From Information Sharing to Intersectoral Project Development: Conditions for Collaboration in Homelessness Initiatives in a Quebec Region

Since the early 2010s, multidisciplinary initiatives have emerged in Quebec, aiming to develop responses to homelessness through intersectoral and collaborative approaches. The crisis in public action on homelessness is characterized by a significant increase in the phenomenon alongside a shortage of services and resources, both for prevention and support. Although public action involves multiple sectors—housing, health, social services, employment, among others—actors operating at the clinical, community, and strategic levels face numerous challenges in translating these collaborations into effective local implementation.

To examine these issues, we conducted a longitudinal study of local intersectoral initiatives and collaborative platform across several areas in Quebec, beginning in 2017. The study aims to identify factors facilitating the establishment and development of these mechanisms, as well as the obstacles and tensions encountered during implementation, including financing arrangements, processes of legitimization, political opportunities, and competing priorities among actors. This presentation focuses on governance structures and decision-making modes as organized spaces for action at multiple levels (Duit & Galaz, 2008; Jessop, 2003).

The methodology combines participant observation, semi-structured interviews (N ≈ 40), and regular monitoring of consultation bodies, analyzed from a comparative and analytical perspective. This approach enables a detailed examination of governance and collaboration practices and their effects on services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

The presentation will highlight diverse models of governance within intersectoral homelessness initiatives and their influence on the nature of interventions and collaboration dynamics. It will also explore how collaborative approaches can emerge and persist in constrained environments.