Third wave,third sector: A comparative provincial analysis of the governance of third sector relations

Across Canada, provincial governments are engaged in a “third wave” of consultations, policy dialogues, and policy alignment strategies with the third sector. Unexplored to date is how provincial governments internally administer their third sector file. This internal configuration could have important implications for internal adherence to cross‐cutting policy mandates as well as third sector policy implementation and bilateral collaboration agreements. This is a new point of analysis for public administrators and third sector intermediary organizations alike. This comparative analysis of network governance structures in eight provincial governments reveals that some structures are more compatible with policy alignment and implementation than others.