From mapping to action: Social network analysis as a strategic tool in cross-national community interventions

Community interventions increasingly leverage Social Network Analysis (SNA) both to understand relational patterns and to facilitate structural changes within networks. Indeed, SNA serves not only as an analytical tool but also as a catalyst for reflection and change. Although SNA has been widely used as an intervention tool, its application in cross-national contexts remains underexplored. This study aims to address this research gap by investigating how SNA can contribute to cross-national community interventions. We use a case study approach based on a longitudinal analysis of the Assistance and Legal Program for Emigrant Support (ALPES) network, a cross-national project established at the Italian-French border. In this project, SNA has been used both as a diagnostic tool to map the information exchange network of third-sector organizations and as a strategic intervention strategy that produced behavioral changes in these organizations. Our results show that SNA functioned as both a translational monitoring tool and a catalytic intervention: network visualization prompted organizations to strategically alter their collaborative patterns and address structural gaps in migrant support services across borders. This demonstrates how network feedback processes can enhance inter-organizational collaboration in complex cross-national contexts. • Social Network Analysis can be used for mapping and reshaping relational patterns. • We apply multilevel community intervention in a cross-national context. • Network visualizations catalyzed strategic inter-organizational changes. • French and Italian organizations reacted differently to the intervention. • Unexpected outcomes may be the result of cultural and institutional differences.