2. What is a Report
• A report is spoken or written account of something that one has
observed, heard or investigated for which one is responsible and
accountable
• A report contains information that has been collected from the field
or operational areas of use, which is presented to its reader-namely
internal staff and donors
• Most reports can be used at strategic points in the project cycle from
the identification to the evaluation phase
3. Types of report
Basically 3 main types of reports are common in Program Management –
Narrative report, Financial and M&E reports. They include:
Activity Report
Weekly Report
Monthly Progress Report
Inception/Interim Report
Quarterly Report
Semi-Annual Report
Annual Report
Final Report
M&E Reports (eg. Perception survey report, Baseline, Midterm and Endline survey
report)
Impact Evaluation
Financial Reports – quarterly, annual and bi-annual
4. How to write a good report
• A previous report is a good starting point
• Integrate new information into your report
• Avoid changing previously reported information
• Do not change organization headers and categories
• Remove old content as you write your new report
• Stick to activities during the reporting period
• Check with your M&E team for program indicators and any reports
such as post distribution monitoring, survey etc (these should include
quotes and pictures to paint a vivid picture in the mind of the reader
• Always cross-reference the report to the proposal to ensure
information match
5. Why do we write reports
• Report is a major donor requirement
• It is essential to our work
• Way of communicating project achievements to donors, management and stakeholders
(It ensures accountability to donors, staff, beneficiaries)
• To demonstrate Value for Money(VfM) (based on the 3 E; economy; spending less,
effectiveness; spending wisely, and efficiency; spending well)
• Reports focus our work in an objective way; providing an opportunity to reflect on
whether we are on track, on time and on budget and if adjustments are needed
• A report also captures learning and evaluation of successes and challenges; it offers a
chance to collect information, draw conclusion and increase overall implementation
quality
• Information gathered in a report also function as a recorded memory of our work, a
report can be a source document when starting similar intervention
6. Elements of a good report
• Report as accurately as possible the current status of the project activity. Both planned activity
and actual results should be reported and can easily be compared, and significant difference
explained.
• Any significant deviations from the target must be reported, especially deviations from time
schedule, scope, performance and cost. These changes must be notified and approval gotten
before such change is implemented.
• Report should contain any identified risks that could affect the project or could lead to money
loss, project failure, or other liabilities eg. Persistent crisis, rain, natural disaster, inflation, social,
political, economic, administrative and other development within the reporting period
• Reports should contain Successes, Challenges, Lessons learned from previous projects
implemented. This necessary for future programming
• Reports should be simple and straightforward to read , the simpler the better. Most of the
stakeholders are not professional to understand many of our jargons.
• Do not use abbreviation, if you have not written it in full in the report
7. What good report does
• A Good report paints a clear picture in your readers mind
• It enables people make informed decisions with the information provided
• It generates trust from our donor and supporters
• Clear language can be used and understood by majority (avoid jargon)
• It saves time and money as your readers understand what you are saying
immediately
• Most donors have objectives which your project is helping to achieve and
your information goes into their own report, which they use to advocate
for funding, Pictures, quotes and clear impact results can make a huge
difference
8. A good report must answer the 5Ws and 1H
• What; what activity was implemented
• Who; conducted the activity/was reached
• Where; was the activity implemented
• When; were they implemented
• Why; were they implemented
• How; were they implemented
9. How to get your readers on board
• Be consistent
• Be specific (use specific names and dates when referring to places or activities, quantify, don’t be
vague
• Use simple language drop long phrases use short words, avoid jargon
• Keep it short (use short sentences
• Follow a clear structure (plan and organize your text before you start, order your thoughts around
the 5W and H, donors are interested in results, numbers and percentage of needs met, donors
look for impact, the want to know the lesson learned and challenges faced
• Get straight to the point, what is your key message
• Put your ideas in bullet point
• Number your ideas
• Work with visuals (infographs, tables, timelines)
• Highlight quote or key arguments
• Break up paragraphs
10. Structure of a good report
Although different Donors have different reporting template/structure, however, a Good Report must be able to:
Provide background description – name of project, sponsors, implementing partner, date it started, among others.
o Context in which the activity took place –social, political, environmental, and economic contexts
o Provide general objectives of the project
o Provide the activity name and the date it held as well as the location
o The learning objective/what the activity expected to achieve
Provide direct and indirect beneficiaries
Disaggregate the data – women and men
Assess the impact – immediate outcomes. Did you achieve the learning objectives of the training/meeting?
State problems encountered and lessons learned while implementing the activity?
Make Recommendations from the challenges for the future programming.
11. Reporting according to Indicators, Outputs,
Outcomes and Objectives
To write a quality Report, it is important you link it to indicators, outputs, outcomes
and objectives.
Link your reports to Indicators, Outputs , Outcomes and Objectives, this will help
you know your performance status and build results framework
Eg. If you planned to train 20 persons but you succeeded in training 25, you must
report it that you surpass your target. On the other hand, if you targeted to train
15 persons but was able to train 10, please justify why the shortfall in the number
trained.
You must also report cumulative results, e.g. if you trained 60 people on Barbing
this week, and next week you trained 35, it is good that while reporting the 35 of
the second batch, you also report the cumulative figure of 95 for both batches.
Increased in number of skilled beneficiaries in Income Generating Activities
13. A document is a material that provides official information or evidence or
that serves as a record. Documentation can be kept physically or digitally;
you just need to make sure everything is well-organized. It’s possible to
keep accurate physical records with files on employees and events in the
workplace, as long as they’re protected and secure.
Storing documentation digitally is how most companies are choosing to
keep their records, and there’s plenty of tools out there to help you get that
set up.
14. Types of documents
• The range of documents in use in organizations is vast and the particular
documents in use in one workplace will very probably be different from those
used in another. However, there are some commonly-used types of documents
which are likely to be in use in any organization.
• The common types of documents include:
• Routine reports on:
• activities
• meeting outcomes, trainings etc.
• Forms and records which include details of:
• quality assessments
• waybills
• delivery schedules
• incident reports etc.
15. TYPES OF DOCUMENTATION
FORMAL VS. INFORMAL DOCUMENTATION
• A formal document would be the type a professional would send
in the course of doing business. Informal documents are more
conversational and casual, the type you would send to a friend or
relative. It would have less rigid structure, focusing more on the
content.
16. WHY IS DOCUMENTATION IMPORTANT?
• Maintaining a system of organized,
accurate and consistent documentation in
the workplace is both necessary and
beneficial. Making documentation a
priority, can help mitigate disputes, offer
resources when they are needed and
answer important questions about the
company.
• Just like you want to have
accurate records of things like your
financial accounts or tax records, keeping
documentation in a workplace is a great
reference for future use. Sometimes you
need documentation to refer back to
when there’s an issue you can refer to see
your records.
• Since you never know what records you’ll
need in the future, it’s a good idea to
document as much as you possibly can.
Keeping accurate records of things that
happen in an organization serves as a
type of company history that can be used
to help onboard new employees.
17. 1. It demonstrates professionalism
Documentation shows both employees and customers that you are committed to
safeguarding critical information and are dedicated to providing stakeholders with factual
information as needed. The practice of maintaining accurate documentation alone
provides an accessible, manageable framework for addressing issues that benefits
everyone.
2. It provides helpful guidance for performance
Documenting your processes ensures consistency, efficiency and standardization. It allows
everyone following them to perform at their best and be clear about your expectations.
Taking the time to document each of your procedures in a step-by-step format will save
time and money in the long run.
3. Documentation is essential to quality and process control
There’s more than one way to get things done, and you want to give your team the
flexibility to approach their work in a way that suits them best. But, at the same time, you
want to ensure consistent results – especially when it comes to things that you’re
producing on a regular basis. There needs to be some level of cohesion so that you don’t
look sloppy or uninformed. Documentation encourages knowledge sharing, which
empowers your team to understand how processes work and what finished projects
typically look like.
18. 4. Documentation cuts down duplicative work
How many times have you started a new project only to find out it had been done before?
Companies that use documentation to catalog past projects, collect research, and share
decisions benefit by reducing re-work that wastes precious time you could be using
elsewhere. Why reinvent the wheel when you can just build on the work that’s already
happened? With documentation in place, you can refer to past work and learn from it,
instead of doing it all over again with the same results.
5. It makes hiring and onboarding so much easier
It’s tough to think about anybody leaving, but the reality of business is that your team
won’t stay the same forever. People will hit the road and you’ll bring some new people into
the fold. If you prioritize documentation, they’ll have all sorts of helpful guides, directions,
and notes that they can refer to as they get up to speed in their new roles. Plus, they can
use those resources to answer their questions and start to figure things out independently,
rather than feeling like they need to ping someone on your team with every single
question or sticking point.
19. 5 Documentation increases the collective knowledge of everyone that you work
with. When it becomes the norm on your team to share information, you’ll benefit
from increased transparency and a culture that’s more collaborative and strategic.
You’ll make smarter decisions because essential information won’t be locked away
on just one person’s hard drive.
20. Documentation should be your best friend
• From covering an unexpected departure or absence of an employee to tackling an unfamiliar
project, you’ll be able to make it over plenty of daunting hurdles together.
• While it might sound stiff and formal, prioritizing documentation means you and your team will
develop a stockpile of information that you’ll lean on.
• Share the above advantages with your team members, find a way to incentivize their participation
in documenting what they can and rest easy knowing that your team’s knowledge will no longer
live just in their brains.
