Rate My Professor Peter Sheehan

Professor Peter Sheehan is Research Director at the Victoria Institute of Strategic Economic Studies (VISES) at Victoria University, Melbourne, a role he holds following his tenure as Founding Director of the Centre for Strategic Economic Studies from 1993 to 2011. He earned an MA (Hons) from the University of Melbourne in 1965. Prior to his academic career, Sheehan served as head of the Victorian Treasury. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, he was actively involved in commercializing new technologies in Australia, holding positions such as Director of the Australian Medical Research and Development Consortium Ltd (AMRAD) from 1987 to 1993, founding Chairman of the Victorian Government Telecommunications Initiative Ltd (Vistel) from 1987 to 1992, founding Chairman of the Australian Computing and Communications Institute from 1988 to 1999, and founding Chairman of the Strategic Industry Research Foundation from 1988 to 1993. In 2003, he was elected Vice Chair (Academic) of the APEC Life Sciences Innovation Forum.

Sheehan's research specializations encompass the global knowledge economy and its ramifications for Australia and internationally, economic development, health outcomes including adolescent health, non-communicable diseases, mental health, women's and children's health, climate change and energy policy, innovation, and new economic development models. He has contributed substantially since 1994 to analyses of new technologies, their application, and related policy and commercial developments. Key publications include 'Investing in non-communicable diseases: an estimation of the return on investment for prevention and treatment services' (The Lancet, 2018), 'Building the foundations for sustainable development: a case for global investment in the capabilities of adolescents' (The Lancet, 2017), 'Adolescence and the next generation' (Nature, 2018), 'A Primer on the Knowledge Economy' (2000, co-authored with John Houghton), and reports such as 'China's Global Finance Footprint 2005–2014' (2022) and various contributions to the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health. His work has influenced national and international policy through collaborations with organizations including the World Health Organization, World Bank, and Victorian government departments, with over 4,000 citations across 78 publications.