Tabletop exercises and simulations
Tabletop exercise design and facilitation.
Designed, facilitated and evaluated, with lessons tracked to action.
Wisdom Learning designs, facilitates and evaluates tabletop exercises, scenario exercises and simulations for government agencies, emergency services and regulated organisations, and turns what they reveal into lessons you can act on.
What is a tabletop exercise?
A tabletop exercise is a facilitated, discussion-based session in which a team works through a realistic scenario and talks through the decisions and actions they would take. It tests whether a plan works as written, how people and teams coordinate, and where the gaps are, at low cost and low risk.
A simulation goes further: participants perform their roles using real tools, templates or systems, under time pressure, as the scenario unfolds.
- Has your plan been tested since it was last updated?
- Do teams and agencies know who decides what, and when?
- Will the right information reach the right people in time?
- Can people use new powers or procedures lawfully under pressure?
- What happens when the scenario does not follow the plan?
- Can you show your board or regulator that plans have been tested?
Exercises we design and run.
Every exercise is built around your plans, risks and arrangements, from a one-hour discussion to a multi-agency scenario, face to face or online.
Emergency management exercises
Fire, flood, storm and recovery scenarios
- Incident management and command teams
- Multi-agency coordination and handovers
- Public information and warnings
- Recovery and community scenarios
- Delivered with our partner C2 Operations
Insider threat scenario exercises
When a concern is raised
- Security, HR, IT and legal working together
- Assessing and escalating a concern
- Procedural fairness and records
- Testing reporting pathways
- Part of our insider threat capability
Operational resilience exercises
Severe but plausible disruption
- Critical operations and service providers
- Escalation and decision rights
- Board and executive roles
- Lessons for business continuity
- For financial services and critical infrastructure
Regulatory powers simulations
New powers, tested before live use
- Simulated inspections and investigations
- Using new tools and templates
- Making and explaining decisions
- Refining procedures before rollout
- For regulators and integrity bodies
How we run an exercise.
Every exercise follows the same disciplined process and ends with lessons, rather than a summary of the day.
- ScopeAgree the aim, objectives, participants, constraints and security requirements.
- DesignBuild the scenario, injects, exercise plan and participant briefing around your objectives.
- ConductFacilitate the exercise, with independent evaluators observing against each objective.
- DebriefRun a hot debrief while observations are fresh, so people are honest about gaps.
- LessonsReport observations, insights and prioritised lessons, with owners, so they lead to action.
Exercises are only as useful as what happens next.
With C2 Operations.
For emergency management exercises, Wisdom Learning partners with C2 Operations, an Australian fire and emergency management consultancy working across emergency services, land management, critical infrastructure and multi-agency settings. C2 Operations brings operational emergency management expertise; Wisdom Learning brings exercise design, facilitation, assessment and evaluation.
What you receive.
An exercise is only useful if the lessons are owned and acted on. This is what you have in hand when the exercise is over.
- Exercise planAim, objectives, scope, roles, timings and safety and security arrangements.
- Scenario and injectsA realistic scenario built around your risks, with injects that test each objective.
- FacilitationExperienced facilitators who keep the exercise on track and safe for honest discussion.
- Independent evaluationEvaluators who observe against the objectives, as well as the facilitator’s view.
- Hot debriefStructured capture of what worked, what did not and why, on the day.
- Evaluation reportObservations, insights and prioritised lessons with recommended owners.
- Lessons registerA simple register to track lessons to action.
- Follow-upOptional re-test or training to address the gaps the exercise revealed.
Exercises are tailored capability development. They are not nationally recognised training and do not lead to a qualification or statement of attainment.
Recent work.
Exercises we have designed and facilitated, each labelled by how we know the result.
New regulatory powers, tested before use
A Commonwealth regulator introduced new investigation powers and tools. Wisdom Learning designed a workshop and a simulated inspection in which officers used the new powers, tools and templates in realistic conditions and explained their decisions before live use. The exercise generated recommendations to refine tools and workflows.
A taste of how we work.
Every program uses realistic situations drawn from the work. Here is a short example of the kind of scenario participants practise.
Related.
Pages buyers of this capability usually read next.
- Buyer’s guide: procuring tabletop exercisesWhat to put in your statement of requirements and how to evaluate providers.Explore
- Emergency management and recoveryCommand programs, exercises and recovery capability, with C2 Operations.Explore
- Insider threatHealth checks, workshops and programs, including scenario exercises.Explore
- Investigations, intelligence and regulatory capabilityLawful, reasoned judgement and decision-making.Explore
Questions about exercises.
Short answers to the questions organisations ask us about this work. If yours is not here, ask us.
What is the difference between a tabletop exercise and a simulation?
A tabletop exercise is discussion-based: participants talk through the decisions and actions they would take as a scenario unfolds. A simulation asks participants to perform their roles, using real tools, templates or systems, under realistic conditions and time pressure.
How long does a tabletop exercise take?
The exercise itself is often a half or full day, and a focused discussion exercise can run in one to two hours. Scoping, design and approvals take longer, and the evaluation report follows the exercise.
Can Wisdom Learning run multi-agency exercises?
Yes. We design and facilitate exercises from a single team to multi-agency events, including emergency management exercises with our partner C2 Operations.
Can exercises be run online?
Yes. Many discussion exercises run well online or in a hybrid format, which makes it easier to involve dispersed teams and agencies.
What does an exercise evaluation report include?
Observations against each objective, insights about what worked and what did not, specific lessons, recommended actions with owners, and a register to track them to completion.
Can you run exercises at a security classification?
We work with the discretion sensitive environments require and deliver with security-cleared facilitators. Tell us the classification of your scenario when we scope the exercise.
How do we engage Wisdom Learning for an exercise?
Directly, or through government panels and arrangements. Our buying guide explains the right route for your procurement. Contact us and we will respond within one business day.
Test it before it is tested for you.
Tell us what you need to test, who is involved and when, and we will help you scope the right exercise. We respond within one business day.