the facilitation of multi stakeholder processes in cities. Stakeholders involved in a specific area are mobilized around a shared common agenda on the basis of each stakeholder’s own interest. Action is cooperatively planned and agreed upon through the identification of win-win solutions for all parties.

NGOs and communities usually recognize their different roles and responsibilities, but are often not able to overcome their internal political contradictions, hegemonies and power relations vis-à-vis the local authorities and private sector. This can interfere with the successful outcome of solutions that will be beneficial to all parties (win-win solutions).

The game is specifically designed to create a safe space where representatives of local authorities and other stakeholders, such as community representatives, can sit down together and debate these issues. It is important that there is a political will from all sides to join the table. In the game stakeholders discover that only through cooperation the can achieve their own objectives.