Idea Mapping

Game Rationale: There is a clear gap between producing research studies and using results of those studies for decision-making. This “know-do” gap is common to all policy areas and one of the most difficult gaps to bridge.

Knowledge brokering is a promising practice for tackling the challenge of evidence use. For public professionals it means playing the role of intermediary who steers the flow of knowledge between its producers and users.

Application Goals: The workshop teaches six key knowledge brokering skills:

1. Identifying knowledge needs of policy actors
2. Acquiring credible studies
3. Combining results into policy arguments
4. Reaching users with appropriate dissemination strategies
5. Delivering research results at the right moment of decision-making cycle
6. Managing a unit and its network with limited resources

Participants: The Knowledge Brokers workshop has been designed to be experienced by professionals in groups of 30 or less.

Content: The Knowledge Brokers workshop is based on a specially designed tabletop simulation game. Serious games are effective experienced-based learning tools for adult professionals.

During the workshop participants play the role of managers within their re- gional evaluation units. Their mission is to help different decision-makers in successfully implementing socio-economic projects. They do this by acquir- ing and then feeding evaluation results to potential knowledge users. The simulation game is run in turns which are followed by detailed feedback and debriefing sessions grounded in latest empirical research on evidence used in decision-making.

The Knowledge Brokers website contains more details about its reliability and usefulness, how it is used, game details, testimonials and trusted clients.

One of the team’s experts is Karol Olejniczak who is an assistant professor at EUROREG – University of Warsaw, Poland and an experienced Idea Mapping practitioner. His expertise focuses on evaluation of public interventions and organizational learning. Since 2000, Karol has been a practicing evaluator. He has conducted studies for Polish government and the European Commission. In 2014, for his extensive applied research, he received the title “Evaluator of the Year” from the Polish Government.