Many contemporary human service agencies in the United States exemplify Boulding’s intersect organization. The leaders of an innovative Canadian community college built a small mall on the edge of campus to generate some additional revenues from the mall rentals. A California community college district during the late 20th Century operated a geothermal greenhouse project in cooperation with one of the counties in its region, funded by a California Energy Commission grant. This college also owns an environmental refuge outside its district, which was deeded with the provision that certain structural maintenance be observed and that it also be used for instructional projects.
Kaiser-Permanente was one of the first intersect health organizations. Founded as a combination health delivery system and health insurance program, Kaiser blazed the trail for many other health care systems in the United States. Kaiser is a classic “intersect.” It is both a delivery and insurance organization, and both a human service agency and private business.
The Delta Dental Insurance Companies in the United States provide yet another example of the intersect organization in the health field. Most states now have a Delta Dental Insurance plan that covers dental service costs. Delta Dental organizations are nonprofit, yet make a profit—excess funds are usually placed in reserve or given as bonuses to management staff. In many ways, Delta Dental operates like a private insurance company, having a very active marketing and advertising program. Yet it also operates as a quasi-governmental regulatory agency, given that it controls the cost of dental care by reimbursing member dentists for only a designated amount for specific dental services.
Buffers and Mediators: some intersect organizations (for example, regional transit districts) serve as buffers and mediators between conflicting organizations, while others, such as Amtrak, operate as quasi-governmental agencies that run utility, transportation, or communication systems. The Small Projects Assistance (SPA) Program fosters collaboration between the Agency for International Development (AID) and the Peace Corps, at both the field and headquarters levels.
This collaborative program supports small, self-help projects at the community level with minimum red tape. These projects have been supported by SPA through a combination of grants and technical assistance. SPA also works closely with SCORE, a volunteer organization that provides valuable mentorship-based assistance to those seeking and receiving SPA loans. SPA works at the intersection between other organizations and the government. It is entrepreneurial and can provide rapid response and cut through red tape—the classic advantages of many Intersect organizations.
Joint Powers Administration (JPA) organizations similarly operate in a flexible, intersect manner. JPA’s are legal entities created when two or more public agencies — such as cities, counties, school districts, or special districts — enter into a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) to jointly exercise powers they already have individually. It is a formal mechanism for collaborative governance that allows agencies to pool resources, share expertise, and deliver services more efficiently than they could alone.
In each case, there is a gap – a sector of nothingness—that is filled by the intersect organization. As Boulding suggests, these organizations are “peculiar” in that they produce something (a service, product, set of regulations or guidelines) from out of the nothingness that exists in the gap between disciplines, public and private ownership, or profit and nonprofit purposes. The Medici Effect is in full effect, with creative and collaborative solutions existing in abundance.
