We are proud to announce that key people from the MSP Challenge community recently published an open-access article on the history of the MSP Challenge games in the Marine Policy journal!

Communicating Maritime Spatial Planning: The MSP Challenge approach
The MSP Challenge uses game technology and role-play to support communication and learning for Marine/Maritime Spatial Planning. Since 2011, a role-playing game, a board game and a digital interactive simulation platform have been developed. The MSP Challenge editions have been used in workshops, conferences, education, as well as for real life stakeholder engagement. The authors give an overview of the development of the MSP Challenge and reflect on the value of the approach as an engaging and ‘fun’ tool for building mutual understanding and communicating MSP.

Read the entire article here!

Finally, it's official!

With the presentation at the Connecting Seas conference in Hamburg, Germany on Wednesday 13 February 2019, we officially launched the latest tool in the MSP Challenge brand:
the MSP Challenge Simulation Platform!

As announced, you will very soon be able to freely download the MSP Challenge client software on your own Windows 10 computer and log in to one of our servers to access one of the editions: the North Sea, Baltic Sea or Clyde marine region edition. That way you can see for yourself what all the fuss is about and try everything out. Our server thus offers an online demo opportunity. We highly recommend that you do not use it for proper multi-user sessions or workshops.

Later this year we will also be freely releasing the full software package for you to download and install on your own computers. This means that you will be able to download both the client software and server software packages. We will also offer technical manuals, tutorial videos and online support to help you get everything up and running at your end.

We look forward to working with you on any of the following:

• Running MSP Challenge workshops for e.g. stakeholder engagement or involvement
  
• Extending the MSP Challenge Simulation Platform to include e.g. new or better simulations
  
• Developing new MSP Challenge editions, e.g. a Mediterranean Sea edition, ..., ...
  

Get in touch!

With the new year of 2019 well underway, it's high time to reflect on what we achieved with the new MSP Challenge Simulation Platform during 2018.

Believe it or not (we almost can't!), but in 2018 we facilitated no less than a total of 14 sessions and demos with the MSP Challenge Simulation Platform !

Here's the list:

• 24-25 January: Baltic LINes shipping-oriented session in Riga, Latvia
• 31 January: SIMCelt integral MSP session in Glasgow, UK
• 20-23 March: SP-MSP energy-oriented session in Oldenburg, Germany
• 16-19 April: NorthSEE ecology-oriented session on the island of Texel, the Netherlands
• 14-18 May: SP-MSP integral MSP collaborative work in Breda, the Netherlands
• 12 June: SAGANET seminar demo in Breda, the Netherlands
• 27-31 August: SP-MSP integral MSP collaborative work in Breda, the Netherlands
• 3-4 October: NorthSEE energy-oriented session in Aberdeen, UK
• 15-16 October: integral MSP educational session in Tammisaari, Finland
• 23 October: SP-MSP & Littoral conference demo in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands
• 30-31 October: Baltic LINes energy-oriented session in Copenhagen, Denmark
• 21-22 November: NorthSEE shipping-oriented session in Malmö, Sweden
• 28 November: integral MSP educational session in Oostende, Belgium
• 17-18 December: integral MSP educational session in Venice, Italy

The ocean is a part of daily working life in Newfoundland and Labrador. Whether it’s fishing, oil exploration, shipping, research or culture, there are thousands of people whose jobs have some connection to the sea. The Broadcast explores the stories of people in Newfoundland and Labrador who work in jobs or live in communities that depend on the sea.

On the 8th of Feb, the Marine Spatial Planning Challenge board game kick started the review process of the Belgium Marine Spatial Plan, in Brugge. At the request of the Belgium Federal Government, around 130 professionals played on five supersized game boards, learning how to make use of and protect the marine environment. The games were organized and moderated by Igor Mayer and Harald Warmelink (NHTV-ADE) and partners from the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. The playful approach to planning was uniquely covered on Belgium television the same evening. View here. 

t the Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference, EU commissioner Vella (DG Mare) showed great interest in the MPSp challenge board game. It immediately made him think of  ‘a war game’ for the good cause of Blue Growth and Sustainability. Pictures of Vella giving the game a try are displayed at the EU website. http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/photo/photoDetails.cfm?sitelang=EN&ref=032483#12

The MSP Challenge Board Game - Marine Scotland ed. was launched at the 3rd Atlantic Stakeholder platform conference, on Sept 27, 2016, in a playful workshop with around 60 stakeholders from across the Atlantic region.

Cooperative learning by game play short sea shipping and blue growth opportunities in a living maritime spatial planning process of the RICA Sea.

The “MSP Short Sea Shipping Expedition” is a playful learning experience – a ‘table top strategy / war game’ – designed for policy-makers and strategists working in the area of ecosystem based Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP), the development of sustainable Blue Growth and Short Sea Shipping (SSS).