Intersectoral Action Fund - Stream 2

Intersectoral action (ISA) refers to the ways that different groups and sectors of society work together to improve health and the conditions that shape health. Groups outside of the health sector often lead this type of action. Effective ISA is crucial to addressing complex public health challenges that impact health equity and wellbeing. The Intersectoral Action Fund ("the Fund") supports communities to build capacity for intersectoral action on the conditions into which we're born, live, grow, work, play and age - the social determinants of health. In recognition of the diverse expertise and intersectoral work underway in communities, projects will focus on one of three Streams of capacity building for ISA. The stream selected should reflect the primary focus of the proposed project activities. The examples listed within each stream illustrate possible activities, but proposals are not limited to these areas of work.

Stream 2: Foster transformative partnerships to facilitate action on social determinants of health and wellbeing

Examples: hire dedicate staff, initiate peer-to-peer coaching or mentorship for undertaking intersectoral work; support partnerships with new sectors; involve people with lived experience in decision-making processes; establish a network of intersectoral community partners

Context

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the strong interdependencies between population health and social and economic wellbeing. It has also underscored that coordinated action across sectors is vital for addressing the underlying drivers and determinants of health and social inequities, and for building stronger and more resilient communities, beyond pandemic realities.

Local and regional actors have been at the forefront of shaping intersectoral community responses to COVID-19, and have used creativity and ingenuity to respond to the needs of community members. Planning towards recovering and rebuilding after COVID-19 will require leadership and coordination across sectors at the local and regional levels.

Effective collaboration needed to address complex health and social issues requires:

• trust among diverse partners and community members
• a shared vision or set of objectives across crosscutting issues
• buy-in from senior officials to champion intersectoral approaches
• capacity and infrastructure to analyze and interpret data for collective action
• adaptation of messaging in communicating data and evidence to diverse audiences
• dedicated funding to strengthen develop and strengthen intersectoral approaches
• broad funding that incentivizes engagement outside of traditional sectors
• skills and strategies to overcome the complexity that results from addressing issues intersectorally, and
• accountability and reporting requirements that adequately measure the value of intersectoral partnerships and approaches

In response, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is launching the Intersectoral Action Fund ("the Fund") to build capacity in communities to advance ISA on social determinants of health, particularly as they move towards the difficult work of recovering from the pandemic. Projects may propose new intersectoral initiatives to address gaps or respond to challenges exposed by COVID-19, or they may propose activities to build on or advance existing intersectoral initiatives, to expand their reach or impact.

Projects must align with one of the following three streams of capacity building for ISA. The stream selected should reflect the primary focus of the proposed project activities. The examples listed within each stream illustrate possible activities, but proposals are not limited to these areas of work.

Objective and principles

Objective

The objective of the Fund is to support action on social determinants of health by building capacity in communities to advance intersectoral action, in ways that improve population health and reduce health inequities. Applicants must demonstrate how their proposal aligns with this objective in their application.

Principles

The solicitation is guided by the following principles:

• Health equity: Projects integrate health equity principles that consider and address unfair and avoidable differences in social determinants of health, health outcomes, and the impact of interventions for different or specific populations groups.
• Intersectoral approach: Projects engage with partners and stakeholders from diverse sectors to take action on crosscutting issues, often, but not necessarily in collaboration with the health sector. Together partners explore barriers and facilitators to working together, adopt openness and humility in learning from each other's experiences, and seek win-win scenarios and mutual benefits in collaborative problem solving.
• Lived experience: Projects ensure that diverse community members, including people with lived experience, are authentically and meaningfully engaged in the project at the conception, design, governance, and implementation stages. Target populations are meaningfully engaged and resourced to participate in initiatives aimed at improving social determinants of health.
• Social determinants of health: Projects focus action on one or more social determinants of health, according to local context and needs. Examples of social determinants of health that may be advanced through intersectoral action include: housing, precarious work, food security, income security, racism and discrimination, education, early childhood development, and others. Projects may choose to focus on determinants that have been particularly impacted by COVID-19, but are welcome to work in other areas. Projects may be undertaken in a range of settings related to social determinants of health, including community health centres, schools and post-secondary institutions, social services, governments, workplaces, community centres, police departments, detention and

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