Leading group experiences with the En-ROADS simulator is a rewarding way to engage people around climate change solutions (both in-person and online). We encourage everyone interested in facilitating an En-ROADS event – such as the En-ROADS Climate Workshop or Climate Action Simulation game – to explore our training plan in order to improve your ability to lead events and enhance your knowledge of the model, game, workshop, and other relevant topics.
Although anyone is welcome to run the game and workshop, our En-ROADS Climate Ambassadors represent a distinct cohort of volunteers who are committed to mastering our tools and spreading data-driven climate insights across the globe. Becoming an En-ROADS Climate Ambassador takes significant preparation, and we only encourage applications from individuals who have worked through this entire training plan. You can learn more about the program here.
As either a facilitator or an En-ROADS Climate Ambassador, we are happy to support your learning on the En-ROADS simulator and facilitation techniques. There are many others around the world, like you, taking these steps too – welcome to the community!
Need additional help along the way? Visit our Climate Interactive Support Desk to explore FAQs or ask our team a question. Also, be sure to check out our online forum to…
• Connect with other facilitators in your region or sector
• Ask for facilitation advice and model clarifications
• Offer personal insights and experiences
Join our Training Webinars
Watch our 8-part webinar training series which covers how to skillfully run the game or workshop, how the simulator behaves, and more. You can participate in our training series in one of three ways (all are free!):
1) watching the recordings on your own and following the rest of these steps;
2) signing up for our guided email training course; or
3) participating in the live training series when it is offered. We concluded our last live version of the series in July 2020 – you can check our webinars and events page for updates on when we are running the next live trainings.
Read the Guides & Explore Materials
Read through the En-ROADS user guide to improve your understanding of the model’s dynamics, and then begin exploring the simulator itself. After this, learn how to lead the workshop or game with the facilitator guides which walk you through key concepts — from preparation and room setup, to sample scripts and debrief techniques.
Workshop Materials
Game Materials
Additional suggested readings can be found below.
See Other Facilitators In Action
It can be helpful to learn facilitation approaches and simulator dynamics by watching others, either in-person or via recordings from previous sessions. We encourage you to explore our video resources to watch previous demonstrations of our events. In addition to this, you can also see if any of our current En-ROADS Climate Ambassadors live in your area and try to connect with them about attending any public events they might be running.
The En-ROADS Climate Workshop at COP 25
The Climate Interactive team presents a version of the En-ROADS Climate Workshop in Madrid, Spain.
The Climate Action Simulation
Watch an early pilot version of the game we ran in Asheville, North Carolina, USA
Explore more En-ROADS videos
Practice and Get Feedback
Before becoming an En-ROADS Climate Ambassador, you should lead at least two En-ROADS events – either the game or workshop – for groups of any size. While doing this collect feedback from at least five people in your audience regarding your performance as a facilitator so you can improve.
Both the Climate Action Simulation game and the En-ROADS Climate Workshop can be facilitated in-person or using an online platform. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our resources for online engagement if you are interested in running a virtual event to engage remote or online audiences.
You can use our feedback form or other means to collect responses. We don’t collect the feedback from you, but expect you to read it and consider how you can take it into account moving forward. Listening to feedback is a critical element in becoming a talented facilitator and ambassador. Also, don’t forget to register all your En-ROADS events!
Download the Feedback Form
Complete the En-ROADS Practice Test
Take a practice test to assess your current knowledge of the En-ROADS interface and the system dynamics which dictate the model’s behavior. This assessment is intended to be a learning tool; its purpose is to highlight which principles are essential for understanding the model, so that you will be well-equipped to explain En-ROADS. Your performance on this test will not be recorded.
Take the test
Submit Your Application
When you have completed all the steps, you are ready to submit your application for becoming an En-ROADS Climate Ambassador. Once we have reviewed your application and confirmed your participation, we will be in touch via email with your En-ROADS Climate Ambassador certificate!
Have any questions holding you back from applying? Be sure to visit the Climate Interactive Support Desk and our team will assist you.
Submit your application
Additional Readings
Check out these resources to improve your understanding on systems thinking, climate science, and other topics to complement your facilitation training.
Systems Thinking and Climate Action
• The Climate Leader course — our series of videos about applying systems thinking to climate action
• “Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System” by Donella Meadows – an essay on the areas of a system where there is the most impact.
• “The Power of Multisolving for People and Climate” — TEDx talk by Dr. Elizabeth Sawin
Climate Change Science
• IPCC AR5 Summary — a condensed, over-arching summary of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) for Policymakers
• IPCC Special Report — a summary for Policymakers on the impacts associated specifically with global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels
• Executive Summary of the US National Climate Assessment (for US audiences) — an in-depth report on the present and future impacts of climate change in the United States
• Climate Interactive’s Climate Scoreboard — shows the progress that the national plans submitted to the UN climate negotiations will make in mitigating climate change
• Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) — a general background on carbon capture and sequestration technologies
• Carbon Removal — a general background on carbon removal technologies
Climate Change Communication
• Yale’s Program on Climate Change Communication — explore their research to better understand how climate communication relates to attitude and behavioral changes
• Skeptical Science’s “cheat sheet” — how to talk to climate deniers and combat climate change myths
Read Our Published Papers on World Climate
• WORLD CLIMATE: A Role-Play Simulation of Climate Negotiations — a published view on our role-playing, climate negotiations game, the World Climate Simulation
• Combining role-play with interactive simulation to motivate informed climate action: Evidence from the World Climate simulation — a publication exploring our approach of using gaming to encourage participants to learn for themselves and motivate climate action
• Climate Interactive: the C-ROADS Climate Policy Model — an overview providing insights on C-ROADS model structure
More on Systems Thinking
• Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows — a book which dives deep on the grounding principles and applications of systems-thinking, and demonstrates how you can use these skills to problem solve in many different contexts
• The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter Senge — through this book, learn essential theories of systems-thinking dynamics and group problem solving in the context of organizational improvement