Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Professor Lisa Grocott is a co-design researcher who thrives on collaborating with interdisciplinary teams on social impact and organisational change projects. Lisa is the Co-Director of WonderLab at Monash University and an Honorary Professor of Play at the DSKD in Denmark. Lisa’s relational approach to designing for impact creates perspective-shifting, memory-making, play-based encounters that support the challenging work of shifting social practices and unsettling everyday norms. Drawing on her co-design practice, neurodivergent lived experiences and Indigenous knowing Lisa’s research is always animated by how we might rewrite the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we are told. Born in Aotearoa New Zealand, Lisa is of Ngāti Kahungunu descent on her mother's side, with whakapapa from the United Kingdom on her father's side.
Lisa’s creative methods for transformative shiftwork have been sharpened by collaborating with psychology and education researchers, creative methodologists and ethnographers in Australia, United States, Denmark and Great Britain. Her book Design for Transformative Learning: a Practical Approach to Memory-making and Perspective-shifting speaks to decades of creative research and the science behind designing strong memory traces. The Tomorrow Party project, a co-creative method for policy making and systems change illustrates the power of playful encounters for seeding new imaginaries and forging new possible worlds. Lisa’s expertise in designing for social impact has received $4M+ in funding from Australia Research Council, Wellcome Foundation, Denmark Independent Research Fund, AHRC and many other philanthropy and industry partners committed to recognising that creative practice can play a significant role in the work of making more just and equitable futures. Her organisational change expertise is further informed by decades of leadership roles, including Dean of Academic Initiatives at Parsons in New York and Head of Design at Monash.
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
Design, Masters, Design Research as an integral component of professional practice, RMIT University
Award Date: 1 Nov 2000
Design, PhD, RMIT University
Award Date: 31 Oct 2000
Fine Arts, Masters, RMIT University
Award Date: 30 Nov 1997
Design and American Studies, Bachelors, The Cultural Appropriation of Maori Motifs in Graphic Design, University of Canterbury
Award Date: 1 Nov 1991
Research area keywords
- Design Research
- Play and Pedagogy
- Transformative learning
- Behaviour Change
- Games
- Practice-based research
- Interdisciplinary Research
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Playing Transitions - Settling and Belonging in School together
Skovbjerg, H. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Uhre, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sand, A.-L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Odgaard, A. B. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bundsgaard, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ødegaard, E. E. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Pedersen, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sumartojo, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Grocott, L. H. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Jones, S. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/07/24 → 31/12/27
Project: Research
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Advancing Policy Design for Robots in Public Spaces
Mintrom, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Grocott, L. H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Wyatt, S. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Sumartojo, S. (Chief Investigator (CI))
ARC - Australian Research Council
1/07/24 → 30/06/27
Project: Research
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Crafting a pathway towards situated, relational and reparative literacies practices
Bradley, L. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Grocott, L. H. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Perry, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ramos, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ptolomey, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Medina, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Collier, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Mena, N. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Rowsell, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Zholdoshalieva, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Abdulla, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sumartojo, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Macleod, G. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Savig, M. (Chief Investigator (CI))
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
1/01/24 → 31/12/25
Project: Research
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Learning Creates: Tomorrow Party
Grocott, L. H. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Sumartojo, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Jones, S. (Chief Investigator (CI))
Learning Creates Australia Pty Ltd
12/11/24 → 20/12/24
Project: Research
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Canopy: Creative partnerships for policy advocacy in Climate and Health
Sumartojo, S. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Grocott, L. H. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Jones, S. (Chief Investigator (CI))
18/09/24 → 31/10/24
Project: Research
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Advancing policy design through creative engagement with lived experience: the Tomorrow Party
Mintrom, M., Grocott, L. & Sumartojo, S., 2024, In: Policy Design and Practice. 7, 1, p. 33-47 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Citations (Scopus) -
Awareness-Based Design: Bringing Design to Social Presencing Theater
Goncalves, R. D. & Grocott, L., 2024, In: Journal of Awareness-Based Systems Change. 4, 2, p. 87-122 36 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
KALEIDOSCOPIC STORYTELLING: POSITIONALITY, INDIGENOUS WAYS AND SLOW AUTOETHNOGRAPHY
Grocott, L., 1 Jan 2024, Designing Knowledge: Emerging Perspectives in Design Studies Practices. Zabolotney, B. (ed.). London UK: Bloomsbury Academic, p. 177-190 14 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (Book) › Research › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus) -
Policy design, lived experience, and speculative futures
Mintrom, M., Sumartojo, S., Grocott, L., Korsmeyer, H. & Doughty, M., 2024, Proceedings of DRS 2024 Boston. Gray, C. M., Chehade, E. C., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P. & Lloyd, P. (eds.). London UK: Design Research Society, 16 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Other › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
The Tomorrow Party
Grocott, L. (Designer), Sumartojo, S. (Designer), Mintrom, M., Holman Jones, S., Korsmeyer, H. (Designer) & Doughty, M. (Designer), 2024Research output: Non-textual form › Design / Architecture › Research
Prizes
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2024 Good Design Award, Design Research: 'The Tomorrow Party'
Grocott, L. (Recipient), Sumartojo, S. (Recipient), Mintrom, M. (Recipient), Holman Jones, S. (Recipient), Korsmeyer, H. (Recipient) & Doughty, M. (Recipient), Sept 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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2024 Good Design Award, Policy Design - Best in Class: 'The Tomorrow Party'
Grocott, L. (Recipient), Sumartojo, S. (Recipient), Mintrom, M. (Recipient), Holman Jones, S. (Recipient), Korsmeyer, H. (Recipient) & Doughty, M. (Recipient), Sept 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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2024 Good Design Award, Social Impact: 'The Tomorrow Party'
Grocott, L. (Recipient), Sumartojo, S. (Recipient), Mintrom, M. (Recipient), Holman Jones, S. (Recipient), Korsmeyer, H. (Recipient) & Doughty, M. (Recipient), Sept 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Designing for Transformative Learning
Grocott, L. H. (Recipient), 16 Sept 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
File -
Good Design Australia Award – Design Research: Designing for Social Impact
Grocott, L. H. (Recipient), Sumartojo, S. (Recipient), Geddes, S. (Recipient), Jones, S. (Recipient), Kelly, W. (Recipient) & Barlock, K. (Recipient), 8 Sept 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Future Design Research Symposium
Grocott, L. (Keynote/plenary speaker)
30 Sept 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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Worlding Play
Grocott, L. H. (Organiser), Sumartojo, S. (Invited speaker), Skovbjerg, H. M. (Keynote/plenary speaker), Manix, R. (Keynote/plenary speaker), Jones, S. (Invited speaker) & Poulsen, M. (Invited speaker)
19 Sept 2022 → 20 Sept 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to workshop, seminar, course
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Melbourne Design Week 2021
Fridman, I. (Contributor), Edwards, A. (Contributor) & Grocott, L. H. (Contributor)
30 Apr 2021Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public event
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ServDes.2020
Grocott, L. H. (Speaker) & Fridman, I. (Speaker)
4 Feb 2021Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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Melbourne Design Week 2019
Ellerton, W. (Contributor), Grocott, L. H. (Contributor) & McEntee, K. (Contributor)
18 Mar 2019Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public event