This summer, the Partnership for Equal Opportunities & Citizenship Education (Samenwerkingsverband Kansengelijkheid & Burgerschapsonderwijs, SKB) and Radboud University signed a licence agreement for the game ‘Kansrijk’. Under this agreement, the foundation will be able to organise workshops using the game.
‘Kansrijk’ is a ‘serious game’, a policy-based game that helps stakeholders involved in educational equality to engage in dialogue about all the factors involved. It can therefore provide a good starting point for greater understanding and better collaboration.
Short or customised version
'Kansrijk’ is playable in two ways. In the short version, set in the fictional municipality of Kansrijk, players must take on the various roles of stakeholders within that municipality. In a second, longer and tailored version, the game is tailored to the circumstances of the area in which it is played. The researchers have already played it with stakeholders in Venlo and Leiden, and SKB will be playing it in the Eemland region in mid-September. Around 35 administrators and policy-makers from that region will be taking part.
“In the short version, the game acts as a conversation starter,’ explains Jeroen Paul Nijmeijer, director of SKB. ‘The customised version is more of a ’policy intervention’: you really link it to a substantive agenda. This is how the Eemland region is also using the game – as a key step in developing a strategy focused on equal opportunities in education.”
Getting started
Floris Burgers, one of the researchers behind ‘Kansrijk’, is delighted that the game is now being rolled out. ”It’s in good hands at SKB. They can ensure that the game is played in the right places, and that schools and educational organisations start using it. That way, our research findings can have the greatest social impact. And that’s what you want as a researcher: for your knowledge to contribute to society.”
Moreover, the researchers aren’t letting go of the game entirely: '"We’re certainly keen to hear about people’s experiences. And if any challenges arise whilst playing the game, we’ll naturally help think through ways to improve it.” Furthermore, they’ll soon be publishing another academic article about the game and the effects playing it has on participants.
Learning from simulation
Jeroen Paul Nijmeijer is enthusiastic about ‘Kansrijk’ because the game “simulates a situation that closely mirrors reality. You can discuss a situation with one another without it being directly about your own situation. That makes it safer; it allows you to talk in an exploratory, probing manner for a little longer. Because you’re not yet talking about reality; you’re not making decisions straight away.”
What’s more, the game makes it clear that the parties involved know each other less well than they think. “In my experience, that assumption is often precisely why collaboration doesn’t go well. During the game, I see many moments when people realise that they don’t fully understand what drives another person’s decisions. That’s when a real breakthrough happens.”
Want to find out more about Kansrijk and how to play it? See the SKB website for more information (only available in Dutch).
