Exploring the Potential Impact of Serious Games on Social Learning and Stakeholder Collaborations for Transboundary Watershed Management of the St. Lawrence River Basin

This study examines whether serious games, which combine computer simulation with role-play, can strengthen social learning and stakeholder collaboration in transboundary water governance of the St. Lawrence River Basin, a system spanning two countries, multiple Canadian provinces, and numerous local jurisdictions. Its central premise is that social learning, defined as a socially driven change in understanding, is currently occurring only in isolated cases rather than as a routine governance practice, and that serious games can help by bringing diverse stakeholders together on more equal footing. The work is framed as a preliminary first phase of a three-year project and draws on interviews conducted in 2014 with ten regional water resource managers and watershed stakeholders.

The empirical findings point to a consistent set of obstacles. Jurisdictional fragmentation and inconsistent policies, such as the American eel being listed as endangered in Ontario but not in Québec, figure prominently, alongside limited political will, constrained time and funding, high staff turnover, the loss of experienced personnel to retirement, and language barriers. Communication is judged adequate at the federal level but weak between provincial and state agencies, which often operate in silos even where shared Great Lakes Agreement goals apply. Decision-making is widely described as top-down, dominated by governments and large actors such as hydropower companies, with limited meaningful participation from the public, local communities, and First Nations, and with low public trust in government. Power imbalances compound these problems.

The authors conclude that social learning and transboundary collaboration fall well short of their potential, with Lake Champlain cited as a notable positive exception warranting further case-study analysis. Their proposed remedies include a unified framework, a dedicated transboundary working group, and sustained long-term commitment. Serious games are positioned as a promising bottom-up tool for building capacity, trust, and cross-level understanding, although the review of existing water-sector games such as CauxOperation, Shariva, the UVa Bay Game, and AquaRepublica indicates that their effectiveness depends heavily on facilitation, pre-game training, and post-game discussion.