The Association of African Planning Schools (AAPS) convened the first of three workshops on case research methodology from 3 – 5 February. This is part of a larger initiative funded by the Rockefeller Foundation that seeks to build capacity and generate case research publications with AAPS member schools. Designed as a pilot for the two workshops to follow, in Southern – and West Africa, the event was facilitated by Dr Fred Lerise from Ardhi University/GTZ as well as Prof Bent Flyvbjerg from Oxford University. Seventeen academics and PhD students participated in this interaction from Ardhi University in Dar es Salaam, Mzuzu University in Malawi, National University of Rwanda, Nairobi, Kenyatta and Maseno Universities in Kenya and the Ethiopian Civil Service College in Addis Ababa. Lessons learnt will be used to prepare for the remaining two in Johannesburg (28 – 30 April) and West Africa (28 – 30 June).