An organizational-activity game (OAG) is kind of game designed to facilitate organisational change. It is for this reason it is described as a development game, rather than a
brainstorming
Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.
In other words, brainstorming is a situation where a grou ...
or
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
. Generally the game is designed to deal with a specific predetermined concrete problem. They were devised by
Georgy Shchedrovitsky
Georgy Petrovich Shchedrovitsky (russian: Георгий Петрович Щедровицкий) (23 February 1929 – 3 February 1994) was a Russian philosopher and methodologist, public and cultural figure. The creator of the system-thinking me ...
of the
Moscow Methodological Circle. He brought together various people involved in
Research and Development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
under the auspices of the USSR
Academy of Pedagogy.
Activity games are distinguished from the earlier action games by being open, i.e. based on flexible scenarios rather than pre-conceived solutions.
Early examples
The first OAG was held in 1979. One of the first games was the Ural Region Game which was devised to formulating a plan as regards how best to achieve the target set forth in the state production plan. By 1987 50 large and more than 100 small games had been conducted.
Post Soviet OAGs
OAGs were used substantially following the collapse of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
.
Use by non-governmental organisations
Non governmental organisations (NGOs) emerged in Russia in the mid 1990s and provided the context for the application of OAGs.
The
International Research & Exchanges Board
The International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) is an international, nonprofit organization that specializes in global education and development. IREX works with partners in more than 100 countries.
History
IREX was established in 1968 by ...
and the Feminist Orientation Center jointly organised some activity games in 1994-5. These were funded by the Eurasia Foundation and took place in
Tomsk
Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population:
Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a not ...
,
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...
,
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...
and
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
.
There were also two sessions in Moscow at the beginning and the end of the project. There were over 150 participants drawn from over 80 NGOs.
See also
*
6-3-5 Brainwriting 6-3-5 Brainwriting (or 635 Method, Method 635) is a group-structured brainstorming technique aimed at aiding innovation processes by stimulating creativity developed by Bernd Rohrbach who originally published it in a German sales magazine, the Absa ...
*
Eureka effect
The eureka effect (also known as the Aha! moment or eureka moment) refers to the common human experience of suddenly understanding a previously incomprehensible problem or concept. Some research describes the Aha! effect (also known as insight or ...
*
Homo Ludens
''Homo Ludens'' is a book originally published in Dutch in 1938 by Dutch historian and cultural theorist Johan Huizinga.
It discusses the importance of the play element of culture and society. Huizinga suggests that play is primary to and a nece ...
References
{{reflist
Soviet games
Simulation games
Learning methods
Collaboration