Research Foundations
The Science
Behind the Method
Five decades of peer-reviewed behavioural science, applied to a context most consultancies cannot reach: live, theatre-based simulation. Every intervention draws on the frameworks below.
Framework 01 · Evaluation
Kirkpatrick's Four Levels
of Training Evaluation
Donald Kirkpatrick's 1959 model is still the gold standard for measuring training impact: Reaction → Learning → Behaviour → Results. Our iceberg is built on it. Only 22% of organisations measure beyond Level 2 (Brinkerhoff, 2018), yet only Levels 3 and 4 predict business outcomes.
Source: Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, Evaluating Training Programs (4th ed., 2016)
Framework 02 · Psychological Safety
Edmondson's
Psychological Safety
Amy Edmondson's (Harvard) construct, "a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking", explains why some teams learn from mistakes and others bury them. Google's Project Aristotle later identified it as the #1 predictor of team performance across 180 internal teams. Our simulations rebuild it through enacted experience, not posters. Read more →
Source: Edmondson, Administrative Science Quarterly (1999); Google re:Work / Project Aristotle (2015)
Framework 03 · Behaviour Change
COM-B Model &
Behaviour Change Wheel
Susan Michie's (UCL) framework defines behaviour as a function of Capability, Opportunity and Motivation. Cited in over 11,000 peer-reviewed studies, it is the foundation of UK Public Health behaviour-change strategy. Our diagnostics map every intervention to a specific COM-B target.
Source: Michie, van Stralen & West, Implementation Science (2011)
Framework 04 · Experiential Learning
Kolb's Experiential
Learning Cycle
Real adult learning moves through four stages: Concrete Experience → Reflective Observation → Abstract Conceptualisation → Active Experimentation. Our immersive events deliberately drive participants through every stage in a single session, something e-learning literally cannot do.
Source: Kolb, Experiential Learning (1984, 2nd ed. 2014)
Framework 05 · Mastery
Ericsson's Deliberate
Practice Theory
Performance gains come from focused, feedback-rich repetition, not exposure. Anders Ericsson's research on world-class performers showed specific, immediate feedback in realistic conditions is what separates elite performance from average. Every Sidestream simulation is engineered for deliberate practice.
Source: Ericsson, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise (2016)
Framework 06 · Memory
Roediger & Karpicke's
Testing Effect
Active retrieval beats passive review. Roediger and Karpicke's landmark study showed that being tested on material increases long-term retention by 50% compared to re-reading. Our scenario-based simulations function as continuous high-stakes retrieval, which is why the learning sticks.
Source: Roediger & Karpicke, Psychological Science (2006)
For ambitious organisations and high-performing teams, the question isn't whether to invest in development. It's whether your method actually moves Levels 3 and 4. See how we work with companies →
