Writing your case study
The case study is most useful for telling the reader "How" or "Why" a situation exists. While writing the case study, it is important to remember that case studies can bring together major themes in a region's history of development and will need to name stakeholders without prejudice.
Themes can be presented from many points of view in a case study, often with more creative freedom than in an academic paper. Throughout LEAD's training programmes, our participants (from different countries and sectors) have worked together to interpret their international training experience. One of our objectives when writing the case study has therefore been to provide a multi-sectoral presentation of the issues affecting the region.
Thoughts to remember for writing the main narrative
In the main narrative of the case study, stakeholders are introduced through the text and in the appropriate sections as listed above. Their relationships to each other can be explained by implication and a description of their reactions towards each other should encourage the readers to understand the characters presented and their viewpoints. It is not necessary to name specific people as a matter of style, rather it is better to write about organisations or communities. Presenting the stakeholders in this way does not put too much pressure on any individual and makes it more readable to a wider variety of people.
A specific conflict or instance of cooperation, or a general predicament or principle in the practice of sustainable development may be described. In the case of a specific conflict or cooperation, a variety of outcomes and their impact on the stakeholders may be projected. We recommend that it is not for the case study writer to speculate on the outcome of controversial situations. If, while during your research, a community member happens to do so in a very vocal manner it is up to the discretion of writer as to whether this should be included in the case study. The major part of the learning exercise for the reader is to be able to determine what they think is occurring and what the possible future scenarios might be. In this manner, the case study provides a number of various viewpoints that must be considered when approaching an issue of sustainable development. This allows the issue to be illuminated for the reader and opportunities and challenges will become clearer.
Sharing draft documents for feedback
While you are writing, it is also important to provide drafts of the case study to a few key community stakeholders. This will allow for further information to emerge and will also further incorporate community members into your writing and case study process. For a suggested time line for drafts and feedback, please refer to the 'Case Study Timeline'.
Creating the Conclusion
As revealed above, depending on the progression of the case study, it may or may not be appropriate to draw conclusions. A better tactic is to sum up what has happened in the case, or briefly indicate how things may be changing in a community. Another reason for not asserting overarching conclusions is that the readers are then able to come to their own conclusions. The aim of the case study overall, is to expand the opinions of the reader and to allow them to view all sides of the debate in a clear and concise manner.
The goal of a LEAD case study is to display the complexity of a development issue and to reveal the areas where compromises, trade-offs or mutually beneficial agreements that may be arranged between stakeholders to achieve long-term goals. By revealing all aspects to a development issue, the reader is allowed to gain insight and vision to the issue that goes beyond the conventional views or concepts of development that are based on sectoral interests, certain disciplinary theories, or dominated by the interest groups in the main stream. Researching and writing a case study with these goals in mind is a step towards illuminating the opportunities and possible way forward for sustainable development on the ground.
We hope that this background information has been useful for your research and writing process. To learn more about why LEAD applies case studies to their training sessions, please refer to the section "Our Approach" in this online resource.