This Report provides cross-case study comparative analysis of twelve European case studies provided to us by Secretariats of seven European National Economic and Social Councils (NESCs). Because NESCs operate in diverse institutional, political, and socio-economic environments, case studies provide a systematic way to examine how specific processes and structures generate social cohesion in other European countries. This approach captures real world mechanisms, highlights institutional learning, and facilitates some cross-national comparison.

The analysis in this paper seeks to identify structural patterns, divergences, and causal mechanisms that provide some explanation as to how social cohesion may be supported.