The CSC has long known that its Alumni go on to become change agents in their institutions and communities and that their Scholarships and Fellowships are a key contributor to this work. The establishment of the CSC’s dedicated Evaluation and Monitoring programme has facilitated the systematic gathering of evidence and data to support this knowledge, initially through surveys but increasingly through more innovative and rich methodologies including, most recently, a case study approach. This approach, as applied by the CSC, has involved investigation of individual Alumni trajectories through in-depth interviews, giving them an opportunity to share details of their experiences and developmental activities following the Scholarship. The case study approach allowed for a much more thorough investigation and understanding of the wider benefits of the Commonwealth Scholarships as well as the wide variety of contexts that have facilitated or hindered the achievement of Scholarship outcomes and impact.
We are now delighted to share our first six ‘case studies’. The term does not do justice to the wealth of information and inspiration provided by these first six Alumni, from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Barbados, and Uganda (2) who demonstrated how they have applied the knowledge and skills acquired from their Masters (4) and PhD (2) studies to realise developmental outcomes in their respective home countries, and beyond. In the years following their Commonwealth Scholarships, they have been engaged in addressing a wide range of pressing societal problems including gender and health inequalities, tackling climate change, environmental conservation, poverty reduction and, improving education, just to mention a few. These are just the first of our wider series of case studies; throughout the year we will be taking a deep dive into the ground-breaking work and achievements of more Alumni from around the Commonwealth.
