ICS Case Studies A Guide FINAL

ICS Case Studies A Guide

Introduction why do we need case studies?
We gather case studies to help us demonstrate how ICS is working towards our three programme
outcomes (volunteer development, project results and active citizenship) and seven quality principles.
Case studies provide real examples that bring the programme to life by illustrating the positive impact
ICS volunteers (both UKV and ICV) have in communities around the world and the positive personal
development of volunteers themselves. The main point about case studies whether positive or
negative is that they should be interesting. If they do not engage the reader, then they wont work.
Though we have large amounts of technical data progress towards outcomes, volunteer survey
results, action at home reports it can be hard to engage and inspire people just with statistics. It is
through hearing directly from partners, community members and volunteers that the changes brought
about by the programme can be understood.
As a result, when gathering case studies, it is important to make sure that those being interviewed are
aware of how the information will be used, and that quotes and photographs are correctly attributed.
The purpose of this document is to outline why we need case studies, how we use them and how we
gather them for both communications and monitoring and evaluation purposes. We will look at what
is needed from a case study, and then some hints and resources on how to gather them.

PART 1 WHATS NEEDED

How do we use case studies?
Case studies are used to demonstrate the impact of ICS, in terms of how it is affecting our volunteers,
the communities where we work, and long-term sustainable development and active citizenship. From
a communications point of view, case studies are used to raise the profile of ICS and to recruit future
volunteers. For evaluation purposes, case studies provide the qualitative data needed to demonstrate
the ICS programmes impact. All case studies aim to describe change (hopefully positive, but
sometimes for learning purposes too) so they need to capture the situation before an ICS project or
experience, the main activities during the experience and what the situation is like after.
Some specific examples of how case studies can be used are:
-

As volunteer stories on the ICS website, where future volunteers and their influencers come
to find out about what it would be like to go on an ICS placement in the words of someone
they can relate to
In the media. For example if a journalist is looking for volunteers from a particular location or if
we have a particularly strong example of a project.
To support and bring to life official documents we want to share with the wider development/
volunteering/ youth sector, such as the Annual Report.
To introduce volunteers who are attending meetings/ events on behalf of ICS to those they
will be speaking to, such as the round table with secretary of state Justine Greening before
the launch of ICS Entrepreneur
Case studies will be included in the Hubs quarterly and annual reporting processes

Who are case studies for?

Case studies can be used with a variety of audiences. Some of the key groups are:

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Potential volunteers
Media outlets
DFID and UK Government
Wider agencies
Youth and development sectors
Potential donors and partners

What types of case study do we need?

Each quarter, agencies gather case studies under at least one of the headings below. The
communications team also gather them on an on-going basis. Case studies are most commonly
written documents, but they can also be filmed or photographed.
Regardless of who gathers the case studies and the format used, the key requirements are the same.
A summary of key questions for each type of case study can be found as Appendix 5.
a) Volunteer Development
These case studies focus on the change in skills, knowledge and attitude of the in-country and UK
volunteers. They can be written about a specific incident, or about the whole experience of an ICS
volunteer. Often, they are written by volunteers themselves at the placement debrief. Volunteers may
also be interviewed by a member of staff. It is fine for staff to edit volunteer-written case studies, as
long as they check with volunteers that they are happy with the changes. This is often necessary to
make the quotes stronger, and to make case studies shorter.
Volunteer development case studies should include some idea of how the volunteer was before the
programme, and a little bit about the project, community and team of which they were part.
b) Project Results
Case studies focusing on the work the volunteers do should focus on the changes in community and
or in the partner organisation. All should start with a brief summary of the context why is this project
important? Whats the problem the volunteers are addressing? Such information is found in the
project plan.
If the focus of the case study is the achievement of a single team (for example in a quarterly report),
then the case study should explain how one team is building on the work of previous teams, and what
will come next. Writing about a specific event can be great, but only if it fits in to the project or team
plan additional activities can be hard to put in to the right context.
Again, teams of volunteers can write these case studies, or at least gather the information. However,
they are often stronger if they have been edited by someone with a little more distance from the work.
Perhaps most importantly, these case studies must include direct quotes from partners and
community members. If a case study says that partners have benefited from ICS activities, it is far
more credible to hear them say it directly.
c) Active Citizenship
Active citizenship case studies focus on how volunteers have either remained or increased their
engagement in social action after the programme. A great starting point for these is the action at
home reports. As with other case studies, direct quotes and photographs are really great, as is an
understanding of how the volunteer or community has changed as a result of ICS. For quarterly
reporting, the active citizenship case study focuses on action at home, either for UK or in-country
volunteers. These should demonstrate how volunteers have been inspired to continue as active

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citizens, and where possible could explain further actions taken beyond action at home itself. As with
the other types, active citizenship case studies should include quotes from those involved in the
action.

PART 2 HINTS and TIPS

What makes a good case study?
Though it may sound obvious, a case study should tell a story, and it should be interesting and
engaging. A key test is whether you think it is interesting. If you do not, then it is unlikely to engage
anyone else.
Start by thinking of the end what is the change you want to describe. There are thousands of
potentially interesting changes that you could write about. Dont try to cover them all just pick one.
The case study itself should provide a little bit of context. Set the scene for people as they are not
likely to know a huge amount about the specific situation. Try to avoid jargon and acronyms - do not
assume that people know what KAP means or what a CAD is.
Case studies should be short and to the point. They should be honest include both challenges and
successes. They should ideally be no longer than two sides of A4.
Photos can be a great help to supplement a case study. Always provide clear captions with full names
of anyone in the photo.
More detail can be found in appendix 1 below.
Interviewing People
Whether you are interviewing a volunteer, a partner or service user, it is important to create the right
environment, and for both the subject and you to understand that a formal interview is approached
differently from an informal conversation. Most important is that the person or people you are
interviewing understand how you will use the information will it be anonymous? Will you quote them
directly? Will they be comfortable with this?
Practical tips on interviewing volunteers (appendix 2) and community members (appendix 3) can be
found below.
Photography Getting consent
If you want to take photographs for use in any material, you should get the consent of the subject.
People should be comfortable to associate with the work of ICS before we use their image. A
practical guide to getting consent for film or photographs can be found below (appendix 4).

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APPENDIX 1: How to gather case studies

Do your homework
Preparation is the key to success when conducting case study interviews. Find out as much as you
can about the project and individual you are interviewing beforehand. This will help you look prepared
and convey your interest in the person youre interviewing. It also reduces the likelihood of any
awkward situations that might result in your interviewee feeling uncomfortable and losing their flow.
Know the objectives of the project and have them to hand during interview
Research the interviewee and have key information to hand during interview
If youre going to need an interpreter, plan in advance, give yourself extra time to conduct the
interview and make sure theyre briefed too
Plan your questions
Build on the existing template and tailor additional questions for the interviewee, have them all written
down or printed out in the order you want to ask them. If the person goes off on an interesting
tangent, let them, and then use the questions guide to help get the conversation back on track.
Always start with confirmation of name, where they are from, how old they are. Write all of this
down and check any spellings youre unsure of while youre with the interviewee
Use open ended questions to encourage more in-depth answers. Open questions usually
start with what, when, where, why, how, or who. If your question does not include one of
these words try to rephrase it. You want to make sure people have to say more than just yes
or no.
If you have a time limit prioritise your questions accordingly
Give the interviewee sight of some of your key questions before the interview. Some people
prefer to have some time to think of some pointers to help them respond.
Leave some questions to chance as spontaneity is needed to get the real gems of the
conversation
Environment
Think about the timing of the interview and try to give the interviewee as much choice as possible
about when you interview them. They might feel fresher in the mornings, or more comfortable when
theyve finished work, try to work around them.
Put people at ease, make sure theyre physically comfortable (not somewhere too hot or
having to stand for long period), give them a drink
Start the interview by explaining the purpose of it, explain why youre recording an interview
(transcription), take note of their body language and tone of voice to gauge if you need to do
anything else to put them at ease
Set up the interview somewhere quiet so you can both concentrate and to allow recording to
take place
Set the right tone
If youre professional, confident and friendly people will generally open up and enable you to lead the
interview. Be aware of your environment and who else might be interested in what youre doing. Make
sure the rest of the community and any other individuals/groups/partners understand why youre
there.
Get permission from relevant partner organisations/community members so everyone is
comfortable your presence and understands how you will use the information (for example in
a report to a donor or as part of a recruitment campaign)
Dress appropriately think about what will put the people you are speaking to at ease
Try to record the interview
A notebook with plenty of pages and a functioning pen are essential but its also worth trying to record
the interview. You could do this through a voice recorder on your mobile phone (most smartphones
have these), or take a dictaphone.
Make sure youre know exactly how to use any recording equipment and that its full charged
Test the recording equipment before the interview and also test the sound levels when you
start by asking the interviewee to say their name/where they are from and listen back

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Make sure youre sat close together, or move the equipment between interviewer and
interviewee during the interview
Its essential we correctly spell names, places and organisations check these while youre
there, write them down and dont rely on the recording

Listen and show interest

It can be tempting to interrupt half way through a point someone is making, be aware that it can ruin a
great quote. Simply acknowledge their opinions with a nod of your head or yes to show that youre
listening.
If you questions or comments spring to mind while the interviewee is talking, write them down
and come back to them
Leave any detailed, difficult or contentious questions until the end
Make sure the interviewee is warmed up with some straight forward questions and leave anything that
requires more in-depth thought and considered responses until later in the interview. You dont want
the tone of the interviewee to be upset in the early stages. If you do need to ask anything contentious
use the third person to distance yourself from the question, e.g. Some people have the opinion that
unskilled young people cant offer anything to people living in poverty, what would you say to that?
Always ask...Is there anything youd like to add?
This is a good way to round off the interview and often generates strong, natural, quotable comments.
Having led the interview based on your questions, its good practice to give some freedom back to the
interviewee to add anything they have a burning desire to say or feel has been missed from the
conversation.
Photographs
We need a minimum of two photographs for each interviewee:
- One clear headshot
- One shot of them involved with project work, working alongside other volunteers (possibly
with their counterpart) and community members
Include correctly ICS branded t-shirts/materials where possible
Consent

Print out consent forms for photography/film and case studies and take them with you
Get all interviewees to sign consent forms or record their consent (use translator if necessary
Store consent forms safely

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APPENDIX 2: Suggested volunteer interview questions

Basic questions:

What were you doing before ICS? Where did you find out about ICS and why did you apply?
Where did you go and what project/s did you work on?
What was one challenge and one highlight of your placement?
How did you find working with UKVs and ICVs and living in a host home (if you did)?
What are you doing now? Do you use any skills that you developed on your ICS placement?
What advice would you give someone who was thinking of applying to ICS?

Supplementary questions: (for longer, more detailed case study or if information provided by
answering questions above is not sufficient):

What were you doing before ICS and how did you hear about us?

What made you want to sign up? (did anything put you off cost, low development impact,
accessibility, thinking that volunteering was more for females?)

Where did you volunteer?

How did you feel about the fundraising before you started and how did you manage it?

What were the objectives of your work on placement?

How do you feel you benefitted from your placement?

How did your placement benefit the local community?

If you had to describe one thing to outline the lasting legacy of your placement in the
community where you were based what would it be? When did you know youd made an
impact?

How would you describe the country and people, what were your first impressions and how
did they change?

How did you adapt to cultural differences? (language, traditions, food, host home)

Tell me about how you worked alongside the in country volunteer?

Was it important to be linked up with an in country volunteer and why?

Are you still in touch with them and do you know what they are doing now?

Was there a moment when you went wow! Im so pleased we achieved that/made a
difference in that way? (ie were you faced with situations that stretched you or you saw the
impact you were having on people in the community where you worked?)

What was your action at home and what do you think was its impact?

What was the best thing about ICS for you?

How difficult/demanding did you find your ICS experience? What was the hardest part and
how did you overcome it?

How has your placement changed you?

Why do you think young people can be such a powerful tool in the fight against poverty?

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What have you been doing since youve finished your placement and what do you hope to do
in the future? (job/further education) How would you say (if at all) the placement has
influenced/will help with that?

Would you recommend ICS to others and why?

* If you have any pictures/video footage of you on placement it would be great if you could send one
or two of the best ones. Ideally ones of you working with local community/in country volunteers on
your project, and we need the consent of people in the material. Please send them to
internationalcitizenservice@gmail.com

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APPENDIX 3: Suggested community member interview questions

(this is taken from the Ecorys Phase 2 Approach Document)
Interviewer note: tailor the questions below for interviews with beneficiaries depending on the project
and their involvement. Please confirm with the project partner organisation what name the
beneficiaries will know the project by and substitute this for references to ICS/the project below.
Involvement could range from attendance at an event (e.g. for a health promotion project) to close
working with a team of volunteers (e.g. as part of livelihoods project) please take account of the
level of involvement and probe as necessary.
Background
1.

Please tell me about the project/activity you have been involved in (probe whether it was one-off
involvement or on-going and, if so, for how long and if they knew other people who took part).

2. How and when did you first find out about the project? Why did you decide to take part?
3. Do you think that the project was relevant to you/your community? (probe did you learn
something new and/or useful?)
4. Have you taken part in similar projects/events before? (if yes, probe details)
5. Please tell me about the ICS volunteers that you have met/been in contact with? (probe
number/type of volunteers, nature of contact/their role in the project and impressions of the
volunteers).
6. Do you think that the ICS volunteers played a valuable role in the project? (why/why not?)
Outcomes
7. What did you get out of participating in the project? (probe fully using prompts below)
- Did you obtain any useful information?
- Did you learn something new?
- Do you have access to new facilities/resources in your community?
- Have you learnt about other cultures?
- Has it prompted you to think differently about something?
- Have you changed your attitudes towards other people (e.g. young people, women,
disabled people)
- Have you experienced any other positive or negative changes?
8. Do you think you will change your behaviour as a result of the project? Why/why not?
9. What will be the longer-term benefits of the project for you? (probe for outcomes of any material
or behavioural change, e.g. better able to support family as a result of improved business
marketing, less likely that family will get ill as a result of improved sanitation)
10. What is the value of the benefits you identified above? (probe whether the benefits have value in
terms of avoiding negative outcomes such as ill health or whether the benefits will help them to
access new opportunities such as increased income)
11. How did your wider community benefit from the project? (probe using prompts below as
relevant - and with reference to logic model/indicator framework)
-

Access to new facilities

Access to new information
Access to new opportunities

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Changes in environmental/resource management

Changes in attitudes/perceptions towards other people/groups
Motivation to get involved in volunteering/development efforts/advocacy/civil society
organisations
Other positive or negative changes

12. Have any of these outcomes differed for different groups within the community (e.g. by gender,
age, other factors)? (probe whether some groups have benefited more than others and why)
Reflections
13. What did you like/find useful about the project?
14. What did you not like/find useful about the project? Is there anything that could be improved?
Finally
15. Do you have any other comments?

APPENDIX 4: Photography and Film Consent (this is written for volunteers)

Images and film can be a powerful way to communicate about ICS. Its important to get consent from
the subject of film footage or photographs you take, particularly if youre thinking of sharing the
image/footage online. This can sometimes be difficult in group situations or where a language barrier
prevents it.
The basics

Ask people if its ok to take their picture and think carefully about what message you want to
convey with the image
Keep accurate information about whos in your picture, where it is and what it shows (always
remember your notebook!)
The best pictures are often of people co-operating and working together, people being
supported to do things, people being independent and leading lives of dignity

Getting consent some useful tips

Where possible please get written consent for photography/filming using the consent form provided by
the country office. Where written consent isnt possible use the guidance below...
Scenario
A language barrier and/or literacy
levels are stopping you getting
written consent

Youre in a group situation and its

difficult to get individual written
consent for every person who may
end up in a picture/on film
Youre photographing/filming
children

Consent guidelines
With the help of your team leader, try making
signs in English and the local language that
state consent for using the image/footage for
media and communications purposes. Take a
picture or film the subject holding the sign.
Display clear signs in English and the local
language explaining that photography/filming is
taking place, how it will be used and who to
approach if people do not want to take part
You must get consent from the parent/guardian
using the techniques above if necessary

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APPENDIX 5: Quarterly Report Case Study Guidance

1) Volunteer development detailing the personal development journey taken by a volunteer
-

Volunteer name and home town / country

Project title and team name
Location of the placement: town, country and host partner

VOLUNTEER LEARNING
What have the volunteer learnt through the ICS experience?
How would they describe themselves before the programme?
How would they describe themselves now?
Did ICS contribute to this change? If so, how?
WHATS CHANGED?
Is there anything they are doing now or plan to do that they werent doing before the programme?
Has ICS impacted on their future plans? If so, how?
Please provide a personal quote that represents and summarises their volunteer story.

2) Project results detailing development impacts realised for a host organisation / community
-

Project title and team name

Location of the placement: town, country and host partner

WHAT DID THE TEAM DO?

What problems or challenges did the teams work seek to address? (this should connect to the project
rationale)
Were there different stages to the project? Did the work pick up from another ICS team?
How did the team plan activities?
Which partner organisation were the team working with? How were the local community involved?
WHAT WERE THE IMMEDIATE RESULTS?
What did the team achieve, and to which short (or long) term project outcome was it contributing?
Who did it affect? How did it affect them?
(How) did people in the local community benefit from the work?
WHAT NEXT?
What long-term changes might be seen as a result of the teams work?
Will another ICS team be coming to work on the same project after the team go?
If so, how will they continue the work?
Please include direct quotes from the people described in the example. Please provide their name, position /
role in the community and location.

3) Active citizenship detailing the Action at Home phase for an individual volunteer or team
-

Volunteer name and home town / country

Project title and team name
Location of the placement: town, country and host partner

WHAT DID THE VOLUNTEER DO?

-

Please describe the Action at Home project

Why did the volunteer choose this project? (How) did it relate to their ICS experience?
What did the volunteer do and how?
What impact did the project have on the local community or target audience?

WHAT NEXT?
Are there any aspects of the project that the volunteer plans to continue?
Is the volunteer doing / planning to do any volunteering in their community now that the programme has
finished?
Please provide a quote that shows the impact of the volunteers Action at Home project. This could be from
someone who has benefitted from the project, attended an event organised etc. Please provide their name,
position/role in the community and location.

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APPENDIX 6: Useful Resources

This toolkit was developed by Restless Development and VSO to help volunteers capture
powerful stories.
Click here for examples of the following case study types that are requested either quarterly
or annually:
Volunteer Development

in-country volunteer personal development case study.

UK volunteer personal development case study.

Project Results

project level case study (from an annual update)

team level case study (from a quarterly report)

Active Citizenship

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in-country active citizenship case study.

UK active citizenship case study.