Commissioner's Quids Games - A Realist Systems Strategy Session

Workshop exploring the policy-making system and role of community networks through game theory: who plays, how it works, what are the rules?

About this Event


👥 Who is invited?

This workshop is for people involved in community networks, community organising and policy coalitions, or anyone interested in exploring how devolved decision making works.

Particularly interesting in the voices of lived experience, community representation and voluntary sector, alongside people with insight of public sector policy development.

The broader and more diverse the representation the better - but the priority is people willing to participate

We’re here to think about the homelessness policy and practice system as a game — not to trivialise it, but to use play as a way to better understand how power, strategy, roles, and context interact.

🎯 Workshop Aims

1. Collaborate to map the homelessness policy ecosystem through game metaphors.
2. Understand roles, strategies, constraints, and powers of different stakeholders.
3. Develop awareness of contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes using game metaphors.
4. Make power dynamics visible and discussable in a safe, creative way.
5. Inform a realist evaluation framework and deepen understanding of how the system "actually" works.

This workshop is part of my MSc in Evaluation and Policy Analysis. It is to help develop a Realist Evaluation Framework for a Homelessness Policy Coalition or Action Network in a devolved city region - centred on Greater Manchester. The learning from this workshop will be used to inform my dissertation.
No personal or identifiable information will be retained or shared - all participants will remain anonymous in any write ups of the session.

Agenda


🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Arrivals, Chit Chats and Brews

🕑: 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Welcome & Framing (and a game of Fluxx)

🕑: 11:00 AM - 11:20 AM
Character Creation: Who Are the Players? (Policy Top Trumps)

🕑: 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Game Board: Mapping the System (make your move and wait your turn)

🕑: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
Scenario Simulation: Power Plays & Strategy (the art of winning)

🕑: 12:35 PM - 01:00 PM
Debrief & Reflect


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