Flourish - a game to increase community wellbeing and wealth
From an article by Nesta
In their work, Nesta have seen the value that can be delivered when communities are able to shape where they live, how they work and how they are helped when they need it.
They wanted people to explore a different kind of local economy. One in which economic decisions support a post-growth society, where people can lead healthy, fulfilling lives - in which they can flourish. Something interactive and lively - something that people could engage with emotionally and feel invested in. A board game seemed to fit the bill.
They developed a game called Flourish!
In playing it, participants can explore how to work towards a more equitable and participatory society; one that moves away from purely financial measures of success to focus instead on how psychologically healthy our communities are. It is designed to encourage decision-makers to think about what the economy is for - to make it possible to see that the economy and economic decisions don’t exist as stand-alone elements, that instead they are formed by, and from, the factors in a community which build a community’s wellbeing. Twenty policies form the discussion points at the heart of the game.
It requires participants to think about the benefits of, and put forward arguments for a range of policy options for ShareTown - from a community grocery store to a citizens’ assembly. Each would raise the amount of agency, connection, trust, security of meaning in the town. The game requires that players act as a local character, and push for the projects that boost the values that their character cares most about.
In order for more people to be able to explore alternative ideas for local economies, so Nesta have made Flourish! available to download under a Creative Commons license.
Read full article here and download a copy of the game.
If you have contacts with local government or education, why not suggest that they use Flourish!
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From an article by Nesta, 29/10/2019