Data-driven asset management through gamification and learning in Swedish water utilities (VA-SPEL)

This project aims to gamify data-driven asset management approaches within Swedish water utilities by co-developing a serious game with municipalities.

The serious game will aim to enhance the understanding and application of data-driven strategies by simulating real-world challenges like aging infrastructure, maintenance deficits, and climate change.

It will provide a safe environment for utilities to engage with research-based tools and frameworks, fostering proactive decision-making.The project will use interactive workshops to facilitate collaboration and hands-on learning, with the serious game serving as the key tool for sharing research findings and demonstrating practical applications.

A massive open online course (MOOC) will also be developed based on the serious game to broaden knowledge dissemination.The target group includes staff at strategic, tactical, and operational levels in water utilities responsible for water, sewer, and stormwater networks.

By improving the understanding of data-driven tools and promoting efficient decision-making, the project aims to increase the uptake of data-driven approaches.

These improvements will contribute to stronger infrastructure resilience, better responses to challenges, reduced impact from skill/ expertise gap, and more effective maintenance and resource management in water utilities. Participants will engage with tools such as predictive maintenance models and AI-based risk assessment frameworks.