The Intersector Project is committed to creating accessible, credible, and practically valuable research that is publicly available in full through our website.
Journalists have a key role to play in covering cross-sector partnerships thoroughly, not only to fulfill the Fourth Estate’s mission of holding public officials accountable for their work in these collaborations, but also to educate the public about cross-sector collaboration as a potential model for addressing public problems. Through 30 interviews with journalists and leaders of organizations that support journalism, as well as an analysis of nearly 250 stories of cross-sector collaboration from 10 newspapers across the country, this report explores how the press covers cross-sector collaboration in the United States and illuminates the difficulties journalists face in covering it well. A key component of this report is a recommended list of questions for journalists to consider to better understand and illuminate the cross-sector collaborations they cover. The report also offers recommendations for components of an education module for journalists on the topic, including a critical review of coverage, techniques for creating interesting stories that are focused on process, guidance on identifying expert sources, and more.
In fall 2015, Hart Research Associates convened six focus groups on behalf of The Intersector Project to explore citizens’ views toward the business, government, and non-profit sectors and toward cross-sector collaboration. This report presents takeaways from these focus groups and provides guidance on how to effectively make the case for collaboration to key stakeholders; insights into how each of the business, government, and non-profit sectors is perceived; and an overview of citizens’ views on how results of successful cross-sector initiatives are communicated, highlighting elements that make certain stories of success resonate more than others.
In 2016, The Intersector Project convened leading U.S. organizations from the business, government, and non-profit sectors to form an informal coalition and host a summit — “An Intersector Process for U.S. Infrastructure” — the goal of which was to clearly and convincingly establish the need and cross-sector support for revitalizing American infrastructure. This document, which was presented at the summit, captures the perspectives of practitioners across sectors on the critical issues and problems that need to be resolved to move U.S. infrastructure forward.
The Development of Boston’s Innovation District: A Case Study of Cross-Sector Collaboration and Public Entrepreneurship looks at the role of collaboration across business, government, and non-profit sectors in the development of one of the country’s most talked-about innovation districts. The report focuses on the role of the public sector in driving the District forward. It examines the context that gave rise to the District, the strategies that guided the District’s development, key milestones reached through leveraging partnerships with the business and non-profit sectors, and more. We hope this report illuminates how other public sector officials can work with business and non-profit sector partners to create innovative economic development strategies.