Breakthrough Game and Collaborative Tools Workshop - CSPS

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Event Details

The Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) and the Archipelago of Design are pleased to announce an upcoming offering of the Breakthrough Game and Collaborative Tools Workshop, designed for federal government analysts and managers to experience a world-class "serious game" and explore how we conceive of, and make decisions about, complex challenges.


	WHEN	December 18 and 19, 2023, 9am-5pm


	WHERE	John G. Diefenbaker Building (in-person only) - 111 Sussex Drive, Ottawa


	WHO	Federal government analysts and managers


	HOW	To register for that workshop, please reach out to nationalsecurityprogram-programmedesecuritenationale@csps-efpc.gc.ca

Who we are

The Geopolitics and National Security Learning Program is a special initiative created in 2020 by the CSPS to introduce public servants to the latest thinking, practices and tools related to geopolitical and national security issues.

Archipelago of Design is a Canadian non-profit promoting design thinking, innovation, and change leadership through consultation, facilitation, toolkits, coaching, and serious games.

What you will do

During this workshop, participants will:

Investigate a complex, fictive crisis set in Canada’s North in 2040 as part of the Breakthrough Exercise, a serious game/role-playing exercise undertaken in small groups
Learn about collaborative learning tools and practice applying these tools to the analysis of real-life complex issues
Deliberate Canadian interests, values and the nature of public service with colleagues from across the federal government


	Day 1 – Breakthrough Game	Participants play the Breakthrough Game, a serious game that immerses small groups of participants in a fictive scenario taking place in Canada’s North in 2040. In this game, participants play the roles of federal investigators who must try to understand and resolve a highly complex problem in an extremely ambiguous environment and with very limited resources.


	Day 2 – Reflection and Applications	Participants reflect together on how their groups used sense-making strategies during the Breakthrough Exercise. Experts provide them with tools to help make sense of and tackle complex problems and systems. They then practice using those tools on real-life problems that the Government of Canada is or will need to address over the coming decades.

What you will gain

During this workshop, participants will gain:

Self-awareness of personal decision-making tendencies, especially in fast-paced and ambiguous situations;
Knowledge of sense-making tools and strategies, which can be applied to any complex issue facing the Government of Canada;
An understanding of the trade-offs and choices inherent in decision-making, including from a Government of Canada perspective; and
An opportunity to collaborate and network with peers across government.

Official Languages

We are committed to making this workshop as bilingual as possible. Although many of the game materials for the first day of the workshop will be in English, and sessions with the larger group will be primarily in English, we will have a fully bilingual facilitator who will gladly take questions in French. Moreover, if you would like to play the game in French with a bilingual Game Master, let us know and we will do our best to create at least one dedicated French-language group for game play.

Register to reserve your spot now!

This workshop is offered at no cost to participating departments and agencies.

To register for that workshop, please reach out to nationalsecurityprogram-programmedesecuritenationale@csps-efpc.gc.ca