Speaker

Presentation Info

Title

Designing Collaboration: Facilitating Games and Gamification in Healthcare through the GiG Formats

Summary

The presentation introduces the conceptual foundation and facilitation design behind GiG – Games & Gamification in Healthcare, a cross-sectoral initiative by MFG Baden-Württemberg developed in collaboration with BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg. As the initiative’s facilitator and format designer, the focus of this contribution lies in how participatory structures such as GiG xTalks and GiG xLabs are conceived and implemented to foster collaborative innovation between creative industries and the healthcare sector. GiG aims to bridge two expert cultures — the evidence-driven world of healthcare and the creativity-driven world of games — by providing structured yet playful environments for exchange and experimentation. The initiative does not primarily seek immediate large-scale impact but instead cultivates process quality: meaningful dialogue, interdisciplinary understanding, and the translation of diverse expertise into concrete ideas. The GiG xTalks serve as a curated knowledge and encounter space. They are designed as interactive sessions that bring together game designers, healthcare professionals, and researchers to explore new perspectives on motivation, learning, and emotional engagement in health contexts. Rather than conventional lectures, the talks work as facilitated conversations guided by principles of game thinking, allowing participants to share insights while identifying shared challenges and opportunities for collaboration. The GiG xLab, by contrast, is a more immersive and tangible format. It constitutes a two-day innovation lab where interdisciplinary teams address real-world cases from healthcare organizations, research institutes, or digital health startups. In its 2025 edition under the theme “Mental Health and Prevention,” five diverse challenges — from VR-supported therapy to digital tools for dementia or screen-time management — were collaboratively explored at the CUBEX ONE innovation hub in Mannheim. The xLab method integrates design sprints with game design principles: defining motivation types, translating complex problems into playable systems, and visualizing behavioral mechanics to evoke empathy and insight. The facilitation design focuses on creating psychological safety and structured creativity. Participants are guided through stages of discovery, ideation, and prototype sketching, supported by mentors from both games and health sectors. Each team includes a balanced mix of perspectives — healthcare providers, scientists, developers, UX designers, and end-user advocates — ensuring that co-created concepts are relevant, feasible, and emotionally resonant. The format also includes reflection routines and peer feedback, turning the lab itself into a learning experience about interdisciplinary collaboration. Beyond individual outputs, GiG formats act as enabling ecosystems that prepare ideas for further development, funding, and real-world testing. They exemplify how creative facilitation and game-inspired design methods can systematically nurture innovation capacity in sectors traditionally governed by regulation and evidence-based practice. In this session, the presentation will walk participants through the design logic, facilitation techniques, and learnings from implementing GiG xTalks and GiG xLabs. It will invite discussion on how playful structures can serve as reliable frameworks for knowledge exchange and innovation in healthcare — moving beyond hype toward productive collaboration and sustainable momentum. This aligns with the Games for Health Europe 2026 theme “Beyond the Hype” by exploring the how rather than the what: how to structure and guide interdisciplinary work that makes the potential of games in healthcare both tangible and transferable.

Keynote

Presentation

GFHEU Year

2026