Abstract for: A Simulation Game to Promote Systems Thinking and Cross Organizational Collaboration in Government Agencies

For the past 7 years a management training organization within the U.S. Department of Defense has offered an experiential workshop to train leaders in systems thinking and collaboration skills. Based on a table-top dynamic model resembling a board game, the workshop offers participants opportunities for situational learning and consequent recognition of their own hidden mental models. This paper describes the underlying dynamic model, the system dynamics structures supporting it and shows how the workshop uses these structures to introduce system dynamics concepts and foster collaborative skills. Lessons learned for presenting this and similar workshops are discussed and a measure of acceptance of this workshop is presented.