In response to growing concerns about social polarisation and community divisions in Wales and across the UK, the Senedd's Equality and Social Justice Committee launched an inquiry into social cohesion in December 2024. 

The Committee's final report, Co-operation over Conflict: Wales Must Act, identified an urgent need for action and recommended establishing an independently chaired Expert Group on Social Cohesion (EGSC) to develop short-, medium- and long-term recommendations for the incoming Welsh Government. 

To support this work, the 2021-2026 Welsh Government commissioned the Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) to synthesise evidence on interventions that promote and strengthen social cohesion and identify potential policy actions for Wales. 

Our research addressed two questions: 

• What policy and practice interventions are effective in promoting and strengthening social cohesion? 

• What policy actions for Wales are indicated by the evidence on social cohesion interventions? 

Drawing on academic literature submitted to the Committee's inquiry, evidence provided through a call for submissions, and existing evidence syntheses, the review examined what is known about social cohesion interventions and the implications for policy in Wales. 

We have published three main outputs: 

• A full report, which synthesises the evidence on interventions to strengthen social cohesion and identifies implications for Wales. 

• A policy briefing, summarising the key findings. 

• A series of expert blogs based on presentations and discussions from our Evidence and Insights for Strengthening Community Cohesion in Wales webinar, held in March 2026. 

The evidence shows that a wide range of interventions can contribute to stronger social cohesion. However, differences in how outcomes are measured, alongside the diversity of intervention types, make it difficult to compare findings across studies or draw firm conclusions about which approaches are most effective. The evidence also suggests that how interventions are designed and delivered can be just as important as the interventions themselves. 

Despite these limitations, the evidence identifies a number of features associated with effective implementation and highlights several priorities for Welsh policy makers to consider. These include a focus on schools-based interventions, supporting coproduction of cohesion initiatives, strengthening links between volunteering and cohesion, enhancing investment in community spaces and investing in coordinated action at a local level.