The Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment aimed to test and improve a new childcare financing system. Rather than rely on theory alone, they wanted to understand how the system would function in practice—for parents, childcare providers, and implementing organisations. Could the system work as intended? And where could it be made more user-friendly, fair, and feasible? 

Fronteer developed immersive simulations to test the user experience of the future system. Parents, providers, and officials stepped into realistic roleplays based on the proposed design. Policymakers observed live to gather real-time insights. By combining multiple perspectives, we identified friction points and opportunities for iteration and improvement, quickly and collaboratively. 

The simulations revealed practical strengths and weak spots of the proposed system, beyond what theoretical models could predict. Thanks to this user-centred approach, the Ministry gained valuable insights to refine and improve the system, ensuring better usability and implementation across the board.