Where is the social in sustainable development? Capturing socioeconomic models in the European Cohesion Policy

While sustainable development is often framed around three pillars – society, environment, and economy – the social dimension often remains underexplored. This study tries to fill this gap by proposing a theoretical model linking social and economic aspects. Applying topic modelling and hierarchical clustering to textual data from 2014–2020 European Cohesion Policy projects, it identifies distinct socio-economic development models and regional patterns. The findings enrich theoretical debates on regional development and offer methodological tools and actionable insights for policymakers, helping to better integrate social considerations into development strategies and design more effective, context-sensitive policies.