With only 8% of UK university research shaping government decisions, the University of Roehampton and Katie Thorpe of the Institute for Government have developed a first-of-its-kind simulation to help academics understand the challenges of turning evidence into policy. Churn is a board-based simulation that gives researchers first-hand experience of how policy is made.
Despite the UK’s world-leading research base, studies continue to show that it is not translating into policy. One of the primary barriers is academics' limited understanding of parliamentary and governmental processes, which affects how their work is presented. Other barriers include a lack of clarity about how advice will be used, limited experience of working with policymakers, and ‘ad hoc’ personal connections between researchers and parliamentarians.
“People often think that if the research is good enough, it will just slot straight into policy, but it doesn’t work like that,” said Dr Melissa Jogie, Director for Research, Culture, Impact and Early Career Development at Roehampton. “Churn is the first of its kind to give people a real sense of what it’s like to be in the shoes of a policy team trying to deliver positive outcomes amidst the volatility of real life. For example, your minister might resign, there could be team churn, or an election might be called. Players experience all the unexpected changes and the need to compromise, and they can start to see why even strong ideas can struggle to make it through. If researchers understand this, it can transform how they think about impact and how they frame their work”
Churn puts players in the hot seat of real-world decision-making. Players seek to develop a successful, long-lasting policy by building a team, marshalling political capital and allocating resources while responding to sudden events such as ministerial resignations, elections, funding cuts or crises.
By using real-world scenarios to recreate the unpredictable environment in which policy is made, Churn equips researchers with a practical understanding of how to confront the messy realities that civil servants and policymakers confront daily. Each game lasts about an hour, and no two outcomes are the same.
Katie Thorpe, co-designer and Head of Learning and Development at the Institute for Government, commented: “If you’re not in the policy making world, its workings can seem impenetrable and that really discourages people from engaging with it. “Churn” refers to both the political context and the well-known phenomenon of civil servants frequently moving jobs - players must navigate policy-making in the face of these demands. While there are serious messages underpinning the game, it is designed to be good-humoured, interactive and memorable, making it a powerful training tool for universities looking to build policy engagement into teaching and research”.
Interest is already strong. Discussions with seasoned political staff and experienced policy makers are underway to consider how Churn might be a resourceful means for training incoming civil servants or bespoking the game to logic-thinking exercises, with a side effect of fun.