Challenges to the alcohol and drugs agenda in Glasgow: The Glasgow Game

This report describes the outcomes of an event at which the “Glasgow Game” was used to explore how Glasgow can address the key challenges around drugs and alcohol.

A group of 32 individuals from a variety of backgrounds - the third sector, public health, services, strategy and research - explored how to effectively address the key challenges around alcohol and drugs in Glasgow through the “Glasgow Game”. The “Glasgow Game” is based on the World Game, developed by the International Futures Forum, and is an interactive way for a group to engage in a conversation about the important issues facing Glasgow.

Using data describing the city and its people from the Understanding Glasgow website, participants explored current trends in the city, identified possible shocks to the system (e.g. a recession, welfare reform) and what the key concerns arising from these shocks would be. Making links across 12 topics, which included health, housing, transport, employment, mindset and more, participants developed a declaration relating to each topic about how to address alcohol and drugs challenges in the city.  As a result, ‘the game’ provided 12 key recommendations to policy-makers about how to ensure the city can meet the upcoming challenges.