SYNERGIES

Funding programme

Horizon Europe – Cluster 3: Civil Security for Society

Project reference

101121172

Period

2023–2026

Coordinating organisation

Deep Blue Srl (Italy)

Participating countries

Italy, Norway, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Estonia, France, Malta

Official project website

Visit official website

SYNERGIES (Innovating Preparedness by Leveraging SYNERGIES and Enhancing Results of DRM Projects) aims to strengthen societal resilience and disaster preparedness by improving cooperation among public authorities, emergency responders, civil society organisations, volunteers and local communities.

The project addresses five interconnected needs: stakeholder involvement, preparedness education and training, communication with citizens, integration of spontaneous volunteers and sustainability of disaster preparedness solutions.

Within this wider initiative, SYNERGIES developed the SAVIT Tabletop Game, an original physical serious game designed to help disaster risk management professionals explore how spontaneous and informal volunteers can be safely and effectively integrated into emergency preparedness, response and recovery.

The game combines realistic disaster scenarios, interdisciplinary teamwork, solution selection, argumentation and structured reflection.

Specific learning objectives

• Disaster preparedness: Understand the challenges involved in preparing communities and organisations for emergencies and disasters.
• Spontaneous volunteering: Recognise the potential contributions of individuals and groups who offer help without belonging to formal emergency response organisations.
• Volunteer integration: Explore strategies for incorporating spontaneous volunteers into preparedness, response and recovery activities.
• Risk awareness: Identify potential difficulties associated with uncoordinated volunteering, including safety risks, insufficient training, liability and operational disruption.
• Stakeholder analysis: Identify the organisations, community groups and individuals involved at different stages of an emergency.
• Interagency cooperation: Strengthen understanding of how public authorities, emergency services and civil society organisations can coordinate their activities.
• Communication: Explore how appropriate information can be exchanged between authorities, responders, volunteers and affected communities.
• Volunteer onboarding: Understand procedures for welcoming volunteers, identifying their capacities, briefing them and assigning appropriate tasks.
• Operational coordination: Consider methods for organising and supporting volunteer contributions during emergency operations.
• Volunteer safety: Recognise the importance of protecting volunteers from unnecessary physical, psychological and organisational risks.
• Volunteer follow-up: Explore how contributions can be recognised and how volunteers’ experiences can inform future preparedness activities.
• Decision-making: Identify appropriate approaches for addressing problems that emerge at different stages of a disaster.
• Collaborative problem-solving: Develop potential solutions through discussion and the integration of different professional perspectives.
• Critical evaluation: Compare alternative approaches and examine their relevance, feasibility and potential limitations.
• Argumentation: Practise presenting and defending recommendations to other stakeholders.
• Perspective-taking: Understand the different responsibilities, concerns and needs of authorities, responders, community organisations and volunteers.
• Contextual adaptation: Explore how existing disaster management solutions can be adapted to different hazards, territories and institutional environments.
• Inclusion: Consider how volunteer integration strategies can address the needs and capacities of vulnerable communities.
• Systems thinking: Understand how communication, volunteer management, preparedness planning and institutional cooperation influence one another.
• Professional reflection: Examine existing organisational practices and identify opportunities for improvement.

Five functional areas of spontaneous volunteer integration

The SAVIT educational methodology is based on a conceptual model identifying five main functions:

1. Creating the conditions for integrating informal help: Establishing organisational, institutional and regulatory conditions that enable volunteers to contribute safely.
2. Communicating and sharing information: Gathering local knowledge and ensuring that volunteers and authorities receive appropriate information.
3. Onboarding informal help: Identifying volunteers, assessing their capacities, briefing participants and preparing them for suitable activities.
4. Coordinating and managing informal help: Assigning tasks, providing resources and supporting volunteer contributions during operations.
5. Following up on involvement: Recognising contributions, addressing volunteer needs and learning from their experiences.

The game uses these functions to structure participants’ analysis of a simulated disaster as it develops over time.

Its principal educational purpose is to encourage learning through professional discussion and collective exploration of solutions, rather than to train participants to execute emergency response procedures under realistic operational pressure.

SYNERGIES developed an original physical educational serious game called SAVIT Tabletop Game – Spontaneous Activities and Volunteers Integration Tool.

The game was developed primarily by SINTEF (Norway) within the Horizon Europe partnership, with contributions from researchers, disaster risk management professionals and stakeholders participating in international evaluation workshops.

Its purpose is to help organisations explore how spontaneous volunteers can contribute effectively to disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

1. SAVIT Tabletop Game

SAVIT is a collaborative, scenario-based tabletop game in which participants work in multidisciplinary teams to explore challenges associated with spontaneous volunteering during emergencies.

Each team analyses an evolving disaster scenario, identifies relevant stakeholders and needs, selects potential solutions and presents recommendations to the other teams.

The activity combines cooperative problem-solving within teams with light competition between teams through collective voting.

Documented game characteristics

• Game type: Custom-designed physical educational board game.
• Format: Facilitated tabletop simulation with physical boards, cards and scenario materials.
• Educational theme: Disaster preparedness, spontaneous volunteer integration and interorganisational cooperation.
• Primary audience: Emergency managers, civil protection authorities, first responders, volunteer coordinators and civil society organisations.
• Player organisation: Small multidisciplinary teams.
• Documented configuration: Four teams, with approximately two to four participants per team in the initial development workshops.
• Typical session duration: Approximately two to three hours in the documented development workshops.
• Scenarios: Locally adapted disasters, including floods, earthquakes and cyclones.
• Development: Three principal design iterations during 2025, followed by further validation and refinement in 2026.
• Supporting resource: SAVIT Catalogue, a repository of approaches and solutions for integrating spontaneous volunteers.

Main physical game components

• Central game board: Represents the conceptual model and the progression of the disaster scenario through successive stages.
• Team player boards: Guide participants in identifying relevant actors, critical functions, possible solutions and implementation factors.
• Solution Cards: Present approaches for integrating spontaneous volunteers into disaster management.
• Blank Solution Cards: Allow teams to propose additional or adapted solutions.
• Scenario booklet: Describes the fictional emergency and the changes introduced at different stages.
• Function reference booklet: Explains the five principal functions and associated tasks involved in integrating informal help.
• Recording materials: Support documentation of decisions, observations and ideas generated during gameplay.
• Facilitator materials: Instructions and supporting guidance for organising, moderating and evaluating game sessions.

Solution Cards

Solution Cards are a central mechanism of the game.

According to the project’s scientific publication, a typical deck contains approximately 24 cards.

Each card presents:

• The name and description of a possible solution.
• The type of solution.
• Its geographical origin.
• The volunteer integration functions it supports.
• Information helping participants consider its relevance to the scenario.

The solutions are derived from SAVIT Catalogue and include approaches such as guidelines, operational procedures, organisational arrangements, communities of practice and technological solutions.

Participants must evaluate these options and select appropriate responses to the challenges presented by the disaster scenario.

Main game mechanics

1. Scenario progression: The emergency develops through successive stages, introducing new circumstances and challenges.
2. Team cooperation: Participants work together to analyse the situation and formulate recommendations.
3. Stakeholder identification: Teams identify the organisations and community actors relevant to the current situation.
4. Function identification: Teams determine which volunteer integration functions are most important at each stage.
5. Card selection: Participants choose solution cards that may address the identified needs.
6. Solution comparison: Alternative approaches are examined according to their suitability and implementation requirements.
7. Contextual adaptation: Teams consider how general solutions would need to be adapted to local institutions, geography and available resources.
8. Collaborative decision-making: Team members negotiate and agree on preferred approaches.
9. Pitching: Teams explain and defend their proposals to other participants.
10. Collective voting: At the end of each round, teams vote on the preferred solution.
11. Friendly competition: The voting mechanism introduces a competitive element between teams without changing the activity’s collaborative educational purpose.
12. Reflection: Participants examine their decisions and discuss how their findings could inform real preparedness practices.

Game sequence

The scientific publication describes the following procedure:

1. Introduction: A facilitator presents the educational objectives, disaster scenario, physical components and SAVIT Catalogue.
2. Scenario briefing: Participants become familiar with the local context, potential hazards and relevant stakeholders.
3. Team analysis: Each group examines the current phase of the emergency.
4. Identification of needs: Teams identify key actors, critical volunteer integration functions and operational challenges.
5. Solution selection: Players review the available cards and select an approach appropriate to the situation.
6. Implementation considerations: Teams discuss barriers, resources and necessary adaptations.
7. Presentation: Each team presents its preferred solution.
8. Voting: Participants collectively select a preferred option.
9. Scenario progression: The process continues with the next stage of the emergency.
10. Debriefing: The activity concludes with discussion of lessons learned and potential practical applications.

Real professional perspectives rather than fictional role-playing

A distinctive characteristic of SAVIT is that participants generally contribute from their actual professional roles and experiences.

Unlike serious games that assign fictional stakeholder identities, SAVIT encourages representatives of public authorities, emergency services and civil society organisations to analyse the scenario from their own institutional perspectives.

Consequently, the game is more accurately described as a collaborative professional simulation than as a conventional role-playing game with assigned fictional characters.

Different disaster scenarios

During development and evaluation, the consortium adapted the game to different geographical and operational contexts:

• Netherlands: Flood-related emergency scenario.
• Malta: Earthquake-related emergency scenario.
• La Réunion, France: Cyclone-related emergency scenario.
• Estonia: Locally adapted scenarios used in additional educational and professional sessions.

The ability to replace the scenario while retaining the general structure is an important feature supporting methodological transferability.

Physical game development

The first version, tested in the Netherlands, resembled a conventional tabletop exercise and contained relatively few game-specific elements.

The second version introduced a central board, solution cards and mechanisms supporting collaboration and friendly competition.

The third version simplified certain procedures, introduced improved player boards, strengthened the supporting instructions and incorporated French-language materials.

Following the development and validation process, the project collaborated with Focus Games Ltd to produce a boxed physical edition.

This edition was presented during the European Civil Protection Forum in Brussels on 3–4 November 2026.

Game availability

The project team and its game production partner announced a dedicated website providing access to a boxed version, free print-and-play materials and supporting resources.

SAVIT Game – Dedicated Game Website

The availability of these resources has been publicly announced by the development partners. However, the newly launched website could not be independently opened during this review, so the complete downloadable files, final rules and licensing terms remain unverified.

Game approach

The appropriate classification is Custom-Designed Educational Games.

SAVIT was developed specifically within SYNERGIES, although the designers reviewed existing disaster preparedness games when defining its educational approach.

SYNERGIES adopted a research-informed, scenario-based Board Game-Based Learning methodology to strengthen professional understanding of spontaneous volunteering and cooperation in disaster risk management.

The SAVIT Tabletop Game was developed through a Design Science Research approach, combining the creation of a physical educational artefact with iterative testing, stakeholder participation and the refinement of a conceptual model.

The game is intended to support reflection, organisational learning and the identification of practical approaches for integrating volunteers into emergency preparedness and response.

Pedagogical foundations

• Experiential learning: Participants examine the consequences of organisational decisions through a simulated disaster scenario.
• Scenario-based learning: Locally adapted emergencies provide realistic contexts for discussing volunteer integration.
• Collaborative learning: Participants combine knowledge and professional experience within multidisciplinary teams.
• Problem-based learning: Each round introduces challenges requiring the identification and evaluation of possible solutions.
• Professional reflection: Participants compare their current practices with alternative approaches identified through research and other organisations’ experiences.
• Social learning: Discussion and collective voting create opportunities to examine contrasting institutional perspectives.
• Knowledge mobilisation: Research findings are translated into practical tools that can inform professional decision-making.
• Participatory research: Game sessions provide information that can be used to refine existing models and identify additional solutions.
• Structured debriefing: Reflection after gameplay helps participants connect the simulated challenges with practical organisational conditions.

Design Science Research approach

The development process followed an iterative approach in which successive versions of the game were treated as artefacts to be tested and refined.

Each iteration provided information about the educational experience, the relevance of the underlying conceptual model and the practical needs of participating organisations.

Main methodological stages

1. Research on spontaneous volunteering: The consortium examined existing scientific literature, preparedness practices and solutions for integrating informal help into disaster management.
2. Conceptual model development: The researchers identified stages of emergency events and five principal functions associated with volunteer integration.
3. Solution catalogue development: Existing procedures, recommendations, technological tools and organisational approaches were organised within SAVIT Catalogue.
4. Educational design: The conceptual model and catalogue informed the design of a physical tabletop activity.
5. Initial prototype: A first scenario-based exercise was tested in the Netherlands.
6. Introduction of game mechanics: Feedback led to the incorporation of game boards, cards, team interaction and voting.
7. Second prototype: The revised game was evaluated in Malta using an earthquake scenario.
8. Further refinement: The development team simplified materials, improved participant boards and strengthened the facilitation instructions.
9. Third prototype: A new version was evaluated in La Réunion using a cyclone scenario.
10. Additional application: Adapted versions were used with students and disaster management professionals in Estonia.
11. Validation: Further sessions in 2026 examined usability, relevance and potential adoption in different settings.
12. Physical production and dissemination: The project collaborated with a specialist game company to prepare a boxed game and associated educational resources.

Educational integration of game mechanics

The educational content is incorporated directly into the principal actions required during gameplay.

Participants must identify stakeholders, determine organisational needs, examine possible interventions and defend a preferred approach.

These activities correspond to the analytical and collaborative processes required when planning the integration of spontaneous volunteers into real emergency management arrangements.

The cards do not merely present factual questions. They represent potential solutions that participants must evaluate in relation to the evolving disaster scenario.

Integration of SAVIT Catalogue

The physical game is complemented by SAVIT Catalogue, a repository of solutions for integrating spontaneous volunteers into disaster management.

The catalogue identifies approaches associated with five main functions and classifies resources according to their type and potential contribution.

During gameplay, participants may consult the catalogue to explore solutions in greater depth.

However, the development process revealed that frequent consultation of the full catalogue could interrupt gameplay and increase cognitive demands.

Consequently, the designers incorporated selected information directly into Solution Cards, allowing participants to access essential information more efficiently.

Role of the facilitator

The methodology explicitly recognises the importance of facilitation.

Facilitators:

• Introduce the disaster context and educational objectives.
• Explain game rules, boards, cards and other materials.
• Guide participants through successive scenario stages.
• Support multidisciplinary discussion within teams.
• Clarify concepts and functions related to spontaneous volunteering.
• Coordinate presentations and collective voting.
• Help participants examine possible implementation barriers.
• Observe interaction and document relevant findings.
• Conduct the final debriefing and collect evaluation feedback.

The development team also recognised the importance of distributed facilitation, combining overall session coordination with support within individual teams.

During the June 2026 validation workshop in La Réunion, Sciences Réunion and AGORAH facilitated the activity using guidance prepared by SINTEF. This provided evidence that the game could be implemented by partners other than its principal developers.

Reflection and debriefing

Structured reflection is an explicit component of the SAVIT methodology.

After gameplay, participants examine:

• The problems and opportunities identified during the simulated disaster.
• The relevance of proposed solutions.
• Differences between the priorities of participating organisations.
• The importance of communication and coordination.
• Potential difficulties when implementing solutions in real contexts.
• Lessons applicable to existing preparedness and volunteer management plans.
• Possible changes to organisational procedures or cooperation arrangements.

The debriefing also provides opportunities to gather qualitative information for further research and game refinement.

Transferability

The game has been adapted to floods, earthquakes and cyclones, demonstrating its potential for use across different disaster scenarios.

However, meaningful transfer requires adaptation of the scenario, terminology, institutions, volunteer management arrangements and available solutions to the local context.

Consequently, SAVIT should be understood as a facilitated educational methodology rather than a completely self-contained game whose effectiveness is independent of preparation and professional expertise.

SYNERGIES is being implemented between December 2023 and November 2026 as a Horizon Europe Innovation Action coordinated by Deep Blue Srl in Italy.

The project involves a multidisciplinary European consortium bringing together disaster management professionals, emergency responders, universities, research organisations, civil society organisations, public authorities and technological partners.

Its activities focus on strengthening disaster preparedness through participatory approaches, improved communication, education and training, and the integration of spontaneous volunteers into emergency management.

Participating organisations and game development

The overall project is coordinated by Deep Blue Srl (Italy).

The SAVIT Tabletop Game was developed primarily by SINTEF (Norway), with contributions from project partners and external stakeholders involved in research, evaluation and practical implementation.

Participating organisations include SINTEF, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Tartu, Save the Children Italia, Sciences Réunion, AGORAH, the Netherlands Red Cross and several European emergency management and research organisations.

During the final project phase, the development team also collaborated with Focus Games Ltd to prepare a professionally produced physical edition.

Initial game development and evaluation, 2025

The scientific paper by Branlat and Floch (2026) describes three main iterations of the game.

1. First iteration – Netherlands

• Scenario: Flood-related emergency.
• Participants: Eight professionals.
• Organisation: Four teams.
• Duration: Approximately two hours.
• Educational format: Initial tabletop exercise with limited gamification.

The first prototype focused on exploring the relevance of the conceptual model and gathering feedback.

Participants reported useful discussion and engagement with the topic, but several improvements were recommended.

These included introducing clearer game mechanics, simplifying the scenario, reducing dependence on the full SAVIT Catalogue and improving methods for recording decisions.

2. Second iteration – Malta

• Scenario: Earthquake-related emergency.
• Participants: Fourteen professionals.
• Organisation: Four teams.
• Duration: Approximately three hours.
• Educational format: Revised tabletop game with board, cards and friendly competition.

The second prototype introduced additional game mechanics and materials, improving the structure of the activity.

Participants engaged actively in discussing potential solutions and their applicability to the local context.

The evaluation identified improvements in the specificity of discussions and the information collected during gameplay.

However, the session also revealed difficulties associated with time management, the complexity of recording information and the need to simplify particular game materials.

3. Third iteration – La Réunion, France

• Scenario: Cyclone-related emergency.
• Participants: Eleven professionals and stakeholders.
• Organisation: Four teams.
• Duration: Approximately two hours.
• Educational format: Revised game with improved player boards and French-language materials.

The third prototype incorporated simplified procedures, improved supporting documentation and further adaptations to the local context.

Participants reported that the game encouraged meaningful discussion and helped them explore possible approaches to integrating spontaneous volunteers.

The evaluation also highlighted the importance of facilitation, accessibility of terminology and better integration of data collection into the flow of gameplay.

Additional implementation in Estonia

The scientific publication reports that the third iteration was subsequently used in two events in Estonia.

One involved students, while the other involved civil protection organisations.

The game was adapted with locally relevant scenarios and further changes to support the collection of evaluation information.

Implementation and validation during 2026

The project continued using and refining SAVIT through additional international validation activities.

La Réunion – 12 June 2026

A SAVIT validation session was organised in L’Entre-Deux, Réunion Island, using a cyclone scenario adapted to the municipality’s geographical and institutional characteristics.

The simulated situation included a major power outage, neighbourhoods isolated by landslides and limited emergency shelter capacity.

The event involved fourteen participants, organised into four multidisciplinary teams.

The participants represented public authorities, national government services, civil society organisations, volunteer networks, support services and the education sector.

The activity was facilitated by Sciences Réunion and AGORAH using guidance developed by SINTEF.

Participants examined three stages of the emergency: before, during and after the crisis.

In each round, teams identified relevant actors, critical functions and appropriate solutions before presenting their recommendations and voting.

The evaluation included direct observation, structured feedback and a questionnaire.

Quantitative validation results

Twelve respondents completed the game-specific validation questionnaire.

Selected average scores on a five-point scale were:

• Recommendation to colleagues: 4.75/5.
• Perceived added value over existing practices: 4.73/5.
• Willingness to invest organisational resources: 4.50/5.
• Perceived usefulness for organisational needs: 4.17/5.
• Ease of use: 4.33/5.
• Potential autonomous use by colleagues: 3.58/5.
• Adaptability to other hazards: 4.58/5.

These results indicate favourable perceptions of the game’s usefulness, adaptability and potential for professional training.

However, the lower score for autonomous use suggests that trained facilitation remains important.

Rotterdam – 17 June 2026

A further validation workshop took place in Rotterdam with 22 participants representing public authorities, emergency management professionals and the Netherlands Red Cross.

The game was used to examine informal and spontaneous volunteering in disaster management, particularly in relation to flood-related risks and urban resilience.

Participants considered the game an accessible and engaging tool for supporting discussion across agencies.

Nevertheless, they recommended expert facilitation, simplified materials and better integration of the SAVIT Catalogue into the wider learning process.

Final dissemination – November 2026

The completed physical game was presented at the European Civil Protection Forum in Brussels on 3–4 November 2026.

The consortium demonstrated the boxed game and its printed cards through interactive activities addressing volunteer management.

The development partners also announced a dedicated website offering access to the physical game and a free print-and-play version.

Evaluation methodology

The research combined several data collection methods:

• Observation of player interactions and group discussions.
• Documentation of selected game cards and completed player boards.
• Recording of proposed solutions and implementation considerations.
• Structured debriefing with participants.
• Qualitative feedback concerning the game experience.
• Standardised questionnaires addressing usefulness, usability, transferability, compatibility and potential adoption.

Scientific findings

The peer-reviewed conference paper published in 2026 identified several positive outcomes of the design and evaluation process.

• Participants actively engaged in discussing realistic challenges related to spontaneous volunteering.
• The game helped identify context-specific approaches and possible solutions.
• Multidisciplinary interaction encouraged awareness of the perspectives and needs of different organisations.
• The scenario-based format supported discussion that was richer than passive consultation of a solution catalogue alone.
• The iterative design process improved game materials, accessibility and the quality of information collected.
• Structured reflection contributed to identifying possible applications in professional practice.

Limitations of the evidence

• Limited initial samples: The three principal development workshops involved eight, fourteen and eleven participants, respectively.
• Small validation samples: The detailed June 2026 evaluation in La Réunion included twelve game-specific questionnaire responses.
• Self-reported evaluation: The quantitative results primarily reflect perceived usefulness, usability and transferability.
• No objective pretest-posttest comparison: Independently measured improvements in disaster management knowledge or coordination skills have not been established.
• No controlled evaluation: The available documentation does not compare SAVIT with an equivalent non-game educational intervention.
• Context dependence: Different scenarios and participant characteristics limit direct comparison across workshops.
• Facilitation effects: Differences in facilitation may influence the quality of discussion and outcomes.
• Real-world transfer: No independent evidence has established that playing SAVIT improves actual disaster response performance.
• Long-term impact: Sustained organisational adoption and changes in professional behaviour have not been systematically demonstrated.

Overall evaluation status

SYNERGIES provides strong evidence of the development, implementation, refinement and professional validation of an original physical serious game.

The scientific publication and evaluation reports support conclusions concerning participant engagement, perceived usefulness and the identification of potential organisational solutions.

However, they do not establish causal improvements in professional competences or actual emergency response performance.

SYNERGIES developed a collection of educational, methodological and operational resources supporting disaster preparedness, societal resilience and the integration of spontaneous volunteers into emergency management.

The principal Board Game-Based Learning resource is the SAVIT Tabletop Game, complemented by a solution catalogue, research publications and detailed validation reports.

1. SAVIT Tabletop Game – Official Game Website

SAVIT is an original physical serious game designed for multidisciplinary professional learning about spontaneous volunteer integration in disaster management.

The game uses realistic disaster scenarios, physical boards, solution cards, collective decision-making and structured reflection.

In November 2026, the project team and its game production partner announced the launch of a dedicated SAVIT website.

The website was presented as providing access to:

• A professionally produced boxed physical game.
• A free print-and-play version.
• Supporting educational resources.
• Information for organisations interested in implementing the game.

SAVIT Game – Official Game Website

Availability: The free printable edition and boxed game have been publicly announced. However, the dedicated website could not be independently accessed during this review, so the actual download links, complete file contents and applicable licensing conditions remain to be verified.

2. SAVIT Tabletop Game – Scientific Publication

Branlat, M., & Floch, J. (2026). SAVIT Tabletop Game: A Serious Game to Support the Integration of Spontaneous Volunteers in Disaster Risk Management. Proceedings of the International ISCRAM Conference, 23.

This open-access publication provides the most detailed independently accessible description of the game’s design and methodology.

The article documents:

• The educational objectives and underlying conceptual model.
• The Design Science Research approach used during development.
• Game boards, Solution Cards and scenario materials.
• Game rounds, team collaboration and voting.
• Three principal development iterations.
• Feedback from international professional workshops.
• Recommendations for facilitation, accessibility and further refinement.
• The role of the game as both an educational resource and a participatory research method.

SAVIT Tabletop Game – ISCRAM 2026 Scientific Publication

SAVIT Tabletop Game – Full Scientific Paper (PDF)

3. SAVIT Catalogue – Spontaneous Volunteer Integration Solutions

SAVIT Catalogue is a complementary knowledge resource developed by the SYNERGIES consortium.

It contains approaches and solutions for integrating spontaneous volunteers into disaster preparedness, response and recovery activities.

Solutions are organised according to their characteristics and their relevance to five functions:

• Creating conditions for volunteer integration.
• Communicating and sharing information.
• Onboarding informal help.
• Coordinating and managing informal help.
• Following up on volunteer involvement.

The catalogue supports the educational game by providing additional information about possible responses to the challenges encountered in the simulated disaster.

However, the project’s evaluations suggest that consulting the full catalogue during timed game sessions can interrupt gameplay. The physical Solution Cards therefore provide a more accessible selection of essential information.

Disaster Risk Stakeholder Hub – SYNERGIES Resources and SAVIT Catalogue

4. SYNERGIES Malta Evaluation Workshop Report

The public report documents the evaluation workshop conducted on 17–18 June 2025.

It includes information about the scenario, tabletop activity, participant feedback, evaluation criteria and design improvements.

The report provides useful evidence concerning the development of the second version of the game.

SYNERGIES – Malta Evaluation Workshop Report (PDF)

5. SYNERGIES La Réunion Validation Workshop Report

The public report describes the validation activities conducted in La Réunion during 2026, including the dedicated SAVIT game session on 12 June.

It provides:

• A description of the locally adapted cyclone scenario.
• Information about the participant groups and facilitation.
• The educational activities carried out during gameplay.
• Quantitative validation results.
• Qualitative observations and participant feedback.
• Recommendations concerning accessibility, localisation and future implementation.

SYNERGIES – La Réunion Validation Workshop Report (PDF)

6. SYNERGIES Rotterdam Validation Workshop Report

The report documents the validation event held on 17 June 2026 in Rotterdam.

The event involved public authorities, disaster management professionals and representatives of the Netherlands Red Cross.

It provides additional evidence regarding SAVIT’s use for discussing cooperation between formal emergency organisations and spontaneous volunteers.

SYNERGIES – Rotterdam Validation Workshop Report (PDF)

7. SYNERGIES D4.1 – Spontaneous Volunteers in Disaster Management

This project deliverable documents the research basis for understanding the opportunities, barriers and organisational requirements associated with spontaneous volunteering.

The findings inform the conceptual model and solution catalogue used during SAVIT gameplay.

SYNERGIES – Public Deliverables, Including D4.1

8. Serious Games for Professional Preparedness – Webinar

In April 2026, SYNERGIES collaborated with the Horizon Europe B-PREPARED project to organise a webinar on serious games for disaster preparedness.

The session presented SAVIT as a tool for exploring governance, decision-making and the coordination of spontaneous volunteers.

The webinar also provided an opportunity to compare physical tabletop simulation with virtual reality-based educational approaches.

Serious Games: Awareness, Reflection and Training Mechanisms for Professionals

9. SYNERGIES Training and Preparedness Resources

The consortium developed complementary tools supporting preparedness education, professional training and community resilience.

These include:

• PrepCap – Preparedness Capacity Development System.
• ATLAS of Empowerment.
• Knowledge Base for Innovative Channels and Communication.
• Tool for Early Warning Messaging.
• Training modules and preparedness educational materials.
• SAVIT Catalogue and SAVIT Tabletop Game.

These resources can complement the tabletop game by providing additional theoretical, technical and organisational context.

SYNERGIES – Official Resources Repository

Resource accessibility and licensing

The project website, scientific publication and public evaluation reports remain accessible.

The physical game has also been presented in a professionally produced boxed edition, and the partners have announced a free print-and-play version.

However, independent access to the newly launched game-specific website and its downloadable files could not be confirmed during this review.

The exact licence governing reproduction, modification and redistribution of the complete game has not been independently verified.

Replicability

The scientific article and evaluation reports provide substantial information about the game’s educational design and implementation.

Complete independent replication requires access to the final physical or printable materials, game instructions and scenario preparation guidance.

The ability to adapt the game to different disaster scenarios is a methodological advantage, but successful implementation also requires experienced facilitation and appropriate local contextualisation.

SYNERGIES is a particularly relevant case for the European Board Game-Based Learning Observatory because it developed an original physical serious game that combines professional learning, interdisciplinary cooperation and participatory research.

The SAVIT Tabletop Game provides a structured environment in which disaster management stakeholders explore possible approaches to integrating spontaneous volunteers into preparedness, response and recovery activities.

Its main methodological contribution lies in transforming research-based knowledge about volunteer integration into practical decisions, team discussions and context-specific recommendations.

Methodological strengths

1. Substantial BGBL integration: SAVIT constitutes a clearly identifiable and implemented educational board-game output within the wider SYNERGIES project.
2. Research-informed design: The game is based on a conceptual model of spontaneous volunteer integration and a catalogue of documented solutions.
3. Direct alignment between mechanics and objectives: Players must identify needs, evaluate options, collaborate and defend solutions, corresponding to the professional activities the game seeks to support.
4. Realistic scenario progression: Disaster situations evolve through successive stages, requiring participants to reconsider priorities and potential interventions.
5. Multidisciplinary collaboration: Teams bring together participants with different professional responsibilities, experiences and institutional perspectives.
6. Authentic professional participation: Players generally contribute from their actual professional backgrounds rather than assuming artificial fictional identities.
7. Solution-based learning: The cards represent possible interventions derived from documented practices, moving beyond factual questions or simple knowledge recall.
8. Argumentation and collective evaluation: Team presentations and voting require participants to explain and compare alternative solutions.
9. Collaboration and light competition: The game introduces competition between teams without making competitive scoring the principal educational objective.
10. Scenario adaptability: The same educational structure has been used with flood, earthquake and cyclone scenarios.
11. Explicit debriefing: The methodology includes structured reflection on professional implications and possible future applications.
12. Iterative development: Three principal design iterations and additional validation workshops generated documented improvements to materials and procedures.
13. Scientific transparency: The project published a dedicated research paper explaining the development process, game mechanics and evaluation findings.
14. Dual educational and research function: The game supports professional learning while generating information about stakeholder perceptions and possible solutions.
15. Documented professional validation: Evaluation reports provide quantitative and qualitative evidence concerning perceived usefulness, usability and transferability.

Methodological limitations and considerations

1. High facilitation requirements: Successful implementation depends on facilitators capable of explaining specialist concepts, coordinating multidisciplinary discussion and managing reflection.
2. Limited independent learning assessment: The available evidence primarily addresses perceived usefulness, engagement and potential adoption rather than objectively measured professional competence.
3. No demonstrated causal effectiveness: The evaluation does not establish that gameplay improves actual emergency preparedness or response performance.
4. Limited initial samples: Development workshops involved relatively small groups of participants.
5. Contextual variation: Differences in local scenarios, professional backgrounds and institutional systems limit direct comparisons between implementations.
6. Complex terminology: Some participants reported difficulties understanding the conceptual model, volunteer integration functions and specialist vocabulary.
7. Cognitive demands: Analysing scenarios, comparing solutions and completing recording materials may place substantial demands on participants.
8. Time constraints: Some workshops required shortening debriefing or reporting activities because of the amount of content to be covered.
9. Dependence on supporting resources: The full SAVIT Catalogue provides valuable information but may interrupt gameplay if consulted excessively.
10. Data collection burden: Recording decisions and discussion outcomes was not always consistent across teams, requiring improvements to observation and documentation procedures.
11. Local adaptation requirements: Scenarios and solutions must be adapted to relevant institutions, operational capacities and legal frameworks.
12. Resource verification: Although a boxed edition and printable release have been announced, the final downloadable materials and licence have not been independently inspected.

Connection with modern Board Game-Based Learning

SAVIT belongs to the category of custom-designed educational tabletop games rather than the adaptation of existing commercial board games.

However, its development provides a particularly useful example of the relationship between a structured professional exercise and a fully developed serious game.

The first version of SAVIT was closer to a conventional tabletop emergency exercise, with limited gamification and an emphasis on discussing professional challenges.

Subsequent versions incorporated more explicit game components, including boards, cards, team interaction and collective voting.

These additions were intended to improve engagement, structure the decision-making process and support the exploration of alternative approaches.

This evolution illustrates that the educational value of a serious game does not necessarily derive from complexity, randomness or numerical competition.

In SAVIT, the principal learning mechanisms involve the analysis of situations, the selection of solutions and the exchange of professional perspectives.

The game components provide a structure for these activities, helping transform what might otherwise be an unstructured discussion into an interactive educational experience.

Learning through decisions rather than factual questions

Unlike educational board games that primarily reward correct answers to knowledge questions, SAVIT requires participants to consider the suitability of different interventions within a simulated emergency.

The solution cards present possible responses, but the educational challenge lies in deciding when and how those approaches could be applied.

This creates a closer relationship between gameplay and professional reasoning.

However, the fact that teams select and defend solutions does not automatically demonstrate that their decisions would be effective in real emergencies.

Practical effectiveness depends on additional factors, including institutional authority, legal responsibilities, available resources and operational conditions that cannot be fully reproduced in the game.

The role of facilitation

The project’s findings highlight the importance of facilitation as an integral element of the learning experience.

Facilitators help participants interpret the scenario, understand the available options, articulate different perspectives and connect decisions with their professional environments.

Consequently, the educational intervention should be understood as a combination of game design, participant interaction and structured facilitation.

From a methodological perspective, this also means that future evaluations should document facilitator preparation and procedures, as these variables may influence learning outcomes.

Board games as research instruments

A distinctive contribution of SAVIT is its use as a participatory research method.

The game generates information through participant discussions, selected solutions, completed player boards and structured observations.

These data can reveal differences between professional perspectives, identify weaknesses in existing conceptual models and suggest new solutions.

The researchers distinguish three complementary purposes:

• Conceptual: Translating research findings into a more accessible representation of spontaneous volunteering challenges.
• Pragmatic: Supporting professional learning and the identification of practical organisational improvements.
• Epistemic: Generating additional knowledge through stakeholder interaction, observations and discussion.

This combination is particularly relevant for future research exploring how board games can function simultaneously as learning environments and structured methods for collecting qualitative information.

Comparison with other European BGBL initiatives

SAVIT shares certain methodological characteristics with urbEN, developed within LOTUS, and HEATopoly, developed within R-ACES.

All three use physical tabletop activities to explore complex situations involving several organisations and potentially conflicting priorities.

However, their game structures differ.

urbEN and HEATopoly use stakeholder simulation, negotiation and decisions within territorial energy systems.

SAVIT relies primarily on collaborative professional analysis, selection of documented solutions and collective evaluation of proposals.

It also differs by encouraging participants to contribute from their real professional roles rather than assuming fictional stakeholder identities.

These differences offer opportunities to compare simulation-based learning, negotiation-based learning and solution-oriented collaborative reasoning within professional tabletop activities.

Implications for future BGBL research

• Use conceptual models and research evidence to inform game development.
• Integrate learning objectives into the decisions and interactions required during gameplay.
• Use physical cards and boards to organise complex information and support collaborative reasoning.
• Consider the educational benefits of involving participants from different professional backgrounds.
• Distinguish fictional role-playing from activities in which participants contribute their actual professional perspectives.
• Balance the amount of information presented with participants’ ability to process it during gameplay.
• Introduce competition only when it serves the intended educational interactions.
• Integrate observation and data recording into game procedures without excessively interrupting participation.
• Provide structured facilitation and post-game reflection.
• Document how game mechanics evolve in response to testing.
• Evaluate professional knowledge and decision-making using objective measures alongside participant perceptions.
• Investigate whether lessons identified during gameplay are subsequently incorporated into organisational practices.
• Develop complete and reusable game packages with clear instructions, scenario adaptation guidance and licensing information.

Overall assessment

SYNERGIES provides a strong example of research-informed educational tabletop game development for professional disaster preparedness.

Its principal strengths are the integration of real-world research into the game mechanics, multidisciplinary collaboration, scenario-based decision-making, structured reflection and transparent documentation of iterative testing.

The project also provides valuable empirical information about perceived usefulness, usability and potential transferability across different disaster management contexts.

However, objectively measured learning gains and improvements in actual emergency response performance remain insufficiently established.

For the European BGBL Observatory, SAVIT is particularly relevant as a case study of collaborative professional learning, the relationship between tabletop exercises and serious games, and the use of physical games as participatory research instruments.