Enhancing Outcomes by Integrating Social Cohesion & Justice

CRS’ Strategic Change Platform 1 promotes a more systematic and deliberate integration of social cohesion and justice approaches across all our humanitarian and development work. This collection of case studies illustrates the power of strengthening the social fabric to address overlapping challenges.

In West Darfur, Sudan, Taadoud demonstrates how diverse communities of subsistence farmers and nomadic pastoralists organized themselves to develop an inclusive and equitable approach for effective community governance around natural resources. Senegal’s Elagnoul project demonstrates how communities benefit when all voices are represented to enhance positive relationship building and decision-making. COSOPAX in Central Africa’s Great Lakes region shows that combining social cohesion with economic strengthening efforts increased women’s agency, visibility, and voice within their households and communities, improved their economic well-being, and empowered them to serve as peace advocates in communities recovering from conflict. In Athens, Greece, Livelihoods and Psychosocial Support to Refugees and Asylum Seekers programming shows how improving the social integration and overall wellbeing of refugees enhances broader livelihood issues of safe shelter, language instruction, employment workshops, and vocational training.

Click here to download the case studies in French, Spanish, or Arabic.