Measuring Social Cohesion

This list of resources on Measuring Social Cohesion are part of the larger Learning for Peace project which produced dozens of briefs, reports, case studies, guides, and research products, and compiled many other relevant resources related to the link between education and peacebuilding.

In order to assess the association of education services with existing levels of horizontal and vertical social cohesion, Harvard Humanitarian Institute (HHI) developed and pilot-tested an Education, Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion Assessment Framework (EPSC). The Framework has six dimensions:

  1. social cohesion;
  2. leadership, good governance and inclusive politics;
  3. access to resources and opportunities;
  4. the legacies of past conflict;
  5. information and communication networks; and
  6. justice and security.

These dimensions were identified as relevant during scoping assessments in Burundi, DRC, Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda where different categories of local stakeholders were queried about their understanding and awareness of social cohesion challenges and prerequisites in their own community and regional contexts. The EPSC contains contextualized specific indices to measure cohesion factors such as trust, social relationships, civic and social participation, inclusion and attitudes towards social services, as well as constructive dispute resolution.