Cross-Sectoral Collaboration for Work Inclusion and the Governance Perspective: A Systematic Literature Review and Research Directions

The governance turn in public administration suggests that collaboration with private and third-sector actors can improve services and results. However, evidence remains fragmented at the practice-field level, where such benefits are expected to materialize. To assess the evidence base, we synthesized 71 studies of voluntary cross-sectoral collaborations for work inclusion, that is, initiatives aimed at enhancing employment for vulnerable jobseekers. The literature is predominantly process oriented, emphasizing how these tension-prone collaborations can be organized and sustained. It further suggests that collaboration is often layered onto, rather than challenging, established administrative approaches. While studies report jobseeker empowerment and employment gains, the governance assumption that collaboration improves results remains weakly substantiated. Governance scholarship would benefit from stronger field-based evidence on when, how, and at what cost cross-sectoral collaboration improves results relative to what can be achieved through established approaches.