Researchers and policymakers have long been seen as two communities dealing with similar issues but with different institutional norms and bounded rationality. Lucile Maertens, Audrey Alejandro and Zoé Cheli suggest that role-play can be a useful tool to reduce these differences and generate more productive interactions between research and policy.
How can we foster constructive dialogue and information exchange between policymakers and researchers on complex and pressing issues like climate change and global pandemics? While it may sound like an awkward departmental field trip, a role-play simulation could help build common ground between these two groups.
Role-play simulation refers to a game in which participants take on the roles of others based on characters and scenarios devised by the organizers. We organized a half-day event at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, inviting 22 local scientists and politicians to play each other’s roles in a pilot simulation focused on negative emission technologies. In this simulation, politicians played the roles of scientists, and scientists played the roles of politicians. Our goal was to foster mutual understanding and cooperation between these disciplines, bridging the gaps in their respective logic and perspectives.
Building on this experience, we have developed a detailed, step-by-step methodology for those interested in setting up similar role-play simulations outside the classroom. We have also developed strategies to attempt to resolve some of the awkwardness and mitigate the specific challenges faced when carrying out this type of work with elite participants.
We found that role-play simulations are time-consuming; organizing a single event can take weeks of character and scenario design and careful selection of participants. Are role-play simulations worth the effort when many academic and non-academic stakeholders do not take creative and game-based methods seriously? We think they are, especially through their ability to encourage social learning, foster reflective processes, and provide a beneficial, informal experience.
Promoting social learning
Role-play simulations are increasingly valued as an effective tool for social learning, as a “collective and communicative learning process that can lead to a variety of social outcomes, new skills and knowledge.” By reversing the scenario and swapping roles, participants gain a glimpse into the professional routines, specific constraints and time constraints of the other party. A post-event survey revealed that most participants felt they gained a better understanding of the daily life of the other group (Strongly Agree, 41%; Completely Agree, 36%).
Politicians learned that scientists often have to respond to media requests even before their research is finished. Scientists, on the other hand, saw first-hand the numerous stakeholders that political actors have to take into account, and also glimpsed the power dynamics between them. Scientists learned about the hierarchical relationships between elected politicians and senior civil servants, and the often messy consensus-building process in politically diverse groups. Politicians, on the other hand, discovered the complexity of interdisciplinary collaborations (participants were particularly surprised by how siloed scientific results can be) and how scientists’ career status, such as their position and type of employment contract (temporary or permanent), influences their behavior. Finally, participants commented that the difference in pace and work schedules between the two groups was striking: political actors were surprised by the length of research projects, and scientists were perplexed by the urgent time constraints that political actors face.
Facilitating a reflective process
Simulations create a controlled environment that allows participants to step out of their comfort zones and reflect on their perceptions, assumptions, and biases about other groups. For example, one scientist initially thought the simulation would be more useful to the political participants, but later realized that the group of scientists also learned a lot about the challenges of the political participants.
Moreover, participants get a glimpse into how other groups represent them, leading to reflections on how to better communicate future activities and constraints. For example, when scientists playing politicians asked questions about negative emissions technologies, politicians playing scientists were surprised (though not outraged) that the questions focused primarily on potential economic benefits at the expense of social and environmental concerns. This highlighted a gap between their perceptions of their own professional activities and their impressions of other groups.
As the project steering committee, we also benefited from the reflective aspects of this exercise. Not only did diving into a simulation project and engaging in creative scholarly activity strengthen our transversal skills, but it also forced us to critically examine our own practices and biases. Creating realistic scenarios with our partners meant that both scientific and political dimensions were portrayed with equal complexity, avoiding oversimplification of political processes, since most of us come from a scientific background.
Be friendly
Finally, role-play simulations create a playful environment that breaks the ice between participants who are less familiar with the other’s world and allows them to initiate serendipitous, candid conversations about the daily challenges of understanding and managing public issues. Participants don’t just meet face-to-face and have a great time, they network in an environment where they have to collaborate by working on challenges and learning about new topics.
Indeed, as the literature on the use of simulation in educational settings shows, role-play simulations are useful for playfully introducing complex issues and concepts, in this case negative emission technologies. Participants discovered that high uncertainty continues to exist regarding these technologies and how such uncertainty affects scientific outcomes and political decision-making. The same goes for legal frameworks and local politics, which are realistically represented, allowing participants to learn about the political context, including issues specific to their region.
During that time, scientists and policy actors could interact with colleagues who do not share the same backgrounds, such as disciplines, professions, or even affiliations, share ideas, and build common understanding. Participants had the opportunity to interact not only during the simulations but throughout the event, providing a space for informal exchanges. Media coverage can increase the visibility of participating institutions (including the host institution) and make science-policy dialogue more mainstream and legitimate. In this way, participants can show that they are open to dialogue and ready to improve science-policy cooperation. This not only benefits them, but also sends a broader message that normalizes and legitimizes the need for better cooperation and more democratic participation.
Establishing protocols for role-play simulations at the science-policy interface is undoubtedly challenging, but the potential benefits are great. Our experience suggests that these simulations foster mutual understanding, bridge the gap between scientists and policymakers, and encourage participants to critically reflect on their own and other professionals’ practices. Developing methodological strategies and frameworks, such as those detailed in our published work, can foster a more widespread use of these simulations. Furthermore, integrating observation protocols and participant surveys can allow for a robust evaluation of the impact of simulations and enrich the action research toolbox. Thus, role-play simulations can serve not only as effective educational tools, but also as interventions in their own right, facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration and learning from the outset. Simulations are valuable means of enhancing dialogue and collaboration, ultimately contributing to more informed and effective decision-making.
This post is based on the authors’ papers “Designing role-play simulations for climate change decision-making: A step-by-step approach to foster science-policy collaboration” published in Environmental Science & Policy and “Role-play simulations for decision-making under conditions of uncertainty: Challenges and strategies in engaging elites as participants” published in PS Political Science and Politics.
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