SPACE Guidance for Framing Case Studies on Social Protection Responses to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the important role of social protection approaches in response to large covariate shocks. There is a lot to be learned from countries’ collective experience, including documenting what has happened to date and what this implies for the future. Even before more structured impact and process evaluations are taking place, academics, researchers, and practitioners have started the process of ‘Case Study documentation’. The learning that this brings will be maximised if such case studies are carried out comprehensively and comparably. Otherwise, there is a real risk that information generated could overwhelm potential users, get lost, and ultimately be ineffective at contributing to learning.

This document offers guidance on how to ensure that information is documented systematically and with a particular focus on the COVID-19 response. It suggests a structure of the key areas and dimensions to consider, and detailed questions to answer under each heading.