Supporting intra-organisational distributed co-ordination at the Amsterdam police force

Information- and communication technologies (ICT) raise opportunities for computer supported communication, dispersed co-ordination and collaboration and make coordination intense organisational structures less expensive. However, an explorative case study at the Amsterdam Police Force confirm insights from prior research that deeply rooted organisational practices can ´make or break´ distributed co-ordination and ICT utilisation. Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) provided for a framework for these observations and guided interventions to improve distributed co-ordination. However, AST could not answer if and how the interplay of current practices and interventions would influence distributed co-ordination. For this purpose, we argue for using of a simulation game to create a richer picture of future systemic interactions in computer supported distributed co-ordination in this particular organisation; to investigate potential implementation problems of new ICT; and to create organisational awareness for opportunities and pitfalls in distributed co-ordination.