Page - 414 - in Loss and Damage from Climate Change - Concepts, Methods and Policy Options

414 R.Mechler et al. Box17.1Objectivesofseriousgamingtosupportresilienceassessmentandbuild- ing throughengagement • Demonstrating thebenefitsofexantedisaster risk reductionandpreparedness.The gamecanbeused incasestudies to test responsesofdifferent actors topolicy inno- vations therebyhelping to improve thembyreducingpotentialnegativesideeffects. Gamescanespeciallydrawattentiontothe‘invisible’indirectandintangibleimpacts. • Fostering flood risk protection through enhancing participatory decision-making. Thegamecanhelpstakeholderstobuildfloodresiliencebuy-in.Asatoolithasunique potential to change howpeople perceive and understand resilience. Through intel- lectual and emotional engagement in an interactive environment, stakeholdersmay start toseehowimportantfloodresiliencebecomesfortheirsecurityandlivelihoods. Itwillalsocontribute tobuildingsocialcapitalbyincreasingtrustandcollaboration. • Knowledge dissemination and outreach. Games, by engaging participants, can become a very successful dissemination instrument—with broader outreach than traditional reports.Thegamesdeveloped in theproject for stakeholders canbe later used fordisseminatingproject insights tobroaderaudience. • Supporting the integrated assessment for flood resilience. Decision-making rules are of themost difficultmodelling tasks (either in systemdynamics or agent-based models).Gamingexercisescanprovideabetterunderstandingofdecisionmakingof actors that can influenceflood resilience.Because theyprovide context andengage participantsemotionally, theyaremorereliablethanquestionnairesinelicitingstake- holder responses inaway that canbe translated intomodelling language. Theseexercisesmediatecollaborationbetweenactorsandscientists inanalysing how problems emerge in complex systems andwhere points of interventionmay lie. Because they are experienced as something that feels real, more information is retained, learning is faster, and an intuition is gained about how to make real decisions and improve policies. Ideally, if the right actors can be brought together gaming allows the exploration of real issues and provides a neutral platform for different stakeholders to understand conflictingopinions andperspectives in a safe space.The sophisticationof the approachallowsevennon-trainedactors to engage inhighlycomplexdecisions. The focus of using policy exercises for the ZFRA, conducted in collaboration with theCentre forSystemsSolutions (CRS) inWroclaw,Poland,hasbeen toapply simulationgamesandpolicyexercisestosupporttheactivitiesintheFloodResilience project.AFloodResilienceGamehasbeendeveloped,whichisaboard-gameplayed by8–16players,whoeach takeona roleasamemberof afloodpronecommunity. Directinteractionsbetweenplayerscreatearichexperiencethatcanbediscussedand analysedinstructureddebriefsessions.Thisallowsplayerstoexplorevulnerabilities, risks and capacities—citizens, local authorities andNGOs together—leading to an advancedunderstandingofinterdependenciesandthepotentialforworkingtogether. Thegamedrawson researchon the complex challenges of reducingflood risk and fosteringsustainabledevelopment.Itallowsplayerstoexperience,explore,andlearn aboutthefloodriskandresilienceofcommunitiesinrivervalleys.Playersexperience the simulated impacts of flood damage on housing and infrastructure, as well as