As the CAGD study seeks to engage and intervene across sectors, we are keen to partner and contribute to projects and initiatives with a shared commitment to advancing children’s rights-by-design in games (policy, design, and pedagogy) and other technologies. Key collaborations to date include:

Design Well, Play Well
(Joan Ganz Cooney Center)

In 2023, the Kids Play Tech Lab’s CAGD project joined of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center @ Sesame Workshop’s Design Well, Play Well community hub, an initiative of the Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children (RITEC) partnership led by UNICEF and the LEGO Group. Check out the projects and initiatives that are part of this Community, as well as RITEC’s Design Well, Play Well Design Toolbox.

iRAISE: International Research-driven alliance for AI  Serving Every Child

Spearheaded by everything.AI and the Paris Peace Forum, the iRaise Coalition is a multi-actor, cross-sector and global initiative aimed at building and leveraging knowledge from across stakeholder groups and expertise to identify innovative and effective strategies for safeguarding and empowering children in the age of Artificial Intelligence. Through research, networking and advocacy, the Coalition has identified a number of principles intended to inform the design, implementation, and use of AI systems that include: 1) Child safety; 2) AI that Prioritizes the Best Interests of the Child; 3) Ethical, equitable, and inclusive AI; 4) Age-Appropriate AI by Design; 5) Fair and transparent AI; 6) Family-inclusive design; and 7) Privacy for children.  The Kids Play Tech lab is a proud member of the Alliance Labs team, and Sara is on the Expert Advisory Group.

Previous Collabs

D’Orcs (A-Game Studios)

Between 2023 and 2025, the Kids Play Tech Lab’s CAGD project joined forces with A-Game Studios to develop a prototype for a new children’s digital game called D’ORCS, while developing an innovative rights-by-design approach to game making. We applied findings and best practices identified in our CAGD research to help A-Game Studios make a responsible, child-centred, and fun game about magical creatures, supply chains, climate change and environmental stewardship. We documented our contributions to this collaboration and are working on an open-access report aimed at sharing some of the tools we developed  (e.g., a children’s game rights-by-design checklist) and lessons learned. The game is currently on hold, but you can check out this pitch deck video containing a trailer and walkthrough of the prototype!

D’ORCS is an eco-conscious supply chain management sim for kids aged 8-12 years about the nerdy Orcs who stay home and run the stronghold while the all the “cool” (i.e., tough, obnoxious) Orcs are out stealing, scavenging, or destroying every resource in sight.

From our (unsuccessful) application for a development grant: “This is a unique collaboration between McGill University children’s games scholar, Dr. Sara Grimes, and industry innovator, A-Game Studios, that integrates cutting-edge theories of child-inclusive design. Children’s safety and privacy rights, value-sensitivity and accessibility considerations are baked in through age-appropriate design, to ensure that this is a smart choice for parents and a safe space for kids to create, share and interact. Through story and humour, this game educates without being didactic, and fosters a conscientious understanding of our modern interconnected global economy and the impact of industry on the environment.”