Improving integrated service delivery: a simulation game

Research on digital government finds itself studying a very complex domain. Often, this complexity is -- for research sake -- reduced, for example by applying statistical methods, classifying core concepts, introducing stage models, etc. An emergent and promising method for studying complex phenomena is serious gaming. A serious game refers to a situation in which human participants play a role and follow the rules of play to simulate complex situations. In this research we developed such a serious simulation game for the field of public-private service delivery. The purpose of the game is twofold; it is a teaching instrument for public organizations by enabling them to get to the core of the problem of designing integrated service delivery and to stimulate out-of-the-box solutions. By surveys and analysis instruments, the behavior in-, and outcomes of the game can be evaluated. In this way a serious game is a policy-instrument to stimulate new developments, a way to improve integrated service delivery and is a scientific instrument for theory building and testing in a semi-experimentation setting. Playing the game at a municipality shows that the game is suitable for creating awareness and for the identification and development of alternative solutions.