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CASE STUDIES GUIDELINES FOR
CASH TRANSFER PROGRAMMING
IN AFGHANISTAN
March, 2013
CASE STUDIES GUIDELINES FOR
CASH TRANSFER PROGRAMMING IN
AFGHANISTAN
By Urayayi Mutsindikwa, George Bete and Agnes Mungatia
March, 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACRONYMS ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE GUIDELINES ...................................................................................... 5
STEPS TO COLLECT CASE STUDIES FROM COMMUNITIE ................................................................ 6
STEP 1 – GET CASE STUDIES SHOWCASING IMPACT AND LEARNING ............................................................. 6
STEP 2 – WRITE YOUR STORY. ............................................................................................................................ 7
STEP 3 – SHARE YOUR STORY. ............................................................................................................................ 8
CONTACTS FOR SUPPORT .......................................................................................................................... 8
SELECTION OF CASE STUDIES THROUGH THE SCORE CARD ........................................................ 9
BEST STORY SELECTION CRITERION BY DOMAIN ............................................................................ 9
CASE STUDIES NOT SELECTED AS THE BEST STORIES .................................................................... 9
KEY EXAMPLES OF THE CASE STUDIES DOMAINS ......................................................................... 10
A: Quality of life Domain .......................................................................................................... 10
B: Improved Social Status Domain ....................................................................................... 10
C: Empowerment ......................................................................................................................... 11
D: Improved Social Relations .................................................................................................. 11
E: Community Level stories- Improved Social Cohesion domain .............................. 11
CASE STUDIES STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES ............................................................................. 13
SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................................................... 14
RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................................. 15
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................. 16
ACRONYMS
CFT Cash for Training
CFW Cash for Work
ECHO European Commission and Civil Protection
CTP Cash Transfer Programming
HH Household
IGA Income Generating Activities
MEAL Monitoring, Evaluating, Accountability & Learning
M & E Monitoring and Evaluation
NGO Non Governmental Organisation
NRC Norwegian Refugee Council
OGB Oxfam Great Britain
ToT Training of Trainers
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE GUIDELINES
This guideline describes the process of collecting case studies from the field by the agencies
implementing cash transfer programmes in Afghanistan. A case study is a true story about a real
situation or person. Sometimes, the actual person featured in the case study tells the story themselves,
and this in itself has impact. Once field work story collection is complete selection and analysis of stories
follows and each story is put in a specific Domain of Storyline. Case studies are scored using a set
template and the “best” cases in each domain will be identified for wider sharing in form of booklets or as
part of progress reports to showcase impact of the project. These guidelines form Cash Transfer
Programming (CTP) Studies for Learning, Documentation and Writing Packet. It aims to help you
effectively and efficiently document a project, to craft this documentation into a success story or a
learning story, and to share this story with important stakeholders. A case study is usually success story
that uses a specific event, community, household or person to tell a story about how and why a particular
project has made a positive impact. A case study uses a specific event, community, household or person
to tell a story about what cash and voucher, its partners and/or its beneficiaries have learned while
implementing a particular project and how they have used this learning to strengthen the project’s impact.
The Cash Learning Partnership country coordination unit shall support partners to understand the case
study collection methodology to back-up personnel from Cash/Voucher Working Group partners. The
case study production training shall utilize practical and participatory approaches where staff shall be
asked to go into the field and have a practical feel of utilizing the approach. After introducing participants
to the principles of collection of cases, its origins and evolvement as well as its main implementation
steps, staff shall be given a chance to pilot the use the methodology. .
This guideline provides a summary of technical back-up activities aimed at supporting partners in
implementing Cash Transfers (CTs) projects as a form of qualitative data collection initiative. The scope
of the guidelines includes providing expert advice to NGOs staff on how to set up appropriate structures
and systems for story writing, collection, selection and publication, as well as setting up systems to
facilitate the wider sharing of cases, stories and lessons learnt. The major purpose of the document is to
strengthen and standardize participatory approaches to, and qualitative components of qualitative
monitoring and evaluation of cash and voucher projects.
The CTP partners are free to review the process where an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the
methodology maybe conducted. A review of the stories collected during piloting must be undertaken at
partner level. The technical team then shall conduct the final sessions addressing gaps, weaknesses and
challenges observed during the piloting phase of the pilot process. At the end of the pilot phase, staff
shall be asked to make a self-assessment and check if all are now competent enough to implement case
study collection in their respective organisations.
STEPS TO COLLECT CASE STUDIES FROM COMMUNITIES
STEP 1 – Get case studies showcasing impact and learning
The key to documenting a case study for showing success or lesson learned is asking good questions.
You’ll need to ask questions of yourself, as well as a diverse a range of community members who are
involved in the success/learning, such as children, women, teachers, health workers, traditional local
leaders, government workers at district, village and community levels as well as project staff. When
talking to these individuals, it will be impossible to write down everything people say. Keep your ears
open for “quotes” that express a particularly interesting point. Try to write down these “direct quotes” as
close as possible to how they are said. There are just six basic questions you need to keep in your mind
when documenting a case study showcasing success or a lesson learned: When? What? Where? Who?
How? Why?
WHEN? What is the date of your documentation? When did the activity begin in this community?
WHERE? Where are you (including district, ward and name of community, names of beneficiaries, etc.)?
What do the surroundings look like (if applicable to the story)?
WHAT? What are the project activities being documented? What is the intended impact of these
activities? What do beneficiaries, partner staff and community leaders say about the success or learning
that you are documenting? What are the most significant changes in this community as a result of this
project? What makes this project successful in this community?
WHO? Who is the CTs partner involved? Who are the targeted beneficiaries (type and number)? Who
did you get DIRECT quotes from about this success or learning (list name, age, gender and general
description)?
WHY? Why is this project important to this community? Why is it being implemented here?
HOW? How is the activity implemented? How has this process changed over time, and why? How has
the community or partner overcome any challenges they have faced? If this project was starting all over
again, how would you, the partner or the community do things differently? How does this project
demonstrate a success or a lesson learned? How will this success or lesson inform the project’s future?
Photos are also an important method of documentation because they can tell your story in a visual
way. Photos should demonstrate the positive change the community or beneficiary has experienced as a
result of the success or learning. One way of doing this is to take photos before the start of the project,
during implementation and after the completion of the project. The best photos are taken with the sun (or
main light source) behind you. This means that midday (when the sun is directly overhead) is the most
difficult time to take a good photo. It is best to take photos at your subject’s level. One way to ensure an
interesting photo is to imagine that you are dividing the photo into three sections horizontally and
vertically, and position your subject at the intersection of two of these lines. Use the highest resolution
possible on your camera – this will make it easier to edit the photo when you are back at the office and
will ensure that you can use the photo in both Web and print mediums. During documentation, ensure that
you collect the information you will need to write photo captions that clearly explain your images,
including the names of the subject(s) and the location. Always ask adults for permission before taking
their photograph. For children, ask their permission, as well as the permission of adults present, such as
guardians, caregivers or teachers. Ensure that your photo will in no way compromise the safety or well-
being of your subject.
STEP 2 – Write your story.
Your story needs to communicate a success or learning, and it needs to use direct quotes and personal
experiences to help tell the story. Success stories are typically 400-700 words long, and learning stories
are typically 500-1000 words long.
INTRODUCTION: Use a strong headline that will attract readers’ attention. In order to draw readers
into your story, it is often useful to introduce the beneficiaries or community that your story will focus on,
as well as the environment that they live in. Your opening should mention the success or learning that is
the main point of your story and let readers know why it is so important.
BODY: The body of your story should clearly answer the “who, what, when, where, why and how”
questions that explain and substantiate the success or learning. You need to organize this information as
logically as possible, and make sure that your paragraphs flow together. Each sentence should build on
the ideas in the last sentence, and each paragraph should have clear links to the preceding one. Some
common ways of transitioning to a new sentence or paragraph are to begin with phrases like “as a result”,
“in addition to”, “while”, and “since”. You should use the responses you documented – including direct
quotes – to help you personalize the story of this success or learning.
CONCLUSION: The final paragraph of your story should reinforce your success or learning and
highlight any related or follow-up activities or events that are planned for the future. This can also be the
place to include general information about CTP or this particular project. The conclusion should indicate
who at CTP partner can be contacted for additional information about your story (this will be you and/or
your Program Manager).
EDITING: Once you write the first draft of your story, put it aside for a couple of days so that you can
look at it again with fresh eyes and, if possible, also ask a colleague to review it for you. You and your
colleague should edit the story with these questions in mind:
Will the headline and opening sentences grab readers’ attention and draw them into the story?
Does the story answer the relevant “who, what, when, where, why and how” questions?
Are all the facts and spellings (including names and locations) correct?
Are the sentences written in active voice instead of passive voice?
Do the paragraphs flow together? Are they arranged in a logical order?
Will readers come away from this story with a solid understanding of this success or learning?
Are quotes and personal experiences used effectively to explain this success or learning?
Does the story avoid using lots of acronyms and technical terms? In other words, will a variety of
Is the story objective? Although success stories do demonstrate CTP’s positive impact, such stories
should not exaggerate or over-dramatize the information, and should never be untrue?
Once you’ve made any necessary edits, select the 1-2 high-quality photos that compliment your story.
Write captions which explain who/what is in the photos and what the photo depicts.
STEP 3 – Share your story.
Now, you’re ready to share your story! There are many ways to share a case sudy, and you should hold a
discussion with your Program Manager and the Communications and Learning Manager to identify
possible outlets. Any success or learning story will need to have appropriate approval before it is
disseminated, and it may be you, the Program Manager or a member of senior management that actually
distributes the story, depending on the audience. Consider these dissemination ideas:
Colleagues and partners: Share stories with C/VWG and its partners over e-mail, by hanging stories on
bulletin boards, distributing copies at meetings, or presenting them at a “learning” event monthly
coordination meetings. You can also request it being posted on relevant websites.
Community members: It is a good idea to share the story with the community members who you spoke
with during the documentation process. If possible, let them know how the agency is using the story, and
give them copies of the story.
Donors: Sharing success and learning stories with donors can help CTP projects highlight its good works,
outcome and impact. In addition, donors often have their own national, regional, global or thematic
newsletters, and they may want to share a CTP success story through these mediums. It makes them look
good to demonstrate the positive impact of their funding!
Government: If the partner has worked closely with a government ministry, office (such as the District,
Provincial, Tradition Leader etc,) or local authority on this project, you could share your story with these
groups. Make sure to seek approval from senior management before sharing your story in this way.
Colleagues in your technical area: There are many e-newsletters, e-forums, Web sites, and practitioner-
focused journals which you can use to share your story. Talk to the Communications and Learning
Personnel from respective agencies for a list of ideas. Do readers understand the story? Does the story
demonstrate why this success or learning is so important? The Afghanistan CTP coordination unit has a
website hosted at Oxfam and moderated by Oxfam and NRC and is useful dissemination for case studies.
CONTACTS FOR SUPPORT
Thank you for using the Cash Transfer Programming Case Studies Packet for your success and
learning stories. If you have feedback on the usefulness of this packet or ideas for how it can be
improved, please contact the following: [email protected];
Story Selection Scorecard Aspect Max.
score
Score
Clarity and Coherence 10
Credible Un-Expected -
Impacts/outcomes noted
10
Credible Qualitative -
Impacts/Outcomes noted
10
Consistency of key outcomes
with other observations (e.g.
from Quantitative data findings)
10
40
SELECTION OF CASE STUDIES THROUGH THE SCORE CARD
Agencies should identify staff assigned to collect case studies and get them trained. For ease of analysis
staff is trained to classify the respective stories according to the domains. This can be done at regional
level before submission to country office or
beyond. Story collectors should debate why a
particular story should or should not be selected
for sharing and dissemination. The groups then
shall then use a story selection template and
scorecard for each story. The final score for
each story shall be decided either by finding the
average score after considering different scores
from each group member. The case study with
the highest scores will be selected as the best
story in each domain. The scorecard table on the
right shows which aspects of each story will be
scored to give a cumulative final score. For
each story, reasons as to why the story is or is
not selected as best in that domain will be stated. The main issues emerging from each story
should be stated in the story selection template together with key lessons emerging from the
story. These case studies will specifically be collected as part of the lesson learning aspects and
where there is need to identify programming short-comings that can lead to negative changes for
beneficiaries
BEST STORY SELECTION CRITERION BY DOMAIN
Best stories are also selected based on the following:
Impact is very evident: Stories that best demonstrated impact should be selected as the best in each
domain. These stories should clearly demonstrated qualitative impacts at household and community
levels
Logical: the logical development of the story should be considered in selecting the story
Baseline is clearly laid out: The stories that outline the situation obtaining prior to participating in an
intervention, and then clearly showed the changes that occurred during and after implementation shall
be prioritized.
Credibility-The stories that are credible and “believable”
CASE STUDIES NOT SELECTED AS THE BEST STORIES
Stories not selected maybe rejected based on the following reasons:
Stories that will sound exaggerated, and with some issues needing verification
Impact described in the story not attributable to CTP interventions. In some cases assets acquired
could not be wholly attributed to CTP interventions.
No personal changes clearly depicted in the story.
Case studies that are so technically worded that the wording could not be attributable to the story-
tellers.
The case studies not fully explored and stories ended at quantitative level without bringing out the
qualitative impacts.
KEY EXAMPLES OF THE CASE STUDIES DOMAINS
This section discusses and analyses key examples to guide story writers and collectors:
A: Quality of life Domain
Stories that fell into this domain cut across all CTP interventions such as Cash-for-Work, Vouchers,
Conditional and Unconditional Grants. The story titles should be catchy for instance “Plucked from the
Mud” as compared to “Getting Peaceful Sleep” denoting the changes valued most by the story-tellers.
Both stories may narrate how the beneficiaries’ lives transformed from misery, hopelessness and stress to
a situation where they now have improved quality of life and hope and peace of mind through increased
income, improved food security and/or enhanced social status.
The following Significant Changes should be noted by the story tellers to be emanating from their
participation in different CTP interventions:
Regaining of confidence as household head
Enhanced social status within the community as households no longer engage in survival strategies
regarded by the communities as demeaning such as begging and piece jobs. Some of the story tellers
may narrate how they have transformed from being down-trodden people looked down upon by their
communities to becoming the envy of the same communities as they are now able to support their
families on their own.
B: Improved Social Status Domain
Improved social status is usually one of the domains that emerge from stories whose changes are as a
result of benefits that cut across all the different interventions. This may include story titles such as
“Disability is not inability”, “Restoration of dignity”, “A dream come true” and “Respect for each other
in the community”. As in the Quality of Life domain, the stories should send messages of people who had
lost confidence in themselves as a result of poverty and cyclone Aila but have managed to have some
hope as a result of participating in CTP interventions.
Restoration of dignity may arise when story tellers mentioned that their dignity had been shattered by
poverty but now has been restored as they are able to support their families without resorting to degrading
survival strategies. Other story tellers may report that when they are in extreme poverty after a disaster
such as cyclone Aila they cut social ties with some of their relatives as they were considered a bother due
to constant and perpetual begging. Now that they are self sufficient, ties with relatives may have been
restored. Instead of being beggars some of the households may become providers as they begin to help
other less-fortunate households or household members. This gives them a great sense of pride. Some
households may adopt orphans because they are better resourced than before. The households also may
also report that they can now participate in community activities as their confidence has been restored.
Previously they shunned community meetings as they either thought that their views would not be
respected because they were women, disabled, poor, or they had no decent clothing to be seen
contributing at public gatherings.
C: Empowerment
Stories in this domain narrate how the beneficiaries have been empowered through knowledge that they
have gained through participating in CTP interventions such as Cash for Training. They have utilized this
knowledge to increase their livelihoods options, improve their income generating capacity and maternal
and child health etc. As depicted by some of the story titles, for example “The power of knowledge” and
“Knowledge is changing the lives of women”, knowledge transfer maybe regarded as the most important
factor that transforms the lives of the beneficiary households. This may include the following:
Improved Knowledge on farming-as-a business as a result of training of developing business plans.
Increased income for educational needs
Improved sense of belonging
Sense of sharing with other households
Change in Social status resulting from improved knowledge
Reduction of cases of illnesses in the household (e.g. attributable to health modules) etc
This domain has the potential to report some of the significant changes that have occurred in the lives of
beneficiaries through participating in CTP interventions around the following areas:
Stopped begging for food as the empowerment gained through knowledge transfer has resulted in
increased agricultural productivity that has enhanced food security of the households.
Improved capacity to maintain family peace as couples begin to have less worries about money to buy
food because of regular cash transfer payouts.
Increased space in shaping domestic arrangement, especially women as they are able to generate own
income. Note cases of women reporting now being role models in the community.
Increased space in shaping community history through capacity to be listened to in sharing of ideas
and resources group meetings.
Increased income for household needs e.g. food, educational and health
Improved prioritization and budgeting of households income
Increase in household assets through IGA activities
D: Improved Social Relations
Story tellers may report improved social relations as a result of participating in CTP activities. Most
Significant Changes noted may be on Improved Family Relations and Restoration of Happiness. Story
tellers may report that relations within the family were strained since resources were scarce and there
were persistent arguments regarding how the few resources were to be shared. Participating in CTP
activities has had the effect of improving relations both at community and household level as the activities
bring community members together where they share ideas and plan for the future e.g. DRR interventions
under Cash for Work. Other significant changes falling under this domain may include the following:
Improved access to education for children and improved school performance
Enhanced social confidence
Decrease in community stigma and discrimination of people with disabilities etc
E: Community Level stories- Improved Social Cohesion domain
Community level stories are the ones which show that the CTP has generally had positive impact at
community level. The cases studies of note at community level include improved social cohesion. As
communities participate in groups in the various components of CTP such as CFW, CFT and Agricultural
Grant groups, these may result in a growing sense of sharing and cohesion as success depends on the
cohesiveness of the community. Some of the interactions during CFW and CFT, working in groups may
evolved into organized social groupings where group members help each other with moral and material
support during times of need. Some groups may start charity work such as donating cash and materials to
vulnerable members of the community such as the bed-ridden, orphans and vulnerable children (OVC)
and the elderly. Women may report that the trainings that they have received under CTP programme have
made them more assertive and confident to participate in community initiatives. Some of the community
groups may be led by women. Other significant changes that can be noted at community level include:
Improved food security
More spare time for community developmental activities
Enhanced community dignity
Enhanced social networking
F: Improved Quality of Life Domain (Community Level) Case studies which fell into this domain depict a general improvement in the quality of life of participants
in CTP interventions at community level. Some of the titles that can be given to the stories under this
domain includes: “Development through family Unity” and “Knowledge is Power”. Most Significant
Changes in the stories may include:
Acceptance of women in leadership by both the community and the individuals
Restoration of dignity and moral values
Improved health status
Improved access to clean water
Family unity
Overall the case studies reflect an improvement in the quality of life in the form of improved food
security from retaining to agriculture and crop production and availability of funds to purchase
agricultural inputs, improved health which may result in the reduction of diseases in the communities and
improved community cohesion as community members work together in groups where they shared ideas
and assisted each other in times of need. Knowledge transfer may go beyond the direct programme
beneficiaries as some community members not directly involved will be seen to be adopting technologies
and approaches promoted by the programme. This happens when others began to see tangible benefits
accruing to those directly participating in CTP activities. The community stories may also show that
change is greatest where communities and households are participating in a range of interventions which
are inter-related and complimentary. For example chronically poor households with high orphan loads,
disabled or elderly members would experience significant transformative changes if they participate in
CFW, CFT - nutrition gardens (to enhance nutritional status of household members), Agricultural grant
(to improve the food security situation of the household in the medium term) and Unconditional Cash
Grants.
G: Negative Change Stories
Partners are also encouraged to collect negative change case studies in their respective implementation
sites. The negative change stories are the ones about beneficiaries whose situation became worse-off by
participating in CTP activities. These stories are collected to provide an organisational learning platform
where an analysis of what went wrong is carried out to identify programming short-comings or gaps that
could have triggered the negative changes. The following are some of the titles of the negative change
stories that can be collected “Not everyone will benefit (from CTP interventions”; “Energy and time
wasted”; “Invisible chain”. The negative changes that may occur during implementation of CTP
interventions may include:
Time Wastage - some interventions demand a great deal of the participants‟ time in the form of
meetings and participation in the various activities. Some storytellers may report that they had to
forgo more productive activities to attend meetings with limited productive outcomes. They may also
feel bound to attend these meetings because of “community pressure” and non-attendance may result
in one being labelled a social deviant. This feared, could result in being excluded from future
interventions. In some cases, unmet expectations as a result of limited resources may fail to bring
about the expected changes desired.
Loss of potential income emanated from attending too many meetings and intervention activities.
Some training sessions maybe described as too extensive, irrelevant and repetition.
Deterioration of spousal relations-some interventions may cause tensions between spouses. This is
mainly because some interventions are time consuming and participants can spend a lot of time away
from home at the expense of other routine household life schedules. Other interventions such as CFT
may economically empowered beneficiaries, in particular women, and this may, in some cases
causing tensions between spouses as men feel threatened by the growing economic independence of
their wives. Some men may withdraw their wives from the programmes because their wives are no
longer “respecting their husbands as they assume that they are now husbands in their own right”.
Increase workload/ responsibilities - some story-tellers who already had their own individual projects
may view CTP as increasing their workloads and responsibilities. The overall effect was that they had
to spend more time at such CTP projects such as working on schemes, and attending meetings and in
the process they neglected their individual projects.
CASE STUDIES STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
The case studies approach has known strengths and weaknesses. The following table summarises these:
Table 1: Strengths and Weaknesses/challenges of the CASE STUDIES methodology
Strengths Weaknesses/challenges
The participatory ethos of the methodology, which
involves the implementing partner, district
stakeholders and community leaders as well as
program participants, enhances ownership of the
process and identification with stories that are
finally published
Explaining the concept of case studies to the communities for the
first time is difficult as the communities are likely to associate the
process of collecting stories with beneficiary selection for a
coming intervention. This can lead to incorrect information being
provided by the story tellers at both community and individual
level
Beneficiary households and communities are eager
to showcase their successes through stories.
Competition to provide stories among community members can
cause tension if the concept of case studies is not properly
communicated to the communities.
Case studies brings out qualitative impacts such as
enhancement of dignity, which are otherwise
difficult to measure using quantitative methods
Although negative change stories might exist in a community, it
is sometimes difficult to identify them as communities might
have erroneous assumptions that negative stories reflect badly on
the community’s commitment to the interventions which might
therefore trigger a pullout by the implementing partner
Case studies complements very well quantitative
methods such as quantitative methods e.g. surveys
and can thus be used to cross-validate information
collected by the other approaches
Story selection at all levels might cause competition that can
trigger tension amongst participants. Some participants might
assume that if their story is not selected it is a reflection of their
performance as a field officer or project manager.
Case studies are a fairly easy and rapid way of
getting an overall impression of programme
impact.
There may be limited verification of stories by different
stakeholders can result in some inconsistencies between case
studies and Quantitative household information.
If deliberate effort is made to collect negative
change stories, the case studies is a very useful
tool for organisational learning as it can be used to
identify organisational and programming
weaknesses that may have triggered the negative
changes.
Case studies training period is relatively short especially for those
that are being introduced to the concept for the first time.
It is difficult to come up with an case studies without a strong
baseline
SUMMARY
1. CASE STUDY TITLE (it should be eye catching)
2. INTRODUCTION: Use a strong headline that will attract readers’ attention. In order to draw readers
into your story, it is often useful to introduce the beneficiaries or community that your story will focus on,
as well as the environment that they live in. Your opening should mention the success or learning that is
the main point of your story and let readers know why it is so important.
3. PHOTOS: Photos are also an important method of documentation because they can tell your story
in a visual way. Photos should demonstrate the positive change the community or beneficiary has
experienced as a result of the success or learning
4. BODY: The body of your story should clearly answer the “who, what, when, where, why and how”
questions that explain and substantiate the success or learning. You need to organize this information as
logically as possible, and make sure that your paragraphs flow
together. Each sentence should build on the ideas in the last
sentence, and each paragraph should have clear links to the
preceding one. Some common ways of transitioning to a new
sentence or paragraph are to begin with phrases like “as a result”,
“in addition to”, “while”, and “since”. You should use the responses
you documented – including direct quotes – to help you personalize
the story of this success or learning.
5. CONCLUSION: The final paragraph of your story should
reinforce your success or learning and highlight any related or
follow-up activities or events that are planned for the future. This
can also be the place to include general information about CTP or
this particular project. The conclusion should indicate who at CTP partner can be contacted for additional
information about your story (this will be you and/or your Program Manager).
A good case study should include the following:
1. Location
2. Date, duration
3. Modality
4. Payment method
5. Instalments and Amount
6. Partners
7. Beneficiaries
8. Targeting and selection criteria
9. Impact
10. Problem solving
11. Lessons learned
12. Recommendations
RECOMMENDATIONS
Drawing from previous processes of implementing case studies and the chances of missing critical
programme information it is critical to make the following recommendations of from the onset:
o As a critical component of the case studies collection process, there is need to carryout verification of
the selected stories to ensure accuracy of information and to enable triangulation of information in the
story with information collected by other methodologies being used under the monitoring evaluation
accountability and learning (MEAL).
o Apart from deliberately collecting negative change stories, there is also need to experiment with the
collection of negative or not so good case studies as such stories provide organisational learning
information on why certain households or communities experience negative changes or insignificant
changes in spite of participating in CTP interventions. Such stories may help in identifying
organisational or programming shortfalls or gaps in CTP which, if rectified, would improve
programme effectiveness.
o Gender mainstreaming is essential in all components of CTP as some case studies may show that the
negative changes reported stemmed from a lack of appreciation and understanding of gender equality
and equity values by some communities participating in project activities. This should be noted in the
case of Afghanistan.
16
REFERENCES
Bernard, H. Russell (1994). Research methods in anthropology: qualitative and quantitative
approaches (second edition). Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
DeWalt, Kathleen M. & DeWalt, Billie R. (2002). Participant observation: a guide for
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