Congratulations to A/Prof Helen Marshall, Prof Kim Wilkins and A/Prof Lisa Bennett (Flinders University) whose work on Story Thinking won the Distinguished Innovation in Creative Arts Award from the Australian Council of Deans and Directors of Creative Arts (DDCA), the representative body for the creative arts in Australian universities. Story Thinking is a creative research methodology that turns the process knowledge of speculative fiction writing (building mental models of complex systems, synthesising across disciplines, extrapolating consequences at scale) into replicable frameworks for foresight, scenario planning and complex problem-solving. Developed by the three collaborators, it has been applied in settings ranging from workshops with Defence and robotics researchers to teaching and researcher training.
The judges, Professors Jessica Wilkinson and Verena Thomas, said the panel was impressed by how the team has adapted methods from speculative and science fiction to address complex global challenges. They highlighted the methodology’s partnerships and the way others can take it up and adapt it. They described Story Thinking as “an outstanding example of innovative creative practice research,” showing how knowledge from creative practice can have impact across disciplines and help us think about uncertain futures.
https://ddca.edu.au/2026-award-winners/
