facilitate the organization of monitoring reports so that they may be compiled and synthesized into final reports. For programmes with limited cases, an adequate case management system may be as simple as keeping a ledger of cases and corresponding case filing system either electronically or in hard copy. Similarly, for programmes that monitor a limited number of priority case types, or seek to assess a limited set of issues, a well-organized file system and a spreadsheet may provide an adequate means to track and compile relevant information and analysis. This may be the case, for example, where monitoring is fact-intensive or involves detailed analysis of allegations and verdicts such as the trial-monitoring programmes involving war crimes in Croatia and Serbia. For these programmes, legal analysis is highly focused on the details or specific issues of individual cases rather than compilations and synthesis of practices and data across hundreds of cases. As the volume and complexity of monitoring increases, the need for more powerful case management systems increases. Specifically, as the type of cases monitored broadens and the set of issues assessed at different stages of proceedings increases, the demands of analysis and compilation make information management critical. For such programmes, it is correct to think in terms of an information management system as opposed to a case management system. This is because such systems must not only enable the organization of individual case information, but must also enable the compilation and synthesis of discrete practices and issues to make conclusions about systematic practices across many cases. Therefore, as the volume and complexity of monitoring increases, a computer database system should be considered as both a more useful and inexpensive information management alternative. 6.5.3 Computer databases A computer database is an advanced information management system that is able to store, organize, and compile case information in any number of combinations (called reports) for which it is programmed. Over longer spans, a computer database also provides institutional memory, including making older monitoring results readily accessible to new staff. The maintenance of past monitoring records is important where programmes seek to compare and measure changes over years, an appropriate period for judicial reform. Depending on the complexity of the system, a database may cost as little as 1,000 euros to design and establish. In the OSCE, a number of programmes have developed such databases. What can a database do? A database is a completely different tool from a simple spreadsheet in that it has the capacity to organize and compile case information and analysis in an unlimited number of ways. For example, while a spreadsheet may be helpful to do basic counting and create simple statistics, each new issue or inquiry requires the review of individual case reports and recounts. On the other hand, once a case report is entered into a database that has been structured to manage the components of case reports, the types of information, correlations, and reports that may be generated are only limited by the scope and organization of the elements of the case reporting form (see Chapter 6.2, “Basic components of a case report”). 84 Trial-Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners