Services to Industry

Inter/Sect Alliance associates work with companies and associations in the agri-food, biotechnology, health and consumer product industries. Companies marketing consumer goods, emerging food technologies and the resulting products benefit from our broad range of experience and our understanding of national and international business and regulatory environments.

Our services to industry clients are supported by our long-term working relationships with Canadian federal government departments and agencies, notably Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Health Canada, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Industry Canada and Environment Canada; and in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (human and animal food sectors), Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency. We have also worked with OECD, CODEX, FAO, IAEA, UNEP and other international organizations.

Enhanced Market Access

We assist companies to do business throughout Canada, the United States and around the world. Each Alliance member has extensive experience in government relations and regulatory affairs in the food, beverage, drug and consumer product sectors. From regulations for labelling, packaging, ingredients and new technologies to trade, tax, tariff and communications issues, we will help you to navigate the maze of rules that affect your products and services in the marketplace.

Increased Trade and Profitability

We can help your business do business in Canada by identifying and managing opportunities to decrease procurement costs, enhance market access and restrict unfairly traded products.

We also assist the marketing of new, fairly traded products to Canada. We identify areas to maximize efficiencies by cutting government red tape. Our associates have an excellent track record for delivering results that go directly to the bottom line.

Market Development

The successful marketing of new technologies and new products requires expert technical, regulatory, market and consumer advice. Inter/Sect Alliance associates have the knowledge and experience to offer informed guidance in the emerging fields of biotechnology, food irradiation, functional foods, new health technologies and related issues including allergic and hypersensitivity reactions and labelling. We assist companies in the design of marketing communications programs for these sensitive, complex issues. Issues management and Monitoring

Keeping current with policy and regulatory changes poses a major challenge for businesses today. Our associates monitor daily events in the government process and provide timely reporting of important developments. We identify what is relevant and essential to provide strategic advice for our clients.

Under longer-term retainer relationships, we become known by policy-makers as key members of our client's public affairs management team. Our liaison role facilitates the exchange of information essential to the successful resolution of public policy issues.

More importantly, our clients are able to devote their full attention to their business, confident that their interests are well represented at all times.

Pursuing Shared Policy Objectives

We take pride in our ability to identify and bring together diverse organizations to pursue common business and public policy objectives. Not all issues can be resolved by consensus. Government policy-makers will often act more quickly and decisively when the consequences of their decisions are clearly articulated by a few representatives of broadly-based groups.

Our strategic alliances can cross sectoral lines and frequently link management and labor objectives. We can also bring together different members of the value chain, linking primary producers with manufacturers, processors, distributors and retailers.

Managing such initiatives requires special skills. Our many years of experience in policy analysis and conflict resolution allow us to broker the interests of the parties involved, to define practical solutions, and to identify the pathways to their implementation.

Industry Association Strategic Planning and Management Services

At Inter/Sect we recognize the integral role that effective industry associations play in helping respond to the business, communications, and regulatory challenges that determine success in the marketplace. Our associates have both established and managed industry associations and regularly provide our association clients with strategic planning and organizational development consulting services. Collectively, we have provided this planning, management, and government relations expertise to over 75 national, regional and provincial industry associations.