intersector

Intersector is a term used to describe activities, policies, or relationships that involve interactions across different sectors of society or the economy, such as the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, or across functional areas like health, education, housing, and transportation. In economics, intersectoral linkages refer to how production and demand in one sector affect others through supply chains, prices, and productivity spillovers; input–output models are often used to analyze these linkages.

In public policy and governance, an intersectoral or cross-sector approach seeks to align goals and actions across ministries, agencies, and civil society to address problems that cut across traditional boundaries, such as social determinants of health, climate resilience, or urban development.

Intersectoral collaboration may involve joint planning, pooled funding, shared performance indicators, and formal agreements. Tools include memoranda of understanding, interdepartmental committees, cross-sector task forces, and joint budgeting mechanisms. Successful intersectoral work often requires leadership, clear governance, data sharing, and mechanisms to manage competing priorities and power dynamics.

Examples include the health in all policies approach, disaster risk reduction across housing and infrastructure, and sustainable development initiatives that coordinate energy, transportation, and land use.

Challenges include coordination costs, differing timelines and budgets, accountability fragmentation, data interoperability, and inequities in who benefits from cross-sector actions. Proponents emphasize that intersectoral work can unlock synergies and address underlying causes rather than symptoms.