Table 1 Eight key system components within three government subsystems (modified from Shankardass et al. 2018 [14])

Executive subsystem: the processes of government responsible for the creation and implementation of legislative mandates related to the implementation of Health in All Policies (HiAP) initiatives

Policy agenda: the finite set of social and political issues upon which governments act on at a given point in time, which will be shaped by the party organisation(s) who control the government and influenced by extra-governmental factors, and which have implications for the priority of health equity initiatives like HiAP

Intersectoral subsystem: the processes of government that facilitate the horizontal and vertical coordination of the HiAP policy agenda across various sectors of the government and with extra-governmental partners

Expert advisors: expert individuals (often from outside of government) who are formally consulted in planning and executing the implementation of HiAP initiatives; expert advisors are a type of policy elite, i.e. they have influence over the policy process

HiAP management: the set of technical processes through which governments generate institutional capacity for implementation of HiAP initiatives

Intrasectoral subsystem: the processes of government that facilitate activities such as the pursuit of sectoral objectives, which may be affected by the implementation of HiAP initiatives

High-ranking civil servants: bureaucrats who may have authority over the policy process delegated to them by political elites; high-ranking civil servants are a type of policy elite, i.e. they have influence over the policy process, and may be particularly engaged in the technical aspects of implementing HiAP initiatives

Sectoral objectives: goals and motivations of policy sectors, often delivered through a formal mandate from the executive, which may be affected by a government’s implementation of HiAP initiatives

Sectoral ideology: the cluster of ideas, beliefs, values and attitudes that constitute the normative lens through which policy-makers within a given sector interpret and act upon social and political issues, such as health equity, and which may vary given sectoral objectives (e.g. healthcare, population health, economic growth, engineering), i.e. a worldview

Workforce capacity for Intersectoral Action (ISA): the extent of expertise among human resources with tools and processes and workforce size dedicated to implementing HiAP initiatives, enabling feasibility

Workforce HiAP awareness: an understanding of the need and reasons for an intersectoral approach to address health equity, as part of the process of agenda-setting and, ultimately, buy-in for the implementation of HiAP initiatives