Crosssectoraal

Crosssectoraal refers to an approach, practice, or characteristic in which actors from different sectors collaborate to address issues that span sector boundaries. In policy and organizational contexts, it denotes cross-sectoral coordination among public authorities, private firms, non-profit organizations, research institutions, and civil society. The term is used in Dutch policy discourse to highlight problems that cannot be solved within a single sector, such as climate resilience, public health, digital governance, or urban development.

In practice, crosssectoraal work involves joint problem framing, shared goals, joint governance structures, co-funded initiatives, and data or knowledge exchange. It emphasizes aligning incentives, reducing silos, and leveraging complementary resources and expertise across sectors. Projects may use multi-stakeholder platforms, partnerships, and coalitions to design and implement solutions.

Benefits include more holistic solutions, improved resource efficiency, innovation through cross-disciplinary insights, and more effective policy outcomes. Challenges include negotiating different mandates and accountability mechanisms, governance complexity, data sharing and privacy concerns, and sustaining long-term collaboration beyond project cycles. Crosssectoraal approaches appear in government strategy, corporate social responsibility programs, healthcare and social care integration, climate adaptation planning, and research-into-innovation ecosystems. Related concepts include cross-sector collaboration, multi-stakeholder governance, and public-private partnerships.