An all-threat approach to improved decision-making through games

In a world of growing complexity, systemic crises and polycrises, games are more and more recognized as a powerful approach to improve our preparedness and response to a wide variety of threats, helping improving decision-making at strategic, operational and tactical level. The session will focus on establishing the interconnectedness of wargames, simulation games, and serious games, framing them not as disparate methods but as a unified continuum for learning and analysis. A central theme will be the necessity of breaking the disciplinary barriers traditionally separating these approaches to effectively address threats whose impacts are inherently cross-domain, blurring the lines between military and civilian operational spheres.

As gaming not for entertainment is consolidating into a rigorous and recognized science, we will discuss how we should leverage the different approaches to move towards an all-threat and all-government approach into game design and use. We will advocate for an integrated game solutions capable of modeling a broad spectrum of risks and ensuring the inclusion of all relevant governmental and non-governmental stakeholders in the simulation environment. We will explore some practical case studies of recently developed Knowledge Acquisition Analytical Games (K2AG), highlighting a shift in design philosophy. These successful designs did not prioritize granular operational fidelity of a specific context but instead leveraged cross-domain theories of decision-making. This theoretical grounding ensures that the game systems are valid and transferable across different organizational and threat landscapes. The seminar will conclude with a forward-looking discussion on the future implications of emerging technologies in support to the design of such games.

Bio:

Dr de Rosa is the founder of FDR Strategies and Chief Scientific Officer at the Center for Advanced Preparedness and Threat Response Simulation (CAPTRS). Prior to joining CAPTRS, she spent 12 years as a scientist at the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation. Her work focuses on the development of solutions to identified technical and scientific capability gaps in the defense, security and crisis management domains. Her work bridges multiple disciplines—game science, cognitive and knowledge engineering, human-system integration, system analysis and operational analysis—to deliver innovative solutions that address critical capability gaps. Her research has strongly focused on improving the scientific rigor of wargames and simulation games. Several of her professional games have been deployed by a diverse range of authoritative bodies. These include international defense and health organizations like NATO and the UN World Health Organization, national agencies such as the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and numerous local emergency and crisis management organizations. The games have also been used in advanced academic programs at institutions including the Karolinska Institute, UT Texas - Austin and Johns Hopkins University. Francesca, has served on the Steering Committee in NATO’s Wargaming Initiatives and serves on the board of the Serious Games Society. She has also served as an adjunct professor in Computer Games and Simulation at the University of Genoa, Italy. Her contributions have been recognized with the NATO 2020 STO Scientific Achievement Awards and the 2020 NATO System Analysis & Studies Panel Excellence Award. Francesca holds a Bachelor Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, a Master Degree in Water and Soil Management Engineering and a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence, specializing in Interactive and Cognitive Environments.