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An effective client case study describes how the work of the CLC:

• Provides appropriate service delivery
• Effectively makes an impact for clients.

​Who to involve in writing case studies?

• CLC team members that undertook the activities
• Community organisation partners that were involved in the problem or the activities
• Clients.

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The essential elements of a case study describe...  

PROBLEM | SOLUTION | RESULT/OUTCOME

PROBLEM

• Describe the problem within the broader social context and how the problem was a threat to commonly held values e.g. access to justice, voice, security, fairness, opportunity
• Situate the problem as part of a bigger social problem eg. homelessness, violence against women, police targeting marginalised groups, mortgage stress
• Describe how the community partner was part of identifying the problem.

SOLUTION

• Describe the activities that the CLC undertook and how they added value in addressing the problem
• Highlight the quality and the relevance of the activities and how the activities were best suited to solving the problem.

RESULT or OUTCOME

• Describe the changes or improvements that were made as a result of the CLC activities
• The end of the case study should be able finish the sentence, 'Now that the problem is solved…'

​Download a template to assist you to develop your case study

​DOs:

• Choose individual stories that suggest that they are symptomatic of a bigger problem so that the individual is not the problem
• Describe the impact of the problem on people’s lives and communities
• Provide an overview of the activities that summarises why the CLC was best placed to help solve the problem, rather than another organisation
• Include a testimonial from a client
• Describe the change from the client's perspective 
• Refer to the major area of impact and how it was specifically achieved in this case:
  • Appropriateness of service delivery
  • Effectiveness in making an impact for clients.

​DON'Ts:

• Provide so much background information it dilutes the impact of the CLC work on the problem
• Provide blow by blow description of the activities undertaken by the CLC
• Use a testimonial as the outcome e.g. 'the client was happy that their legal problem was solved' is not an outcome that describes the change created.​

Client case study examples

Four example case studies have been generated for you as examples to follow.

Learn more