Developing new case studies

The ANZSOG Case Program is our in-house production facility which researches and produces teaching cases for ANZSOG courses, curates the John L. Alford Case Library, commissions external cases, and develops resources to support interactive teaching and learning in public policy and management.

Submitting a case proposal

We are always looking for interesting new cases to stimulate discussion about topics relevant to the public sector. Areas include leadership, policy development, regulation, budgeting, intergovernmental relations, service delivery, strategic communication, integrity and ethics.

In the first instance, we recommend browsing the ANZSOG Case Library to see the kind of subjects covered and whether your idea fills a gap in our collection.

Once you have identified a potential case, please get in touch to discuss how we could develop it. Our cases may be written by our program writers, an academic in one of our partner institutions or a contract writer, supervised by an academic in a partner institution.

Things to consider

Before approaching ANSZOG with a case idea, please consider the following:

What is the story? A case is an engaging narrative centred on a compelling dilemma, decision, event, or opportunity. Ask yourself: Who was involved in this situation? What obstacles or constraints did they face? What options were available? How did they respond to events? What were the consequences? What lessons did they learn?

What information do I have? What will I need? Interviews with key participants give cases real depth and colour – are there people willing to share their experiences? Will you need permission to use certain materials/information?

What is the point of the case? What is the underlying theory, concept or idea that this case illustrates? How? What different frameworks or tools could students apply to the problem?

The length of an ANZSOG case study is typically 3000-5000 words, excluding appendices. Cases can be longer depending on the complexity of the situation, but shorter ones are generally preferred.

For more information, download the ANZSOG case writing guide here.

Can ANZSOG fund the development of a case?

For individuals, ANZSOG may agree to support the development and writing of new cases with the amount available varying between A$3000 and A$5000, depending on length, complexity, and identified need. Preference is given to cases to be used in ANZSOG programs or that fill gaps in our case library collection.

How to apply

Please provide via email an outline of the project, including a short description of the case, the expected teaching outcomes, the research and development methodologies, the proposed completion date, itemisation of any proposed budget, and brief resumes of the academic supervisor and/or case writer.

Applicants should email their proposals, marked ‘New case application’, to caselibrary@anzsog.edu.au.

Editorial representatives of The John L. Alford Case Library team will then consider your application and advise you of the outcome.

Can my agency commission a case?

Government agencies may commission ANZSOG to produce a case, however commissions are only accepted where ANZSOG’s teaching objectives and the organisation’s needs are compatible.

For information on the Case Library, and to discuss new or potential cases, please contact Deputy Director Research & Advisory, Dr Patrick Brownlee at p.brownlee@anzsog.edu.au.

Contact us

For general information on the Case Library, including accessing Teaching Notes, please email caselibrary@anzsog.edu.au.