Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
I am a design researcher leading creative and collaborative work that investigates the how people experience the spaces, design and technology of their everyday lives. This includes collaborating on design engagement activities with global social impact partners that motivate real-world change by imagining hopeful futures and identifying how to reach them. To support the value of experiential knowledge, I develop new concepts and creative and ethnographic methodologies in projects applied to diverse contexts.
With a strong commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship, I am an author of 100+ publications, investigating a wide range of topics: robot geographies, commemorative sites and events, national identity, lighting design, design ethnographic methodologies and affective-digital entanglements in public space. I have won $3m+ in researching funding from universities and national research councils in Australia, Denmark and the UK, philanthropic foundations Wellcome Trust and Humanity United, and private industry partners. Through research projects with the public and cultural sector, I have contributed to public space design in my home city of Melbourne. I am a co-creator of The Tomorrow Party, an award-winning workshop for imagining hopeful futures and building commitment for change, that has been used at major international gatherings, including COP28 and New York Climate Week, to build collective agency for transformative action.
Education/Academic qualification
Sociology, PhD, Australian National University (ANU)
Award Date: 15 Jun 2011
Nationalism Studies, MSc, University of Edinburgh
Award Date: 1 Sept 1996
Sociology/Anthropology, BA, Carleton College
Award Date: 1 Jun 1992
Research area keywords
- Atmospheres
- creative methods
- Public Space
- Design
- Design Ethnography
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):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
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SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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The act of imagining: Co-creating participatory climate futures methods
Jones, S. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Sumartojo, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Grocott, L. H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Fridman, I. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Bradley, L. (Partner Investigator (PI))
ARC - Australian Research Council
30/06/26 → 29/06/30
Project: Research
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Incorporating playful learning into co-design methods for systems-shifting
Sumartojo, S. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
27/04/26 → 1/12/26
Project: Research
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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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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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Contingent autonomy: Robotic encounters in an uncertain world
Sumartojo, S., Tian, L., Carreno-Medrano, P., Lundberg, R., Kulic, D. & Mintrom, M., 2026, In: Environment and Planning D: Society and Space. 44, 1, p. 96-113 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access4 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
Feeling Our Way Forward: Affect, Imaginative Agency, and Design in Future-Making
Sumartojo, S., Grocott, L., Holman Jones, S., Doughty, M. & Brandalise, I., 2026, (Accepted/In press) In: Design and Culture. 24 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Anticipatory policy design for robots in public spaces
Mintrom, M., Goddard, P. & Sumartojo, S., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Asian Public Policy. p. 1-15 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access2 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
CAMP: co-designing for anticipatory re-orientations in policymaking practices
Brandalise, I., Sumartojo, S., Grocott, L. & Mintrom, M., 2025, IASDR 2025: Design Next. Chang, C.-Y. & Hsu, Y. (eds.). Taipei Taiwan: Design Research Society, 12 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
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 AccessFile7 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)
Prizes
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2023 Good Design Award, Design Research - Gold Winner: 'City Sensing Data Futures'
Pink, S. (Recipient), Vallentine, B. (Recipient), Lanzeni, D. (Recipient), Fridman, I. (Recipient), Duque Hurtado, M. (Recipient), Sumartojo, S. (Recipient) & Lundberg, R. (Recipient), 8 Sept 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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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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Best paper award
Brandalise, I. B. (Recipient), Sumartojo, S. (Recipient), Grocott, L. H. (Recipient) & Mintrom, M. (Recipient), Dec 2025
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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CounterPlay ’26: And so we play…
Brandalise, I. B. (Speaker), Gurling, A. (Speaker), Grocott, L. H. (Speaker) & Sumartojo, S. (Speaker)
7 May 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to workshop, seminar, course
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Radical Collaboration: A Tomorrow Party
Grocott, L. H. (Organiser), Sumartojo, S. (Organiser), Brandalise, I. B. (Organiser) & Gurling, A. (Organiser)
12 May 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to workshop, seminar, course
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WonderLab Design-Along
Sumartojo, S. (Organiser), Grocott, L. H. (Organiser), Brandalise, I. B. (Organiser), Gurling, A. (Organiser) & Moschonas, D. (Organiser)
15 May 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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United Nations AI for Good Global Summit
Batstone, J. (Contributor), Del Campo Marin, C. (Contributor), Marsden, C. (Contributor), Sumartojo, S. (Contributor), Paul, V. (Contributor), Kjeldskov, J. (Contributor) & Collevecchio, A. (Contributor)
4 Jul 2023 → 6 Jul 2023Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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Living with Robots
Sumartojo, S. (Contributor), Pink, S. (Contributor), Kulic, D. (Contributor), Strengers, Y. (Contributor) & Mintrom, M. (Contributor)
2 May 2022Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public event
Press/Media
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Living River: A Pathway to Revitalise the Citarum River
Prescott, M., Hadfield, P., Sumartojo, S., Lechner, A., Widita, A., Marthanty, D. R., Suwarso, R., Kirana, K. H., Astuti, N., Khikmah, F., Taufik, F. D., Aditya, B., Hakim, R., Oktariani, A. E., Ramirez, D., Wong, T., Holden, J., Maheshwari, T., Jimenez Redal, R., Tanumihardja, D., Raven, R., Ningrum, D., Pratama, M. A., Priadi, C., Ombasta, O., Endyana, C., Hardesty, B. D., Skidmore, M. A., Zurbruegg, C., Sutasurya, D., Rakhman, Y., Ismanto, R., Pasman, R., Marvin, P., Saptarini, I., Bagustantyo, B. & Putri M, A. A.
5/12/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Other
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Australia searches for national identity in the trenches of WWI
27/04/23
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Profile/Interview
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There’s only so much a robot can do
Sumartojo, S., Mintrom, M., Kulic, D., Tian, L., Carreno-Medrano, P. & Lundberg, R.
7/11/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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IoT: 'Wireless technology helps reinvigorate smart city focus'
Pink, S., Vallentine, B., Duque, M., Fridman, I., Lanzeni, D., Lundberg, R., Sumartojo, S., Fu, L., Hearn, N. & Kop, T.
4/11/22
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Blogs, Podcasts and Social Media › Blogs
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THE FIFTH ESTATE: 'AI is watching you: How to ethically capture urban data for smart cities'
Pink, S., Vallentine, B., Duque, M., Fridman, I., Lanzeni, D., Lundberg, R., Sumartojo, S., Fu, L., Hearn, N. & Kop, T.
12/09/22
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature