Guideline 7: Case studies
This guideline provides practical guidance on how case studies can be used to enhance evaluation and performance monitoring. This guideline is designed for service providers, program managers, and policymakers who want to use case studies to strengthen evaluation efforts and communicate findings in an engaging, narrative-driven format.
What is a case study?
A case study involves intensive study of one ‘unit’, to help develop an in-depth and interconnected understanding of the situation. However, it can be difficult to generalise from the findings. The subject of your case study (the ‘unit’) can include people, families, groups, places or sites, programs, events, or countries.
You should use this resource as part of:
- Stage 2 of the workflow map, Create your project plan to select data sources and design data collection tools
- Stage 3 of the workflow map, Collect data to gather case study material
- Stage 5 of the workflow map, Use and share the data to develop case studies.
To understand where you should use each resource read the full workflow map [PDF 1.55MB].