Reading material on success story writing for m&e staff ita sukkur

1. How to identify and write Success Stories, Case Studies, Best Practices
and Lesson Learnt in producing developmental results
Training on Writing Case Studies, Success Stories, Lesson Learnt and Best Practices for M&E Staff-Idara-Talim-O-Aagahi Page 1
1. What is the difference between “Story” "Case Study” "Success Story" “Best Practices” and
Lessons Learned.
Story shows what happened through people,place, and plot and brings emotional context into the portrayal of what happened.
Conflict and resolution in the storyline versus analysis lead to new insights,learning, and understanding.
Success Story is usually brief and captures positive things about any intervention, project, Programme or activity; whereas, case
study is more detailed research study. Case study captures both positive and gray areas of a matter/phenomenon.
For example: an entrepreneur experienced very high income after attending a training (success story)
Case Study: say a particular medicine did not work in an emergency. Now the technical team (doctors,pharmacist) conduct detail
research study in form of a case study (drug/medicine inefficacy) that why it did not work, what otherfactors are responsible,did the
patient follow protocol of taking the medicines (e.g taking medicine on empty stomach/before meal etc.)
Very often a success story is used for reporting to funders, or to showcase more generally the work of an organization. A cas e study
would be written much more with learning as its central purpose.The case study should explore a situation and why it turned out the
way it did, so that lessons can be taken from that case and applied elsewhere.
Characteristics of a Case Study
 Intensive Study
 In-depth Examination
 Systematic way for collection, analysis, reporting
 Understanding why and What?
 Generating and Testing Hypothesis
 Involvement of Stakeholders in identification of variables
 Ratifies data/numbers
Qualitative Research Method (Who, What, when, where,why and How?)
It is important method because:
 In-depth analysis for informed decision making
 Inspires for Innovation and Reflection
 Validate Hypothesis
 Integrated study of influencing factors leading to holistic views.
 Useful to build credibility and evidence
 Helps in sharing knowledge to different target audiences.
Best Practices
Key characteristics:
 Replicable/adaptable
 Sustainability
 Proven process & methodology (within a geographical location)

2. How to identify and write Success Stories, Case Studies, Best Practices
and Lesson Learnt in producing developmental results
Training on Writing Case Studies, Success Stories, Lesson Learnt and Best Practices for M&E Staff-Idara-Talim-O-Aagahi Page 2
 Reflect the process
 Community owned & tested procedures
 Tested innovations
Reasons they are useful to generate:
 Sustain over a period of time
 Provide roadmap for scaling up
 Saves time
 Using knowledge for further replication
 Sharing knowledge by providing options & choices
Lessons Learned
Key characteristics
 Lessons learned come from real experiences, feedback and other processes in the project cycle.
 These lessons learned are factual
 Lessons learned are generated within a time frame
 They are derived from reflection, analysis and other qualitative and quantitative data
 Lessons learned can be generated individually and through the involvement of other stakeholders.
Reasons
 Lessons learned can be an important input in project implementation
 It helps in improving outputs and outcomes.
 Lessons learned used effectively can save time, energy and resources
 It can be huge knowledge base for designing future activities, innovations.
 Some lessons can be used as advocacy material and can be useful for initiating policy dialogue.
2. What is a success story?
A success story shows an organization or individual making a difference in people’s lives. It describes a
positive change and shows how that change benefits the people of a given area of intervention. A good
success story uses evidence to show the value of our interventions in terms of developmental results and
positive changes in terms of knowledge, skills, attitude, behavior and practices.
You can write a success story about an entire project, program or part of a program (i.e. activity) that is
particularly noteworthy and significant in terms of results and its impacts. It may be about an innovation,
emergency response or outstanding effort. Whatever you choose to write about, your story should show
your intervention making a difference in targeted areas of ITA in Pakistan.
3. Why write success stories?
 To show accountability for public funds
 To verify that we are using resources to make a positive difference in people’s lives

3. How to identify and write Success Stories, Case Studies, Best Practices
and Lesson Learnt in producing developmental results
Training on Writing Case Studies, Success Stories, Lesson Learnt and Best Practices for M&E Staff-Idara-Talim-O-Aagahi Page 3
 To share successes so individuals in and out of organization can learn from our results
 To spread the word about organization as a valuable resource
 To show that numbers alone don’t tell the whole story of organization
 To reflect and learn from our work
 To practice good scholarship
 To negate and disseminate knowledge
4. How is success stories used?
• To assess team progress in relation to plans
• To share information among partners and generate interest among potential partners
• To help internal staff and partners better understand organization’s work and value
• For reporting purposes
• To post on program-area web sites
• As a source of news stories for local media
• To document activities and accomplishments of staff, volunteers and targeted
beneficiaries
• As input for nominating individuals for awards and presentations
We can also use Success Stories in a variety of ways, including:
• In performance reviews
• As part of your tenure review documentation
• In organization’s annual reports and monthly reports to stakeholders
• In communications with local officials / partners
• To share the value of organization with partners and generate interest among
potential partners
• To celebrate achievements with colleagues and stakeholders
• To keep up with colleagues’ accomplishments around a wider audiences
• In internal communications
5. What makes a good success story?
A good success story:
• Describes results that are valued by clients
• Contains compelling, significant facts
• Catches your attention
• Tells who benefits
• Answers: “So what?”
• Spells out your organization’s role in achieving results
• Is easy to read and understand
• Identifies key partners and funders
6. When do you submit success stories?
Collecting success stories
affords the opportunity to
regularly step back and
celebrate achievements
both big and small.
Success stories
are an effective
means to move
beyond the
numbers and
connect to your
reader; a cause
they can relate
to and want to
join.

4. How to identify and write Success Stories, Case Studies, Best Practices
and Lesson Learnt in producing developmental results
Training on Writing Case Studies, Success Stories, Lesson Learnt and Best Practices for M&E Staff-Idara-Talim-O-Aagahi Page 4
• When you have something significant to report and evaluation data to back it up
• When you are proud of a program or initiative
• On an ongoing basis – don’t wait until the end of the year
7. Tips for writing Success Stories
It’s one thing to have a good story to tell. It’s another to write it so that people will want to read it. Use the
following tips and many resources on the Internet for help in writing your success stories.
Formatting features:
 Times New Roman, 12 point
 Single space within paragraphs, double space between paragraphs
 Left justify headers and text
 Bold headers
 1.5-inch margins
 Short paragraphs and active tense
 Names, not “this agent”
 Avoid bullets, special fonts or features since they may not transfer to the web
 a success story cannot exceed 4,000
Title:
 Capture the overall message of the story
 Use an action verb
 Capture the reader’s attention
Overview of the situation being addressed:
 Describe the situation being addressed and why it is important
 Use data to frame the situation, including socio-economic and environmental costs
 Specify the affected population(s)
Program/Activity Description:
 Identify who was involved, including your partners
 Describe the program/activity that was implemented, including where and when it took place and how
it addressed the situation
 Identify the target audience of the program/activity
 Describe how the progress of the program/activity was evaluated
Program/Activity Outcomes:
 Identify the short-term or intermediate outcomes that demonstrate how the program/activity addressed
the situation (e.g. change in policy, use of curriculum, change in school-level practices, leveraging of
additional funding, training further volunteers & beneficiaries)

5. How to identify and write Success Stories, Case Studies, Best Practices
and Lesson Learnt in producing developmental results
Training on Writing Case Studies, Success Stories, Lesson Learnt and Best Practices for M&E Staff-Idara-Talim-O-Aagahi Page 5
 Provide a conclusion to the success story that avoids using broad sweeping statements such as “There
was noticeable increase in eating habits.”
 Show the impact, not just what was done but the result of what was done. What changed as a result?
 Remember that the types of outcomes achieved by a program might vary depending on the stage and
maturity of the program. Sometimes a success story is a “work in progress.” Consider updating or
enhancing your story as new information and outcome data become available.
8. Success story checklist
Use the following success story checklist to check how good your success story is.
SITUATION
a) Clearly describes an important issue or concern - why we should care
b) Shows that issue or need is appropriate for ITA response
c) Includes data demonstrating need
RESPONSE (inputs and outputs)
a) Spells out ITA’s role/contribution
b) Identifies participants: numbers and demographics of individuals, businesses, and/or communities that were
reached
c) Identifies partnerships, if applicable
d) Identifies funding sources, if applicable
RESULTS (outcomes-impact)
a) Tells who benefited and how
b) Uses numeric and/or narrative data to describe important outcomes
c) Answers “So what?” Makes value clear to reader
d) Links story to research,if appropriate
e) States future plans based on results
For multi-year effort
a) Shows important progress for the reporting period
b) Links work across years
EVIDENCE (evaluation)
a) Describes data collection method
b) Includes sample (number and how selected)
c) Provides response rate
d) Tells when data were collected
WRITING STYLE
a) Active voice
b) Reads like a story
c) Compelling and significant facts
d) No jargon or abbreviations
e) Concise, complete sentences (f) Names/titles, not “this agent”

6. How to identify and write Success Stories, Case Studies, Best Practices
and Lesson Learnt in producing developmental results
Training on Writing Case Studies, Success Stories, Lesson Learnt and Best Practices for M&E Staff-Idara-Talim-O-Aagahi Page 6
9. Questions and answers
1. Howdo I write success stories on the same program over consecutiveyears?
Answer: When you have significant results in a multi-year program, report the new results. You
may want to identify stories by date, for example, “CLF 20114” “CLF 2015.”
2. Much ofmy programming is multi-year in nature; there isn’t aneat relationship between what I do
in a given year and what results. Infact, results may not appear for several years.Howdo I report
this?
Answer: Even though you may engage in multiple activities that interact and evolve over time, keep
track of the resources and series of events or activities that make up an initiative or program. These
resources and events are inputs and outputs that lead to outcomes. Document outcomes when they
occur and link them to the inputs and outputs that occurred previously.
3. Can I include photos, graphics or illustrations?
Answer: No. The electronic Planning and Results System only accommodates text. However, if
you do have photos or other graphics, indicate that in your success story. They’ll come in handy
for communications specialists compiling fact sheets, news stories and annual reports.
4. Can I write a successstory that spans more than one year? Answer: Yes
5. Howshould I write about events or activities that don’t constitute a success story?
Answer: Consider writing an impact statement, developing a news story with your communications
specialist, or sharing the event in anewsletter, committee report or on your office bulletin board.
6. My success story is too long for the Planning and Reporting System. What should I do?
Answer: Edit. Edit. Edit. Keep the vital information. Use short sentences and simple words.
7. Can I write a successstory about one person?
Answer: ITA programs usually target more than one person. However, showing how an ITA
program benefits one individual gives a story human interest and often makes compelling reading. A
single testimonial doesn’t constitute a success story, however, describing the personal impact of an
ITA program adds powerful evidence of a program’s potential value.
8. Howdo I craft a success story that shows my role in a collaborative?

7. How to identify and write Success Stories, Case Studies, Best Practices
and Lesson Learnt in producing developmental results
Training on Writing Case Studies, Success Stories, Lesson Learnt and Best Practices for M&E Staff-Idara-Talim-O-Aagahi Page 7
Answer: see link to help screen for describing your role in a collaborative or team effort.
10. Success story checklist:
How good is your success story? Use this checklist to find out. Or ask a colleague or communications
specialist to review your story using this checklist.
Title
Rating scale Comments
SITUATION
Poor Fair Good Excellent
a) Clearly describes an important issue or
concern - why we should care
b) Shows that issue or need is appropriate for
ITA response
c) Includes data demonstrating need
RESPONSE (inputs and outputs)
a) Spells out ITA’s
role/contribution
b) Identifies participants: numbers and
demographics of individuals, businesses,
and/orcommunities that were reached
c) Identifies partnerships,if applicable
d) Identifies funding sources, if
applicable
RESULTS (outcomes-impact)
a) Tells who benefited and how
b) Uses numeric and/or narrative data to
describe important outcomes
c) Answers “So what?” Makes value clear to
reader
d) Links story to research, if
appropriate
e) States future plans based on results
For multi-year effort
a) Shows important progress for the reporting
period
b) Links work across years
EVIDENCE (evaluation)
a) Describes data collection method
b) Includes sample (number and howselected)
c) Provides response rate
d) Tells when data were collected
WRITING STYLE

8. How to identify and write Success Stories, Case Studies, Best Practices
and Lesson Learnt in producing developmental results
Training on Writing Case Studies, Success Stories, Lesson Learnt and Best Practices for M&E Staff-Idara-Talim-O-Aagahi Page 8
a) Active voice
b) Reads like a story
c) Compelling and significant facts
d) No jargon oracronyms
e) Concise, complete sentences
f) Names/titles, not “this agent”