INGSA Case Studies

One of INGSA’s core activities is to assist with the development or strengthening of advisory systems through capacity-building workshops.

INGSA is constantly developing a range of case study options. These broadly fall into a range of styles:

• Fictional cases – These use imaginary scenarios to illuminate some of the complexity of the issues faced at the science/policy nexus. These are generally thematic and will focus on a specific issue, so search through the list to find something that resonates with your local context or aims.
• Sufficiency of Evidence Cases – These prioritise the question of how decision-making changes as the evidence at hand changes. These are excellent at underscoring the pressures faced by policy-makers in making decisions on limited information, and the issues facing evidence-producers to offer advice that is timely, appropriate and aware of its own limitations.
• Simulation Games – These are gamified case studies that encourage participants to take on character roles with motivations and aims. Great for longer workshops to explore the complexities of mixing evidence, policy, society and personalities in decision-making.
• Historic cases – These dissect real world issues and aim to providing a deeper understanding of issues that people might already be aware of.

All of these case-studies are available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence. We encourage everyone to use and adapt these resources as necessary. If you are using any of our case studies, it is very helpful and appreciated if you send us an email to info@ingsa.org to let us know. This assists us in understanding INGSA’s impact and the value of the resources we provide.

We are continually building our case study library and welcome your ideas and support in developing new cases. Please send your submissions to info@ingsa.org

Fictional Cases

All of these cases cut across a range of major issues such as technology, health and diplomacy. We have tried to group these according to their primary theme, but be aware that appropriate cases for your need might be listed under other themes.

Society

	English	Español	Français	Português
NEW Saraterra – Cybersecurity in the age of the quantum computer			Download
Resourcia – Immigration, Labour and Social Cohesion in a resource town	Download
Republic of Estrela – Internal Displacement, Climate Change and Planning	Download
Midgaze – Armed rebellion and social reintegration of ex-combatants	Download		Download
Kassemble – Integrating traditional techniques in education to fight unemployment and poverty	Download		Download
Njagala – Youth and Social Media	Download
Rawhitia – Healing psychological trauma after civil war through education	Download
Terremotia – Folk knowledge and the understanding of risk	Download	Download
Orangeria – Mobilising social science expertise to reduce crime	Download	Download		Download
Ileojogbon – Legislating homosexuality	Download
Mulikamee – Fighting unemployment, emigration and radicalization	Download		Download

Technology

	English	Español	Français	Português
NEW Innovandia – smart city networks and AI for solving societal problems	Download
Gonswana – Food insecurity and new technologies	Download		Download
Tangeria – Gene-editing and climate response	Download	Download		Download
Carboneria – Competing technology-based economic proposals with multiple stakeholders	Download

Public Health

	English	Español	Français	Português
NEW Freudania – Youth Mental Health	Download
NEW Amplesia – Childhood obesity: science, economics and local knowledge – Asia variant	Download
Islandia – Childhood obesity: science, economics and local knowledge – Pacific Island variant	Download			Download
Afristan – Health, Nutrition and Public Policy	Download
Swamperia – Future technology in the fight against malaria	Download	Download
Nicoteria – e-Cigarettes as a public health strategy	Download
Panderia – Pandemics, panics and international borders	Download	Download	Download

Environment

	English	Español	Français	Português
NEW Pulpinea – Trade-offs: the biodiversity vs the economy	Download
NEW Coralesia – Biodiversity, Sustainability & Indigenous	Download
Rhodécar – Creating jobs by valuing waste	Download		Download
Abron – Future marine resources in a post-oil economy	Download
Doumbelane – Mobilisation of water and land resources for food security	Download	Download	Download
Jibaji – Construction of a dam and governance of water resources	Download	Download	Download
Alterra – Air quality and energy	Download			Download

Sufficiency of Evidence Cases

These cases comprise of various stages, over which the scenario evolves and changes. As such, participants are given sections of the case study at different points in the workshop. Discussion takes place after each section is handed out. It is recommended NOT to let participants see the case study in advance.

	English	Español	Français
NEW Vascovy – Emergency Response – Risk and uncertainty in a digital age	Download
Ostal – Waste, Land Use and Technological Development – SoE case	Download
Panderia – When Pandemic turns to Panic – SoE case	Download

Gamified Simulation Games

IMPORTANT: These simulation case studies are made up of several files, so make sure you download all the files for each case study.

	English
NEW INGSA-GESDA Quantum Technology World Build Simulation Game – Governance of Revolutionary Technology	File 1 – Background File 2 – Facilitation Guide File 3 – W/S Resources

Historic Cases

	English	Español	Français
Shale Gas/Fracking – In Pursuit of Solid Ground: Understanding the evidence on shale gas extraction in Canada Case Study by: The Council of Canadian Academies.	Download
HIV/AIDS – Duesberg, Mbeki and AZT: When contentious science meets contentious politics.	Download
Glyphosate – Regulating glyphosates amidst health, economic, and public concerns about Genetic Modification	Download
Fukushima – What can be learned about regulation, planning, and communication in an unfolding emergency?	Download
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – Transferable model or cautionary tale?	Download	Download