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Rachel Laforest (Ph.D. Carleton) is a Professor in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University and teaches in the School of Policy Studies. Her research focuses on Canadian politics, with a particular interest in how civil society groups mobilize to influence social policy dynamics. She is currently conducting a comparative analysis of poverty reduction strategies developed across Canada. Her work examines the interplay between the institutions and in particular the frequency and timing of consultations, with the strategies of organized interests who have mobilized to affect change. It illustrates how the ideas and content of the poverty reduction strategies policies adopted are shaped by these dynamics. She is also currently studying innovative strategies to tackle youth at risk of homelessness. This research focuses on cross-sectoral collaboration and community-based preventative interventions to foster more equitable educational opportunities and outcomes for youth at risk.

Rachel is part of numerous SSHRC-funded research teams. This has allowed her to work on varied topics such as the restructuring of social services in the field of mental health and addictions in Ontario and in Quebec; comparing provincial strategies to provide access to French-language services in minority contexts; the impact of charitable regulations on political advocacy; and the impact of social procurement policies on social enterprises. 

She is the author of Voluntary Sector Organizations and the State, UBC Press, which won the ANSER-ARES best book award in 2014. She is also the editor of Government-Nonprofit Relations in Times of Recession, McGill-»ÆÉ«ÊÓƵ Press, 2013 and The New Federal Policy Agenda and the Voluntary Sector: On the Cutting Edge, McGill-»ÆÉ«ÊÓƵ Press, 2009. She is currently co-editor of The Oxford International Handbook of Public Administration for Social Policy: Promising Practices and Emerging Challenges - USA and CANADA section, 2023.

Rachel has held visiting appointments at the Centre for Nonprofit Management, School of Business, Trinity College Dublin, and the School of Criminology, Politics and Social Policy, University of Ulster.