Despite the constant flux and disruption of politics, the wheels of government continue to turn. And the professionals who keep those wheels greased (squeaky or otherwise) are often the backbone of civil society. But there are thousands of voluntary organizations who contribute to the public life as well -- the so-called Third Sector. How do they interact?

Ben chats about all of this and more with Queen's University Associate Professor Rachel Laforest, Director of the school's MPA program.

About the Guest

Rachel Laforest is Associate Professor and head of the Public Policy and Third Sector Initiative in the School of Policy Studies, Queen's University in Canada. Her areas of expertise are the study of governance and inter-sectoral collaboration. Her current research interests focus on poverty reduction strategies, mental health and addictions, and education policy. She is also interested in intergovernmental relations and Canadian politics.

Rachel 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-Queen's University Press, 2013) and The New Federal Policy Agenda and the Voluntary Sector: On the Cutting Edge, (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009). She is currently Visiting Professor in the Institute for Public Policy and Governance at the University of Technology, Sydney. She 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.

Learn more about Rachel Laforest.