Högskolan i Skövde

Resilience of interdependent infrastructures increasingly depends on collaborative responses from actors with diverse backgrounds that may not be familiar with cascade effects into areas beyond their own sector. A simulation-game can enable societal actors to obtain a deeper understanding of the interdependencies between their respective infrastructures and their respective crisis responses. Following a design science approach, a simulation-game has been developed that combines role-playing simulation and computer simulation. The simulation-game challenges participants to address the interaction between payment disruptions, food and fuel supply, security problems (riots, robberies) and communication challenges (preventing hoarding). The game has been played on 15 occasions with representatives from different sectors in society and the game design has been changed iteratively after each playing-session. The paper reflects on the impact of initial design choices and the effects on later modifications. Finally, it is discussed how the current version of the game serves multiple purposes: awareness raising, education of participants, model validation, identification of new mitigating actions, and development of collective critical infrastructure resilience in society.