Florence completed a B.Sc. in International Studies (2006) and a M.Sc. in Political Science (2009) at the Université de Montréal (Québec, Canada). She has been an exchange student at the Universidad Torcuato di Tella in Buenos Aires (Argentina) from July to December 2004, a visiting scholar at the European Social Observatory in Brussels (Belgium) from May to August 2007, and a research assistant at the Department of Political Science of the Université de Montréal from 2007 to 2010.

She started a Ph.D. in Political science at Columbia University in September 2010. Her doctoral research project seeks to analyze regulation regimes of electricity and water in a social policy perspective in both Latin America and Europe. Other past and current research interests include: policies against poverty and social exclusion in Western Europe and Canada, and aboriginal social policy in Canada.

Outside the academic world, she has been involved in social and environmental causes abroad and in Québec (Canada), her native province. Abroad, she has done an international cooperation internship in a fishing village in Chile (2001), co-led a Marist mission's day-camp in Haiti (2003), volunteered for Caritas Argentina in Buenos Aires (2004) and supported a regional environmental NGO in Chile (2009-2010). At home, among others, she has been an active member of the Comité régional d'éducation au développement international de Lanaudière (2001-2003), a volunteer in the social pediatrics NGO Assistance d'Enfants en Difficulté (2003-2005) and an active member and volunteer, as well as a member of the board of directors, of the environmental NGO Rivers Foundation (2005-2007).

Publications

Larocque, Florence. Forthcoming. "The Impact of Institutionalization, Politicization and Mobilization on the Direct Participation of Citizens Experiencing Poverty." Canadian Political Science Journal.

Larocque, Florence. Forthcoming. "Regards comparatifs sur la stratégie québécoise de lutte contre la pauvreté et l'exclusion sociale: un poids significatif, des choix partiellement distinctifs." Politique et Sociétés.

Larocque, Florence. 2009. "Canadian social policy in comparative perspective with the Baltic (and Nordic) welfare states: how have elephants' neighbours developed their social policies?." In Forum for a Comparative Dialogue Promotion of Social Policies-Investment in the Future. Riga: University of Latvia Press.

Larocque, Florence. 2009. "The Dialogue on Social Inclusion Policies in Canada and the EU: Facts, Perspectives, and Possible Interconnections." In Barbara Balfour and Jeff Claydon (eds). The Enhancement of Canada-EU Relations: Views from Canadian Youth. North Vancouver: The EU Public Diplomacy Project in Canada - Capilano University.

Conference Papers

Larocque, Florence. 2010. "Participation of People Experiencing Poverty in European Social Inclusion Policies." Council for European Studies Seventeenth International Conference, Montreal, April 15-17.

Noël, Alain and Florence Larocque. 2009. "Aboriginal Peoples and Poverty in Canada: Can Provincial Governments Make a Difference?." International Sociological Association's Research Committee on Poverty, Social Welfare and Social Policy (RC19) Conference, Montreal, August 20-22.

Larocque, Florence. 2009. "Comparer avec l'Europe ou les provinces canadiennes? Deux regards complémentaires sur la lutte contre la pauvreté et l'exclusion au Québec." Annual Congress of the Quebec Political Science Association, Ottawa, May 27-28.

Larocque, Florence and Alain Noël. 2009. "Fighting poverty through the OMC/inclusion: The distinct national trajectories of Belgium and the United Kingdom." Biennial Conference of the European Union Studies Association, Los Angeles, April 23-25.

Larocque, Florence and Alain Noël. 2008. "European Method, National Plans and Reports: How Member States Implement the OMC on Social Inclusion." European Community Studies Association of Canada (ECSA-C) Biennial Conference, Edmonton, September 25-27.