This document sets out the objectives, concepts and methodological guidelines and suggestions for the design and conduct of a set of internationally organized case studies of disasters, the Forensic Investigation of Disasters (FORIN), as part of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) programme newly launched by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR).