Welcome to the Flood Resilience Challenge Game
Flood adaptation is a significant challenge in Canada and around the world. Local communities aiming to build greater resilience to flooding often grapple with balancing competing interests and deciding which trade-offs are tolerable. Dr. Evalyna Bogdan (environmental and disaster sociologist) and Heather Murdock (hydrotechnical engineer) have co-designed a serious game: the Flood Resilience Challenge. The purpose of the Flood Resilience Challenge is to build the capacity of stakeholders to improve flood resilience and enhance flood risk governance, including (collective) decision-making. The Flood Resilience game achieves this purpose, as an educational and engagement tool, by
• increasing flood literacy,
• fostering social learning, and
• creating a safe space for exploring both risk management and communication strategies.
In the Flood Resilience Challenge, the players take on the roles of a range of stakeholders, including different levels of government, scientists, insurers, developers and other private businesses, and media. In the first round, players plan for different types of flooding and communicate with each other on which flood risk management measures to employ. For example, they can choose from structural mitigation such as dams and dikes and non-structural mitigation such as natural mitigation (wetland conservation) and social mitigation (land-use planning, buyouts/managed retreat). In the second round, there is a flooding event and players re-evaluate their past decisions and make future flood management plans. Players then debrief about their strategies and experiences, providing further opportunities for learning.
To request an online or in-person FRC game session, please fill out this form: Flood Resilience Challenge (FRC) Game Expression of Interest - CIFAL (yorku.ca)
Watch the following video for an overview of serious games and what is unique about the Flood Resilience Challenge game:
• increasing flood literacy,
• fostering social learning, and
• creating a safe space for exploring both risk management and communication strategies.
In the Flood Resilience Challenge, the players take on the roles of a range of stakeholders, including different levels of government, scientists, insurers, developers and other private businesses, and media. In the first round, players plan for different types of flooding and communicate with each other on which flood risk management measures to employ. For example, they can choose from structural mitigation such as dams and dikes and non-structural mitigation such as natural mitigation (wetland conservation) and social mitigation (land-use planning, buyouts/managed retreat). In the second round, there is a flooding event and players re-evaluate their past decisions and make future flood management plans. Players then debrief about their strategies and experiences, providing further opportunities for learning.
To request an online or in-person FRC game session, please fill out this form: Flood Resilience Challenge (FRC) Game Expression of Interest - CIFAL (yorku.ca)
Watch the following video for an overview of serious games and what is unique about the Flood Resilience Challenge game:
What are serious games?
Serious games are games that serve a purpose other than just entertainment such as education. Serious games are able to capture complexity and to provide a space for players to improve their strategies. There are different types of serious games, among them are role-playing simulations which involve interactive mock decision-making. Serious games are used in numerous disciplines, including medicine and international relations, and are gaining popularity. A growing body of research demonstrates that the gamification of complex socio-environmental problems can create safe spaces for stakeholders to explore diverse views and interests in a low-pressure environment.
Social learning is the name of the game.
Social learning occurs when individuals are able to look beyond their individual perspectives and interests and shift towards shared interests and collective well-being, working towards mutually acceptable solutions. Social learning is an iterative process and involves active experimentation.
Watch this short clip of the play from one of the games to see how it all comes together:
Watch this short clip of the play from one of the games to see how it all comes together:
Tough Conversations Protocol
The FRC Game is part of the Tough Conversations Protocol for building capacity for difficult conversations on flooding. The following are other components of the Tough Conversations Protocol:
- Webinars introducing conflict resolution techniques (in progress):
- Difficult conversations approach by Harvard Program on Negotiation (click here)
- Non-Violent Communication (NVC) by Marshall Rosenberg
- S.A.F.E. Negotiation
- Outrage and Opposition Strategies by the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2)
- The Circle Way
- Stretch Collaboration by Adam Kahane
Ready to get your organization playing its way to preparedness?
We will facilitate the entire process. Contact us to get started!
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