Are you responsible for organising participatory processes? There's a fun and effective way to structure these processes and keep participants engaged.
Over the years I developed various tools for participation that use game mechanics found in games of collaboration, negotiation and decision-making.
These tools have proven to work in various contexts, usually with only a few adjustments to make them fit the scope of your project. Each tool comes with a clear facilitator's manual and is easy to grasp.
Want to enhance your participatory process? Get in touch for a demo.
Placemaker is a place-making toolkit that uses a variety of board game mechanics. It has been used to streamline the participatory process of designing new working or living environments. Its most large-scale implementation was at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences in which four buildings were consolidated into a new, single faculty building of 8400 sqm. Facility Management played the game over the course of half a year to get solid input from managers, tutors and students from twelve departments, resulting in a clear provisional programme of requirements. Outdoor projects include the redesign of two city squares and a cluster of streets in the City of Rotterdam.
The B.A.D. Game
This game of "Bloody Awful Decisions" is based on the age-old game kids play: "would you rather be eaten by a lion or drown in lava?" The B.A.D. Game was originally created to help prioritising six different categories of problems in public space yet the underlying mechanic can be applied to other contexts as well. By using humour it refreshed a participatory process that had become bogged down in details and "poll fatigue".
The colored backs of the cards refer to the six categories and with the resulting cards an infographic is made that gives a clear indication of which problems are to be addressed first.
Interested in ways to make collaborative decision-making more engaging? Let's meet for coffee or tea and discuss the possibilities.