Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr Darren Sharp is a Senior Research Fellow at Monash Sustainable Development Institute. Darren is an interdisciplinary sustainability transitions researcher interested in urban experimentation, living labs, grassroots innovations, urban futures and the sharing economy. His work is situated at the intersection of transition management, design for social innovation and community economies thinking, with a particular interest in the governance of urban sustainability transitions. Darren was a Kármán Fellow and visiting scholar at the Kate Hamburger Kolleg Cultures of Research (c:o/re) at RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
He serves on the editorial board of Frontiers in Sustainable Cities and has published in journals such as Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, Urban Planning, Data & Policy, the Journal of Cleaner Production and Urban Policy and Research. Darren is also a member of the Regen Melbourne Systems Lab Research Council and advisor to the CULTiVATE project.
Darren is the Interdisciplinary Research Lead of the ARC Linkage project Net Zero Precincts that brings together a new approach to transition management by using design anthropology to engage with the precinct community and consider their lived experiences. This is being tested over four years through an action-oriented case study in the Monash Technology Precinct through a portfolio of Living Lab experiments across energy, mobility, buildings, data and governance.
The ARC Linkage project is being undertaken in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team from Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash Art, Design and Architecture, Faculty of Information Technology and Faculty of Arts. Partners in the Linkage from industry, academia and the community include ENGIE, the City of Monash, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and the CSIRO.
Darren co-led the urban living lab Livewell Yarra which used action research to empower local residents to reduce their carbon emissions at an individual, household and community level. His research speaks to the possibilities of social learning, institutional arrangements, and new urban imaginaries to drive the transformation of cities towards sustainability.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Humanities, PhD, Curtin University
Cultural Studies, BA Honors (First Class), Swinburne University of Technology
Media Studies, BMm, Swinburne University of Technology
Research area keywords
- Sustainability Transitions
- Urban Experimentation
- Living Labs
- Transition Management
- Governance
- Futures
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 7 Finished
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Decarbonising Buildings in Asia
Graham, P. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Permanasari, E. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Crow, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Edwards, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bunster, V. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Maxwell, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bragge, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sharp, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Raven, R. (Chief Investigator (CI))
Global Buildings Performance Network
17/06/23 → 31/12/24
Project: Research
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Deep Dive #1 - University Living Labs
Hadfield, P. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Sharp, D. (Supervisor) & Raven, R. (Supervisor)
21/03/22 → 21/12/22
Project: Research
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Deep Dive #2 - Behaviour change and Net Zero
Saeri, A. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Sharp, D. (Supervisor) & Raven, R. (Supervisor)
7/02/22 → 21/12/22
Project: Research
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BA: Just Transitions in Australia: moving towards low carbon lives across policy, industry and practice
Adey, P. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Pink, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Raven, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Barry, K. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Birtchnell, T. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Duffy, D. M. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Hunt, J. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Rickards, L. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Weller, S. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Strengers, Y. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Sharp, D. (Associate Investigator (AI)) & Nicholls, L. (Associate Investigator (AI))
27/10/21 → 10/03/22
Project: Research
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E3 - Developing the Future Energy Workforce
Rutovitz, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Taylor, H. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Briggs, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bos, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Visser, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sharpe, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sharp, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Mahmoudi, F. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/02/21 → 1/07/21
Project: Research
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Framing of innovation in urban Australian municipal climate policy
Rodgerson, G., Farrelly, M., Raven, R. & Sharp, D., Aug 2025, In: Environmental Science and Policy. 170, 9 p., 104094.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Governing University Living Labs for sustainability transformations: insights from 18 international case studies
Hadfield, P., Sharp, D., Pigeon, J. & Raven, R., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Sustainability Science. 22 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Net Zero Precincts: Stage 3: Activating
Sharp, D., Rye, S., Kumar, S., Farrelly, M., De Silva, N., Pink, S. & Raven, R., 2025, Melbourne Vic Australia: Monash University. 30 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned Report › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
The acceleration of low-carbon transitions: Insights, concepts, challenges, and new directions for research
Sovacool, B. K., Geels, F. W., Andersen, A. D., Grubb, M., Jordan, A. J., Kern, F., Kivimaa, P., Lockwood, M., Markard, J., Meadowcroft, J., Meckling, J., Moore, B., Raven, R., Rogge, K. S., Rosenbloom, D., Schmidt, T. S., Schot, J., Sharp, D., Stephenson, J. & Vormedal, I. & 1 others, , Mar 2025, In: Energy Research & Social Science. 121, 26 p., 103948.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile7 Citations (Scopus) -
Actors, agency, and institutional contexts: transition intermediation for low-carbon mobility transition
Nordt, A., Raven, R., Malekpour, S. & Sharp, D., Apr 2024, In: Environmental Science and Policy. 154, 12 p., 103707.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile7 Citations (Scopus)
Activities
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Frontiers in Sustainable Cities (Journal)
Sharp, D. (Associate editor)
2024Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial responsibility
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Policy drivers for decarbonisation
Sharp, D. (Contributor)
30 Oct 2024Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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International Conference On Sustainability Transitions 2024
Sharp, D. (Speaker), Quilty, E. (Speaker), Tuckwell, D. (Speaker), Rye, S. (Speaker), Pink, S. (Speaker), Farrelly, M. (Speaker) & Raven, R. (Speaker)
17 Jun 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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Rheinisch-Westfalische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH Aachen University)
Sharp, D. (Visiting researcher)
Sept 2024Activity: Visiting an external institution types › Visiting an external academic institution
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International Conference On Sustainability Transitions 2023
Sharp, D. (Speaker), Quilty, E. (Speaker), Raven, R. (Speaker), Pink, S. (Speaker) & Farrelly, M. (Speaker)
31 Aug 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
Press/Media
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Monash University project to aid urban city centres in transition to net zero
9/12/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Profile/Interview
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What’s the secret to building a better world?
9/12/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Blogs, Podcasts and Social Media › Podcasts
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Will the Real Sharing Economy Please Stand Up?
7/08/19
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Blogs, Podcasts and Social Media › Podcasts