Serious games for serious energy solutions

More diverse groups result in more innovative solutions. Innovation is necessary for decarbonisation, and diversity begets innovation; hence diversity should be integral to decarbonisation goals. As the UK moves forward in its commitments to being carbon neutral it is imperative that we come up with energy solutions that are not only innovative, but inclusive.

In this project we want to try to understand how diversity can impact our ability to make decisions. Specifically, we are trying to understand how people from different backgrounds, are able to work together to reach our energy and emissions reductions targets. To do this, we are using a serious game called ‘New Shores’ where participants will need to work together to establish a new island civilisation and balance their own needs and interests (money, food, shelter) with those of the community (schools, hospitals etc.).

The game will be facilitated by our team, and participants will be observed throughout. We have developed a framework to measure how people work together such as the innovation of their solution, how well they cooperate, if they meet their targets, if they are honest or deceptive etc. We will match the innovation of the solution, and how well people worked together with the makeup of their group, to test the impact of more diverse groups or more similar groups.