Infrastructure for Cross-Sector Collaboration: The State Health Leader Perspective.

Abstract

Cross-sector collaboration is a crucial mechanism for public health to address the social determinants of health and is recognized as a fundamental driver of community health improvement. As public health agencies seek to embrace this approach, relationship building across sectors is a key component of effective leadership. State health agencies regularly influence health determinants through partnerships and are well positioned to lead in this arena, but this leadership requires an infrastructure that supports cross-sector collaboration. The field recognizes the need to foster collaboration across sectors, and there is growing consensus around investment in these partnerships. Inclusive engagement of communities and stakeholders in addressing health can advance equity and increase the impact of public resources. From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Action Framework to the US Surgeon General’s commitment to direct focus toward “better health through better partnerships,” the movement is well established. To undertake and maintain these collaborations, public health agencies must develop this capacity and integrate it within their operations. The Public Health National Center for Innovations identifies the ability to convene across agencies and partners as a needed foundational capability of health departments. In identifying pathways to health equity, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine even proposed this primary role for public health agencies to “build internal capacity to effectively engage community development partners and to coordinate activities that address the social and economic determinants of health.” As health agency leaders respond to these calls to action and build a