The authors present the methodological background to and underlying research design of an ongoing research project on the scientific evaluation of serious games and/or computer‐based simulation games (SGs) for advanced learning. The main research questions are: (1) what are the requirements and design principles for a comprehensive social scientific methodology for the evaluation of SGs?; (2) to what extent do SGs contribute to advanced learning?; (3) what factors contribute to or determine this learning?; and (4) to what extent and under what conditions can SG‐based learning be transferred to the real world? In the Netherlands between 2005 and 2012, several hundred SG sessions with 12 SGs were evaluated systematically, uniformly and quantitatively to create a dataset, which comprises data on 2488 respondents in higher education or work organizations. The authors present the research model, the quasi‐experimental design and the evaluation instruments. This focus in this paper is on the methodology and dataset, which form a sound foundation for forthcoming publications on the empirical results.

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The accelerating rate of change and the increasing uncertainty in the outcomes of change are evident across the whole business arena of today. This uncertainty is the result of the very complex and often inexplicable nature of our environment and the problems within it. Successful organizations are not trying to respond to this challenge by predicting the future, but are developing their ability to continuously learn and adapt to changes in their environment. This ability to adapt requires the organizational ability to learn. The process of developing and implementing games and simulations is one of the most effective approaches in enabling such organizational learning. Games and simulations help organizations develop symbolic thinking and gestalt understanding; help them create memories of the future; enable shared experiences and the building of shared intelligence; and, possibly most important, develop their members’motivation and confidence to act.

Abstract:The depletion of fossil fuel sources for our energy system and the influence on overall CO 2 emissions drive the need to more sustainable energy systems. The transition towards a renewable energy system cannot be seen as a purely technical issue; it is strongly embedded within society.In this study, we analyze the stakeholder complexities of the transition in urban districts and research the use of a simulation game to increase the understanding of the complexity of the transition. Surveys and observations were used to collect data about the learning experiences of playing the game GO2Zero. The results show that participants liked to play the game and they considered the game a valid representation of the system. Further, the participants agree that they obtained a better understanding of the complexity of the residential energy system and experienced a variety of challenges in the transition. Simulation games, like GO2Zero, could become valuable instruments in local energy transition processes as they offer a safe environment for novices and experts to jointly experiment with the challenges in this process. These experiences could support the design of the transition process by helping actors to formulate goals and collaborative strategies for achieving those goals. Future research will focus on the use of this game for experimenting with different strategies and instruments and to analyze their effects.

Due to market deregulation, network utility companies are forced to transform their asset management to provide better-than-required service quality and maximize financial performance. The author uses a dynamic business simulation (DBS)-a modeling and simulation approach based on system dynamics-to support development of asset management strategies at a couple of network utility companies. The author describes the background and design steps of the DBS approach and evaluates its effectiveness in supporting development of the asset management strategy for one network utility company in the Netherlands, as well as its capacity to become a part of that company's business capabilities.