The Social Determinants of Health Sectoral Briefing Series aims to encourage more systematic dialogue and problem solving, and more collaboration with other areas of government, by providing information on other sectors' agendas and policy approaches, and their health impacts, and by illustrating areas for potential collaboration. Examples of intersectoral action for health - current and historical - reveal that health practitioners are frequently perceived as ignoring other sectors' goals and challenges. This creates barriers to intersectoral work, limiting its sustainability and expansion. In order to avoid this perception, instead of starting from the goals of the health system (e.g. health, health equity, responsiveness, fairness in financial contributions), the Social Determinants of Health Sectoral Briefing Series uses the goals of other sectors to orient its analysis and explore areas of mutual interest, rather than concentrating on traditional public health interventions (e.g. treatment, prevention, protection). The target audience for the series is public health officers, who are not experts on determinants of health but who have responsibilities for dealing with a broad range of development issues and partners. Each briefing focuses on a specific policy area, summarizing and synthesizing knowledge from key informants from health and other sectors, as well as from the literature. They present arguments and highlight evidence of impacts and interventions, with special emphasis on health equity. They make the case to health authorities for more proactive and systematic engagement with other sectors, to ensure more responsive and cohesive government that meets broader societal aspirations for health, equity and human development.