Rate My Professor John Phillimore

Professor John Phillimore is a John Curtin Distinguished Professor and Executive Director of the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy within the Faculty of Business and Law at Curtin University. As a Rhodes Scholar, he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Western Australia and a first-class honours degree in Politics and Economics from Oxford University. He further obtained a coursework master's degree and a PhD from the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, with his doctoral research focusing on new technology, vocational training, and industrial relations in Australia.

Professor Phillimore's distinguished career bridges academia, government advisory roles, and public policy leadership. From 1984 to 1987, he advised the Deputy Premier and Minister for Technology in the Western Australian Government. Between 1987 and 1991, he conducted research at the Science Policy Research Unit. Returning to Perth in 1991, he served as Senior Lecturer and Head of School at the Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy, Murdoch University. From 2001 to 2005, he was Chief of Staff to the Western Australian Minister for Local Government and Regional Development, followed by Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister for Education and Training. In 2005, he joined the policy division of the Western Australian Department of Premier and Cabinet, advancing to Director of the Intergovernmental Relations Unit in 2006, where he prepared state government advice on Council of Australian Governments matters and federalism issues. He joined Curtin University in July 2007 to lead the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy. His research specializations encompass Australian federalism, public sector collaboration and governance, Western Australian politics and economy, STEM skills demand and gender implications, higher education equity and access, economic diversification, and innovation policy. Notable publications include 'Beyond the linear view of innovation in science park evaluation: An analysis of Western Australian Technology Park' (1999), 'Future of Work in Australia: Preparing for tomorrow's world' (2018), 'Changing demand for STEM skills in Australia and gender implications' (2021), 'Australian Health-Care Federalism: Beyond the Logic of Autonomy' (2021), and 'Fiscal Equalisation in Australian Federalism: Share and Share Alike?' (2025).