Overview: The Intersectoral Action Fund

On this page

• Context
• About the Intersectoral Action Fund
• 2024 Funding opportunity

Context

In recent years, communities across Canada have faced immense and complex public health challenges, which amplified the need for better prevention, preparedness and resiliency of our public health system. These challenges do not impact populations equally; the risk for poorer health outcomes is greater among communities facing pre-existing social, economic, or environmental dimensions of marginalization, including those related to racism, discrimination, and colonization. 

There is a growing focus on community resilience in public health systems and other sectors. This highlights the need to look beyond immediate responses and move towards building a foundation that will keep communities healthy, prepared and thriving, even during unexpected events. In addition, there is a growing focus on health promotion approaches that include collaboration between different groups and taking action to improve the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age – these are the social determinants of health (SDOH). This collaboration and action is known as intersectoral action (ISA). Effective ISA and community action recognise that good health is a shared goal and responsibility among many sectors, organizations, and actors^{Footnote 1}.  

The Intersectoral Action Fund (“the Fund”) is a program that supports communities to build capacity to advance ISA and strengthen local resiliency.

About the Intersectoral Action Fund

Objective

The objective of the Fund is to support action on the SDOH by strengthening capacity in communities to advance upstream ISA, in ways that improve population health, reduce health inequities, and strengthen community resiliency.

Principles

The guiding principles of the Fund include:

• Upstream: Projects aim to address the SDOH by targeting the policies and underlying inequities that shape both the conditions people live in and their behaviours. Upstream interventions act on societal, economic, legal and political structures and norms to improve access to resources and opportunities for all.
• Health equity: Projects integrate principles that consider and address unfair, avoidable and preventable differences in the SDOH, health outcomes, and the impact of interventions for different or specific populations groups.
• Inclusive governance and policymaking: The Fund considers inclusive governance, which includes policy research and development, to be fundamental for creating sustainable changes in communities. Governance is inclusive when it effectively serves and engages everyone; considers different aspects of peoples’ identities; and when institutions, policies, processes, and services are accessible, accountable and responsive to all members of society. Making inclusive policies is essential to advancing democratic values and respect for diversity. In recognition of the principles of inclusive governance and policymaking, projects must demonstrate established, appropriate, and meaningful partnerships with organizations prepared to engage in collaborative decision-making.
• Intersectoral approach: Projects often engage with partners and stakeholders from diverse sectors to take action on cross-cutting issues 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 the SDOH.
• Social determinants of health (SDOH): Projects focus action on one or more of the SDOH, according to local context and needs. Examples of SDOH that may be advanced through ISA include: housing, job security, food security, income security, racism and discrimination, education, early childhood development, and others. Projects may be undertaken in a range of settings related to the SDOH, including community health centres, schools and post-secondary institutions, social services, governments, workplaces, community centres, detention and correctional institutions.

2024 Funding opportunity

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is inviting eligible organizations to apply to the Intersectoral Action Fund (“the Fund”) for funding to support intersectoral policy action on the social determinants of health and community resilience. Specifically, the current funding opportunity will support projects that integrate health, equity and wellbeing considerations into local decision-making, and promote positive change. This funding opportunity acknowledges the beneficial and purposeful impact that equity-focused policy change can have on the long-term health and ability of communities to recover from challenges (community resiliency).

Interested parties are invited to read through the Apply for the Fund page. This page outlines important information, how to apply and the application deadline. It is the applicant’s responsibility to read through the Applicant Guide to ensure that they understand the eligibility criteria and other important information before submitting their application.