Inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations can be challenging to facilitate, especially if the goal is to arrive at a common space of understanding. Academic disciplines have different ways of knowing and engaging with knowledge, and these differences are not always easy to bring to the surface. Take for example a case of collaboration for improving climate adaptation. Climate adaptation is both a technical and social challenge. Farmers, researchers, policymakers, water managers, businesses, and communities often see the same problem from different perspectives. Each group brings valuable knowledge shaped by their own experiences, responsibilities, priorities, and aspirations. With such diversity of perspectives, sometimes it can be challenging to bring different actors together to look at the same problem without having to monopolize or homogenize the design and solution process.
Collaborations might need to take new and inclusive shapes. This is where serious games become a creative space to explore differences and create spaces for collaborative learning. Nurturing these collaborations is rarely straightforward. People may use different jargons, have different priorities, prefer different methodologies, or disagree about what the problem is. Serious games can play an important role by creating a shared experience among players with different backgrounds and understanding of a concept; and providing a space where participants can explore different viewpoints, negotiate trade-offs, imagine together, and discuss difficult decisions. They help make invisible assumptions visible and encourage curiosity about how others think. At the end, it is still a game where people should enjoy and be creative as they play together!
As you read through this learning site, we invite you to consider not only the decisions made during the game, but also the conversations, disagreements, negotiations, and moments of surprise that may emerge between players. These interactions are often where learning takes place.