Typology of actors' influence strategies in intersectoral governance process in Montreal, Canada

The objective of this article is to document the strategies developed by actors from different sectors during the processes of intersectoral governance. As a case study, the article focuses on the process of renegotiating the Terms of Reference of the Montreal Initiative for Local Social Development, a regional intersectoral intervention with the mission of guiding and supporting the actions of local intersectoral coalitions referred to as Neighbourhood Round Tables. The renegotiation process was marked by crisis in intersectoral governance. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 16 actors representing the four sectors involved in the intersectoral governance process, about four systematically selected critical incidents. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded using QDAMiner software. Interpretive and cross-sectional thematic analysis was conducted to assign meaning to the results. Results show that the actors developed intersectoral (shared or mediated) strategies and intrasectoral (creative unilateral, power-based unilateral or multilateral) strategies to influence collective decisions. The strategies, presented in a proposed typology, were distinguishable by their goals, their organizational origin, the actors involved and their fundamental mechanisms. Intersectoral strategies were developed at the regional level and aimed to promote or defend collective interests. In contrast, intrasectoral strategies sought to protect sectoral interests. The findings illustrate how actors' strategies operate within intersectoral governance processes. They show that collective decisions are shaped by the strategies created both at the boundaries of, and within, sectors. The proposed typology, if validated and applied to other cases, may help better understand how partners interact to influence collective decision-making.