Cross-sector Relationships Research Articles

Hostel support workers’ experiences navigating healthcare alongside people experiencing homelessness: a qualitative study in the UK

ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore how hostel support workers (HSWs) experience navigating healthcare alongside people experiencing homelessness (PEH). PEH experience poor health outcomes, increased mortality and face many barriers when...

Knitting Circular Ties: Empowering Networks for the Social Enterprise-led Local Development of an Integrative Circular Economy

Circular economy (CE) discourse primarily focuses on business-as-usual and resource-related economic processes whilst overlooking relational-spatial aspects, especially networking for local development. There are, however, many mission-driven social enterprises (SEs) engaging in short-loop activities at the neighbourhood and city scales (e.g., reuse, upcycling, refurbishing or repair). Such localised activities are often overlooked by mainstream policies, yet they could be vital to the local development of the CE into a more socio-environmentally integrated set of localised social structures and relations. This paper examines the role of SEs, their networks and structures in building a more socially integrated CE in the City of Hull (UK). Drawing upon the Social Network Analysis approach and semi-structured interviews with 31 case study SEs representing variegated sectors (e.g., food, wood/furniture, textiles, arts and crafts, hygiene, construction/housing, women, elderly, ethnic minorities, homeless, prisoners, mentally struggling), it maps SEs’ cross-sector relationships with private, public and social sector organizations. It then considers how these network constellations could be ‘woven’ into symbiotic relationships between SEs whilst fostering knowledge spillovers and resource flows for the local development of a more socially integrative CE. We contend that integrating considerations of SEs’ organizational attributes and their socio-spatial positioning within networks and social structures offers new insights into the underlying power-relations and variegated levels of trust within the emergent social-circular enterprise ecosystem. These aspects are presented in the form of a comprehensive heuristic framework, which reveals how respective organizational and network characteristics may impact SEs’ performance outcomes and, ultimately, a more integrated approach to local CE development.

The Multiplexity of Collaborative Networks in Post-Disaster Recovery: Testing Intra-Sector and Cross-Sector Network Contexts

While disaster management provides an ideal testbed for interorganizational collaborative networks that pursue disaster assistance goals, limited research examines how multiplexity in multidimensional networks hinders disaster recovery efforts. This study examines the collaborative networks formed by intra-sector and cross-sector relationships among governments and NGOs in the context of post-disaster recovery, using a nationwide survey in Taiwan. The findings suggest that more heterogeneous contexts and more diversified network members would increase the complexity of network in it, and thus affecting network effectiveness of disaster management. Furthermore, NGO actors have faced the dilemma of building mutual ties through interorganizational and homogeneous collaboration.

A Critical Scoping Review of Disability Employment Research in the Construction Industry: Driving Social Innovation through More Inclusive Pathways to Employment Opportunity

Innovation research in construction has almost exclusively focused on economic and technological innovation. In contrast, the emerging concept of social innovation has been largely ignored. This is despite the global growth of social procurement policies which incentivize construction firms to innovate in providing employment opportunities for equity-seeking groups. While there is an emerging body of research which is starting to explore innovative employment pathways into construction for certain equity-seeking groups such as women, refugees and Indigenous people, there has been relatively little research into employment pathways for people with a disability. Addressing this gap in research, this paper reports the results of a critical scoping review of Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar publications on the employment of people with disability in construction. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews (PRISMA-ScR) approach, extant research was mapped across seven themes of hiring disability practices. Results indicate that research into the employment of people with disability in construction internationally remains nascent with significant knowledge gaps compared to mainstream disability employment research. These key gaps include: barriers to employment based on the lived experiences of people with disability seeking employment in construction; the facilitation of cross-sector relationships with organizations that support people with disability into employment; the reduction of biases, ingrained stigmas and inequalities in recruitment practices for people with disability; and the role of informal norms and practices in undermining formal laws, regulations and policies designed to reduce barriers to employment. The scoping review also identifies a methodological gap in the research reviewed by highlighting the need for more construction research designs to include people with disability as prioritized research participants as well as research investigators and to adopt phenomenological and interpretive approaches which respect the lived experiences of people with a disability seeking work in the construction industry.

Spatial and cross-sectoral relationships in business entry dynamics around a highway corridor

Inter-business networks are important components of business dynamics and spatial clusters. Extensive literature proclaims the existence of a variety of networks and benefits of diversity within. However, the literature falls short to exhibit the subsistence of connections between economic activities which invariably contribute towards entry decisions of business establishments. In this paper, using National Establishment Time Series (NETS) database, we analyse establishments entering the region around U.S.-400, largely in Kansas, across a period of 20 years (1992–2011). The establishments are categorised into 20 industrial sectors based on their economic activities. Using spatial econometric models and partial least squares regression, yearly relationships (attraction/impedance) among these categories are estimated. The results provide evidence that relationships amidst pre-existing and new-entrants are indeed significant in business entry. This can be critical in understanding and rationale of freight vehicle flows and guide towards corridor utilisation aspects. The inferred relationships could be used to understand how alterations in one sector may perturb other sectors and to inform about upgrading regional attraction, retention and growth-related policies.

Hospital-to-Shelter/Housing Interventions for Persons Experiencing Homelessness

Persons with lived and living experiences of homelessness (PWLEs) commonly use hospitals and emergency departments to access healthcare yet support for transitions from hospital to shelter/housing can be challenging to access. To improve the continuity of care and health outcomes for PWLEs who are being discharged from hospital, a more complete understanding of two hospital-to-shelter/housing programs in Metro Vancouver, Canada was sought. Using a community-based participatory research approach, we conducted in-depth interviews in-person or by phone. Participants included eight healthcare and shelter/housing decision-makers and providers and a convenience sample of ten program participants (two females and eight males who ranged in age from 31 to 74 years old; average = 50 years old). Data were analyzed in NVivo 12 to identify successes including: 1) achieving health stability and recovery following hospital discharge; 2) having privacy and freedom while in the program; 3) building relationships with providers; 4) having formal support to find housing; and 5) cross-sector relationships between providers. Challenges included: 1) limited availability of affordable and appropriate housing; 2) other guests’ ways of life; 3) complex needs versus limited after-care resources; and 4) inequities in program access. While hospital-to-shelter/housing programs can serve as intervention opportunities to connect PWLEs to permanent housing, discharge plans need to acknowledge the local limitations on housing availability and offer short-term options for patients who require sub-acute rest and convalescence.

Moving the Field Forward: A Decade of Progress Implementing Health in All Policies in the United States.

Moving the Field Forward: A Decade of Progress Implementing Health in All Policies in the United States.

Building Sustainable NGO-Business Relationships

Although NGO-business relationships can bring many advantages for both the NGO and the commercial organization, research has shown that these relationships are still limited. While NGO-business relationships can easily be compared with buyer-supplier relationships in business supply chains, the literature specifically indicates several additional challenges in achieving effective and efficient NGO-business relationships compared to a commercial context. Our research seeks to understand how social capital can help overcome these additional challenges by creating sustainable NGO-business relationships. From a practitioner’s viewpoint, we not only strive to acknowledge the complementarity of NGOs and businesses for implementing sustainable relationship practices, but also seek to understand how these understudied cross-sector relationships can be successfully built. We use a multiple-case study design to investigate nine NGO-business relationships in a humanitarian context. This study contributes to the supply chain literature by demonstrating how social capital mitigates tensions within NGO-business relationships, enabling us to present a more generic process framework of enablers for creating sustainable NGO-business relationships.

Mapping the structures of international communication organizations’ networks and cross-sector relationships on social media and exploring their antecedents

Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of the alliance theory and the collective action theory, this study examines the global network structures of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and their cross-sector relationships on social media and explains the predictors of the relationships. More specifically, we conduct a network analysis to examine the network structure of international communication organizations and their cross-sector relationships on Twitter. This study found that INGOs and IGOs are more likely to establish following relationships on Twitter with the same type of organizations. Furthermore, educational level and cultural context influence their cross-sector relationships. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are also discussed.

Public Health Systems and Social Services: Breadth and Depth of Cross-Sector Collaboration.

Objectives. To examine the extent to which social service organizations participate in the organizational networks that implement public health activities in US communities, consistent with recent national recommendations.Methods. Using data from a national sample of US communities, we measured the breadth and depth of engagement in public health activities among specific types of social and community service organizations.Results. Engagement was most prevalent (breadth) among organizations providing housing and food assistance, with engagement present in more than 70% of communities. Engagement was least prevalent among economic development, environmental protection, and law and justice organizations (less than 33% of communities). Depth of engagement was shallow and focused on a narrow range of public health activities.Conclusions. Cross-sector relationships between public health and the housing and food sectors are now widespread across the United States, giving most communities viable avenues for addressing selected social determinants of health. Relationships with many other social and community service organizations are more limited.Public Health Implications. Public health leaders should prioritize opportunities for engagement with low-connectivity social sectors in their communities such as law, justice, and economic development.

Managing new social procurement imperatives in the Australian construction industry

PurposeThis paper responds to the need for more construction project management research in the emerging field of social procurement. It contributes by exploring the potential value of cross-sector collaboration and project-based intermediation in meeting new social procurement imperatives.Design/methodology/approachA thematic exploratory case study analysis is presented of seventy-three interviews undertaken with stakeholders involved in a unique project-based intermediary developed by a major Australian construction company to leverage the power of cross-sector collaboration in response to social procurement imperatives on its projects, based on semi-structured interviews with 33 disadvantaged job seekers, 40 organisational stakeholders (employment agencies; not-for-profits, Indigenous, disability and refugee support organisations; training organisations; subcontractors; government agencies and departments; community organisations) and observational and documentary data over the duration of a unique project-based intermediary called a Connectivity Centre, developed by a major Australian contractor to deliver on its emerging social procurement requirements.FindingsThe results show that cross-sector collaboration within the construction industry can produce highlight numerous cognitive, behavioural, health, situational and affective social impacts for the project community and shared-value benefits for the range of organisations involved. However, it is found that cross-sector collaboration through project-based intermediation in a construction context is challenging due to the fragmented and dynamic nature of construction project teams and the communities they have to engage with. Encouraging people and organisations to collaborate who operate in industries and organisations with different and sometimes competing institutional logics and objectives (even if they are linked by common values) requires a set of knowledge, competencies and relationships not recognised in current global project management competency frameworks.Originality/valueThis research contributes new insights to the emerging but embryonic body of research into construction social procurement by demonstrating the value of emerging theories of social procurement, social value, cross-sector collaboration and intermediation in enhancing our currently limited understanding of the complex challenges involved in responding to new social procurement requirements in the construction industry. It explores and documents the potential value of project-based intermediaries in developing and managing the new cross-sector relationships, roles, relational competencies and practices, which are required to effectively respond to and measure the impact of emerging social procurement policies in the construction industry. These findings have a potentially significant social impact by providing new insights for policymakers and the construction industry, to optimise the industry’s response to emerging social procurement policies.

A Case Study on Incorporating Health and Equity into Urban Plans, Transportation, and Land Use Policies

In 2017, the Built Environment Program at the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment (Colorado, USA) collaborated with a partner municipal agency to create a health and equity index to be a component of a revitalized sidewalk prioritization model. The Health Equity Index uses indicators that are linked to the determinants of health to spatially understand factors that contribute to an individual or household’s likelihood of being more vulnerable. The data to create the Health Equity Index is publicly sourced at block group level from the United States Census American Community Survey 5-year estimates and at census tract level from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s 500 Cities dataset. The score is one of three factors used to determine sidewalk improvement priorities in the City. The new model mapped prioritization and created broader geographic distribution than what was previously used. The creation of the Health Equity Index was a valuable partnership that led to multiple outcomes outside of the sidewalk prioritization process. First, its creation has established a foundation for partnership between two sectors across different government agencies. Second, the Health and Equity Index has also been used as an assessment tool for the adopted City Plan, the guiding comprehensive plan for the municipal agency. Through this process, we have learned that elements of Health Impact Assessment can be a powerful tool for understanding the health impacts of a policy or process on community, as well as for building and developing trusted cross-sector relationships.

Cross-sectoral professional relationships and transition to school: an Australian study

ABSTRACT Research highlights the importance of seamless transitions between early childhood services and schools to ensure a positive start to school for young children. Drawing on an ecological model of transition where positive outcomes for children depend on the relationships formed between key players in their transition, this paper examines cross-sectoral relationships between the professionals involved. It categorises interactions taking place within the transition then utilises Bourdieu’s field theory to explore and illuminate the social processes involved in the pre-school/school relationships. Data are drawn from field visits and interviews with early childhood teachers at 12 services and primary school teachers in 11 schools across the state of New South Wales, Australia. The findings show that not all categories of professional relationships are apparent when classified through transition activities, with personal experiences and historical positionings accounting for such differences. This paper argues that more effort and support is required to build collaborative partnerships that move from being unidirectional to mutually respectful and responsive. This move will enable teachers to engage in professional dialogue and build sustainable professional networks; however, for this to occur teachers need to become aware of how their practices have been shaped by their habitus, capital and the field.

Speaking the same language: Navigating information-sharing in the youth justice sphere

Introduction: Qualitative research was undertaken to explore professionals’ experiences of cross-sector information-sharing about the mental health needs of young people in youth justice residences in Aotearoa New Zealand. Methods: Eight focus groups (N = 36) were conducted across Aotearoa New Zealand. Half of these were with case leaders from each of the four Oranga Tamariki – Ministry for Children – youth justice residences. The other half were with youth forensic service (YFS) clinicians who provide mental health services in each youth justice residence. Findings: The findings showed positive cross-sector relationships, despite a lack of policy around information-sharing in this context. Themes from case leaders included the practicalities of the residential environment (including restriction on young people’s freedoms and managing group safety), and case leaders’ brokerage role between competing theoretical frameworks in residence. Themes from YFS clinicians included the importance of cross-sector information-sharing for the assessment and discharge phases of mental health input. Overall themes included the impact of relationships on information-sharing, and the importance of including residential care team staff within information-sharing practices. A proposed model of information-sharing in this context has been developed.Conclusions: Effective information-sharing in youth justice residences is imperative to ensure that young people receive appropriate mental health input in residences, and that residence staff are supported to provide the best care for these young people. Social work has an important role within information-sharing practices with use of systems theory, translation of clinical jargon, and advocacy for the needs of young people involved in multiple systems.

The scope for better industry representation in long-term energy models: Modeling the cement industry

Although the cement industry emits around 6% of global CO2 emissions, most global Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) barely represent this industrial subsector or do not cover all important processes. This study, describes the state-of-the-art of cement modelling in IAMs, suggests possible improvements and discusses the impacts of these on energy and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the IMAGE global IAM.It is found that two cement-sector specific GHG mitigation measures are often not explicitly accounted for in IAMs, namely: (i) retrofitting and (ii) reducing the clinker to cement ratio. For retrofitting, many measures are identified as cost-effective and when incorporating these in the IMAGE model overall energy use reduces between 2010 and 2035 by 9.8 and 11 EJ (4% and 5%) under the baseline and GHG mitigation scenarios, respectively. When incorporating the clinker to cement ratio by linking material availability to the activities in the steel industry and coal-fired power plants, the 2050 energy use reduces by 15% under the baseline scenario and increases by 9% under the GHG mitigation scenario as fewer coal-fired power plants are in operation. This is even more prominent in the long term. The 2100 energy use is 14% higher in the GHG mitigation scenario as even fewer coal-fired power plants are used drastically limiting the potential for clinker substitution with fly ash. These results highlight the importance of capturing cross-sectoral relationships between industries and of including sector specific mitigation measures in long-term energy models.

Intervening with Children Living with Domestic Violence: Is the System Safe?

ABSTRACTThis article examines cross-sector relationships that facilitated or impeded effective responses to women and children experiencing domestic violence. It reports on the findings of a study of 54 Australian professionals working in either statutory child protection, family law, or domestic violence and community services. Qualitative data gathered from focus groups with participants is the research base for this article. The study found that overwhelmingly the focus group participants described myriad policies and practices in the public sphere that could compound the impact of men’s violence against women in the private sphere.IMPLICATIONSComprehensive risk assessments should attend to assessing the risks posed by institutions of the state.The findings are particularly relevant to practitioners and policymakers who wish to work in socially just ways, which begin with rendering visible the coercive tactics of the state.

Developing an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral community of practice in the domain of forests and livelihoods.

Although significant resources are being spent researching and fostering the relationship between forests and livelihoods to promote mutually beneficial outcomes, critical gaps in understanding persist. A core reason for such gaps is that researchers, practitioners, and policy makers lack the structured space to interact and collaborate, which is essential for effective, interdisciplinary research, practice, and evaluation. Thus, scientific findings, policy recommendations, and measured outcomes have not always been synthesized into deep, systemic understanding; learning from practice and implementation does not easily find its way into scientific analyses, and science often fails to influence policy. Communities of practice (CofPs) are dynamic sociocultural systems that bring people together to share and create knowledge around a common topic of interest. They offer participants a space and structure within which to develop new, systemic approaches to multidimensional problems on a common theme. Uniquely informed by a systems-thinking perspective and drawing from the scientific and gray literatures and in-depth interviews with representatives of established CofPs in the natural resource management and development domain, we argue that a well-designed and adequately funded CofP can facilitate interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral relationships and knowledge exchange. Well-designed CofPs integrate a set of core features and processes to enhance individual, collective, and domain outcomes; they set out an initial but evolving purpose, encourage diverse leadership, and promote collective-identity development. Funding facilitates effective communication strategies (e.g., in person meetings). We urge our colleagues across sectors and disciplines to take advantage of CofPs to advance the domain of forests and livelihoods.

Building strong relationships between conservation genetics and primary industry leads to mutually beneficial genomic advances.

Several reviews in the past decade have heralded the benefits of embracing high-throughput sequencing technologies to inform conservation policy and the management of threatened species, but few have offered practical advice on how to expedite the transition from conservation genetics to conservation genomics. Here, we argue that an effective and efficient way to navigate this transition is to capitalize on emerging synergies between conservation genetics and primary industry (e.g., agriculture, fisheries, forestry and horticulture). Here, we demonstrate how building strong relationships between conservation geneticists and primary industry scientists is leading to mutually-beneficial outcomes for both disciplines. Based on our collective experience as collaborative New Zealand-based scientists, we also provide insight for forging these cross-sector relationships.

Interorganizational collaboration in public health data sharing.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the institutional and social forces that influence collaborative data sharing practices in cross-sector interorganizational networks. The analysis focusses on the data sharing practices between professionals in the transportation and public health sectors, areas prioritized for collaborative action to improve public health. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methods design is utilized. Electronic surveys were sent to 57 public health and 157 transportation professionals in a large major metropolitan area in the USA (response rate 39.7 percent). Focus groups were held with 12 organizational leaders representing professionals in both sectors. Findings The application of the institutional-social capital framework suggests that professional specialization and organizational forces make it challenging for professionals to develop the cross-sector relationships necessary for cross-sector collaborative data sharing. Research limitations/implications The findings suggest that developing the social relationships necessary for cross-sector collaboration may be resource intensive. Investments are necessary at the organizational level to overcome the professional divides that limit the development of cross-sector relationships critical for collaborative data sharing. The results are limited to the data sharing practices of professionals in one metropolitan area. Originality/value Despite mandates and calls for increased cross-sector collaboration to improve public health, such efforts often fail to produce true collaboration. The study's value is that it adds to the theoretical conceptualization of collaboration and provides a deeper understanding as to why collaborative action remains difficult to achieve. Future study of collaboration must consider the interaction between professional specialization and the social relationships necessary for success.

Building sustainable health and education partnerships: stories from local communities.

BACKGROUNDGrowing health disparities have a negative impact on young people's educational achievement. Community schools that involve deep relationships with partners across multiple domains address these disparities by providing opportunities and services that promote healthy development of young people, and enable them to graduate from high school ready for college, technical school, on-the-job training, career, and citizenship.METHODSResults from Milwaukie High School, North Clackamas, OR; Oakland Unified School District, Oakland, CA; and Cincinnati Community Learning Centers, Cincinnati, OH were based on a review of local site documents, web-based information, interviews, and e-mail communication with key local actors.RESULTSThe schools and districts with strong health partnerships reflecting community schools strategy have shown improvements in attendance, academic performance, and increased access to mental, dental, vision, and health supports for their students.CONCLUSIONSTo build deep health-education partnerships and grow community schools, a working leadership and management infrastructure must be in place that uses quality data, focuses on results, and facilitates professional development across sectors. The leadership infrastructure of community school initiatives offers a prototype on which others can build. Moreover, as leaders build cross-sector relationships, a clear definition of what scaling up means is essential for subsequent long-term systemic change.