WRITING REPORTS
Abstract:
This module asks the questions: "Why?" should reports be written, "to Whom?" do they
go, and "What?" should be included, then goes on to discuss the "How?" they can be
written well, to be useful.
It is for community development field workers, social animators, facilitators of self
help, community management trainers, capacity strengthening trainers and other
mobilizers working to encourage and train low income communities to solve their own
problems, to identify their own resources, and to plan their own development.
While it is directed towards the field workers or mobilizers, it also discusses how
CBOs (Community Based Organizations) whose capacity are being strengthened, how to
write community self help project progress reports.
Field workers can use these notes, therefore, not only to write their own reports, but
also to train CBOs how to write community progress reports.
Introduction:
Community field workers have the admirable (but not so easy) task of organizing
communities to unite, identify their priority community needs, and become organized
well enough to identify and mobilize available resources so as to implement community
projects.
Within their set of tasks, there are two kinds of reports:
Reports by themselves as animators, to communicate their own progress, their
achievements,
and recommendations about their animation and training work; and
Reports about the community activities and projects, not written by the animators but
by
representatives of the communities; with the training and guidance of the animators.
This document is aimed at animators, to:
Write their own reports about their animation activities, and
Assist communities to write their community project progress reports.
Another distinction to make is in the content of their reports. Although they can be
combined, reports can include:
Narrative Progress Reports (relating to objectives); and
Financial Reporting and Accountability.
This document emphasizes the "why" and "how" of narrative reporting, but makes some
reference also to the need for financial reports. This appendix has four parts, as
follows:
PART A: Why Write Reports?
Purpose
Reason
The Need for Reports
Who Benefits?
How Do They Benefit?
PART B: Who Should Receive Them?
Audience or Target
Write for Your Readers
Why Do They Need Them?
Distribution
For Whom are Reports?
PART C: How to Write Reports:
What Contents?
What Topics?
What to Include?
Chapters?
Emphasis? (Activities and Results)
PART D: Writing Better Reports:
Skills
Tips
Organization
Style
Clarity (Concise and Simple)
PART A: The "Why" of Report Writing:
Have you ever felt annoyed or discouraged because you must write a report? Is writing
just a boring and tedious duty, that seems you have to do because of some bureaucratic
regulation?
Would you rather be doing the "real" work of organizing meetings, leading community
members to make their own decisions, training people and watching them learn new
skills, or guiding a community through constructing its own project?
Well, here is some good news. Writing reports can be challenging, interesting and even
fun. And report writing is not something separate from the "real" work. It is a
necessary and integral part of the work; it is just as "real" as the rest.
Report writing is useful and valuable (especially when it is done right). Read on; this
document tells you all about it.
Some Discussions With Mobilizers:
Recently, I asked some mobilizers (1) in a Uganda community management training
session, "Why should reports be written?"
These are some of their answers:
because we have to;
to enable us to keep records;
to inform all interested Ugandans;
to tell about failures and successes;
for ourselves, to keep on knowing what we are doing;
to communicate to donors and funders (how the project progresses);
so donors could be encouraged knowing what happened with their donations;
to let other people know about the developments of a project;
so other people can be encouraged to do their own projects;
so community members would be encouraged and informed;
so other people can learn what we did;
to help researchers to do their work;
to determine further actions;
to use for evaluation; and
for the Government.
Footnote (1): I had been invited by some mobilizers and community project implementors
to come to the field to give them some tips on writing reports. The community
management contract with the CBO includes clauses that require the CBO to write
progress reports on their community projects, or else subsequent phases of their
funding would not be forthcoming. They wanted to ensure that the reports they had to
write would be "according to the standard" required by community management, to ensure
payment of subsequent instalments. My task, as I saw it, was to demonstrate that the
clauses requiring CBOs to write progress reports were there for good reason (empowering
the communities); not merely a mindless bureaucratic requirement. At this point I must
express my thanks to all the community management mobilizers, Community Development
Assistants (CDAs) and CBO members who contributed to these workshops and therefore to
the content of these guidelines. (All errors are my own).
As the discussion continued, and the participants each added reasons for reports, we
all became aware that reports have many useful purposes and (so long as they are read)
play an integral part in success in community work.
Therefore, we concluded:
We should write reports;
Reports should be read; and
Action should result from each report.
Monitoring and Report Writing:
In any workable project design, there are specific steps (ie define problem, generate
goal, specify objectives, identify resources, choose a strategy, implement, monitor,
redesign as needed), and monitoring is a necessary part.
Just as we can not ride a bicycle unless we can see where the bicycle is going, so also
we cannot stay on track with a community project unless we "see" where the project is
going. That "seeing" is monitoring the project, and communicating it to the
contributors and decision makers.
The monitoring of progress of any project or activity must be therefore be integrated
with its planning and implementation. It is therefore included in community management
training.
Monitoring should be done by the community members themselves, by all other actors
represented by the signatories of the community contract, and by or on behalf of the
several donors, by all who contributed and participated in the community project.
How to monitor, and how to institutionalize monitoring and assessment, is part of the
community management training. Trainers as facilitators must draw out of community
members (eg through brainstorming sessions) what should be monitored.
If any one factor can contribute to early paralysis and cancelling of community
activities, it is the suspicion of misuse of resources; "thus endeth sustainability."
Project Progress Reports:
A project is not complete unless it is monitored. Monitoring must be recorded and
communicated. That communication is a report.
A project progress report is a record and communication of the results of project
activities: the degree to which objectives are or have been reached; reasons why:
assessment of factors; and recommendations.
A progress report is a necessary part of a project.
Field Worker's Routine Report:
A worker, voluntary or paid, is given a job in order to achieve some results. Those
desired results should be stated on the job description of the worker. How do we know
if that worker achieved the desired results (or to what degree)?
A worker's routine report shows the degree to which activities have resulted in desired
results; reasons why: assessment of factors; and recommendations.
In both cases, a report should compare what was wanted with what was achieved; analyse
the reasons; and make recommendations.
Good reports are vital !
PART B: Who Should Receive Reports?
Before deciding who should receive any report, it would be useful to review who
benefits from those reports. Let us look at the benefits to each of these:
These include:
The authors of the report;
The community engaged in the project;
Any other community;
Donors and contributors (including community members);
Researchers; and
Government: central, district, local.
Benefits to the Author(s):
At first glance, one might assume that the recipient benefits first and foremost from a
report. Not quite! The first beneficiary is the author (or authors).
Why is that? In our workshop, I asked the mobilizers to suggest why the author or
authors might benefit from writing a report. Here are some of their suggestions:
It arranges and organizes the available information;
Information just inside one's head is disorganized;
Any missing information can be identified;
The author can get a total and more neutral view;
It makes analysis and assessment easier;
It clarifies the relationship between the activities (input) and the (output) results;
It assists the author in making a less biassed self assessment;
It provides information for making recommendations; and
It can lead to changes in objectives, strategies, and/or activities in the future.
A bonus benefit (possible, but not guaranteed) is feedback (advice, experience,
recommendations, about the report, author, and others). After the authors, of course,
the next beneficiaries are the recipients.
Who Receive Reports?
Consider the actors that should receive reports. (When writing reports, always remember
who will read them). All can use reports for the same benefits as listed above.
These can include the CBO (community based organization or the executive of the
community project), LC (Local Council), CAO (District's Chief Executive Officer), DPC
(District Programme Coordinator), the agency or project national headquarters (which
might in turn report to UN, the government, home headquarters, and the donors).
When objectives, strategies and activities are modified (based on reports) the project
can be fine tuned and improved; then the target communities benefit from those reports.
Decisions by community based organizations, such as sending copies of financial
statements (when and to whom), and verbal reporting at community meetings, are made in
similar brainstorming sessions as the facilitator trainer guides community members
through the why and how.
How Do Recipients Benefit?
How do recipients of reports benefit?
There are three main ways they can benefit: information, assessment, encouragement.
Table 1: Who Benefits from Reports?
Who Benefits? How Do they Benefit from Reports?
The author(s) of the report Through writing, the author(s) learn skills (how to
organize ideas, how to write), identify weaknesses, identify failures and successes,
and identify strengths (many hidden until written). Writing (itself) improves
assessment abilities.
The community engaged in the project Just as "seeing" helps the driver of a car
check on its speed and direction, so a community "sees" its progress through monitoring
and reporting. Results (reaching desired objectives) make community members feel happy
and encouraged (to do more) (especially verbal reports).
Any other community By seeing or hearing about a community's progress, people in
any other community get their awareness raised; they learn that such things are
possible. When the read or hear about the community's achievements, they are also given
courage (encouragement) to undertake their own community projects.
Researchers Researchers can use well written reports as sources of research data.
Donors and contributors Donors and contributors can learn how their donated money,
labour, land, or donations in kind are being used, by reading or hearing reports.
Remember that all the community members are donors. Do not think that only outsiders
are donors.
Government: Central, District, and Local Community project reports and
mobilizers' reports help by providing vital information that is needed for informed and
effective planning, at the central, district and local level of Governments. As in the
other cases above, reports are also a source of encouragement, useful to Governments as
well as others.
PART C: How to Write Reports:
These guidelines are written in such a way as to be useful for any field workers who
work in projects with outside funding, and which are designed to stimulate local
communities to manage their own development.
Different Objectives; Different Report Contents:
We noted that the objectives of the mobilizers are different from the objectives of the
community projects that they support. That implies that their reports will be
different, because the essence of a good report is that it compares results attained
with results desired.
Reports in General:
One over-riding principle that you should aim for in all report writing is to report on
the results of your activities. This requires some analysis on your part that goes
beyond a mere description of your activities.
You are working for a project that has several donors, and is channelled through an
agency that needs to be informed about some specific things going on in the field. Your
reports are the main pathways or channels of information to the people who decide to
fund this and other such projects.
Each separate report should be correctly identified. At the very beginning are the main
identifiers, including at least the title (period and location the report covers) and
the author.
At the very end are some identifiers that should appear on every document. Each report
should include the following:
The name of the author(s) and what it is all about should be clearly marked at the
beginning of the report. The "What it is all about" should include the geographic area
and the time period about which you are writing. You should include your title and
position as well as your name as author.
Some necessary identifying information should be placed at the bottom of the last page.
Put the computer file name (and path) on the bottom left side. Put a code for the print
date on the centre of the bottom line. Put initials of the author (in upper case
letters) then a slash, then the initials of the typist (in lower case letters) on the
bottom line on the right side of the last page.
Those are some important elements of all reports. There are five kinds of reports that
mobilizers should be familiar with, and they differ from each other.
Monthly Progress reports;
Community Project reports;
Mobilizers' Routine reports;
Field Trip reports; and
Meeting reports.
Let us now go through the five different kinds of reports.
Monthly Progress Reports:
The following refers to any routine progress report: monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, bi
-annual or annual. A progress report is different from a situation report (sitrep) in
that a sitrep merely states what has happened and what was done about it during the
reporting period. A progress report, in contrast, relates activities to objectives.
The most important source of information about any project can be the routine monthly
progress reports, if they are done the right way. The donors, the headquarters of the
implementing agencies, the leaders in the target group, and the agencies monitoring the
project and administering the donors' funds, all need to know how well and how much the
project activities have led to attaining the project objectives.
The most important distinction you can make, therefore, is to distinguish between:
Your activities (inputs), and
The results of those activities (outputs) or effects on the target group.
Although progress reports may differ among several formats, somehow that distinction
must be made. Design your report with two major headings: (a) activities, and (b)
results, or, for each project objective, includes a section on (1) activities and (2)
results of those activities.
A common mistake made by many beginners is to think that all they have to do is to
report their activities. Not so. A good progress report is not merely a descriptive
activity report, but must analyse the results of those reported activities. The
analysis should answer the question, "How far have the project objectives been
reached?" Since you are not beginners, and are professional, you can demonstrate your
professionalism by going beyond the description of activities in your progress reports.
Always review the project objectives before writing any monthly progress report.
Usually these are found in the "Project Document" (ProDoc). In the analytical component
of your report, you could list those objectives, each as a separate section with a
separate sub title, and write an analysis of how well you have moved towards meeting
each objective. Where you have not reached the objective, or if you have over reached
or under reached any quantitative aspect of it, you should include an explanation of
why.
Community Project Reports:
A detailed monthly narrative report should include how far each of the intended
objectives have been reached, what were the reasons they were not fully reached, any
lessons learned, and suggestions and reasons about changing the objectives if they were
found to need changing.
The narrative report can include information about events and inputs (what actions were
undertaken, see below), but should emphasize outputs (the results of those actions in
so much as they lead to achieving the stated objectives). Attention should be paid to
the number and location of beneficiaries. The monthly report would best be organized
into sections corresponding to the sections of the proposal.
As well as narrative reporting, there is the financial reporting. A detailed monthly
financial report should include what moneys were received and from where, (1) what
moneys were expended, listed line by line according to the budget categories in the
proposal, reasons for over- or under- spending, and an assessment of how well the
expenditures contributed to reaching the stated objectives of the project.
Footnote (1): We recommend that a CBO obtain resources (funds) from several sources. Do
not let the organisation or group become dependent upon a single donor.
Mobilizers' Routine Reports:
Look at the difference between a community project report and a community mobilizer's
report; remember that their objectives are different. The community project objectives
should be simple, such as "to build a school," or "to rehabilitate a water supply."
What are mobilizers' objectives (for reporting on progress)? A mobilizer's objectives
are different from the objectives of a community based project, so progress reporting
(on reaching objectives) will be different.
In simple terms, the desired result of the work of a mobilizer is a mobilized
community. The job description of a mobilizer is to mobilize; and that encompasses
several elements (eg. community unity building, ensuring participation of marginal and
vulnerable groups, setting community priorities, management training, encouragement,
leadership without politics). (2)
Footnote (2): This intervention involves three important elements: (a) awareness
raising, then (b) mobilization, then (c) management training. Community management
training first raises awareness for the need of transparent accountability; ways in
which all community members can see for themselves that the received resources are
actually directed to the project and not diverted to other things. Then the training
goes on to the "How" of transparent financial accountability, the keeping of accurate
double entry ledgers, the linking of receipts to entries, the production of accurate
and valid financial statements and budget outcomes.
Here is a matrix that relates mobilizers' usual objectives with what should be included
in mobilizers' reports.
TABLE NOT HERE XXX
Field Trip Reports:
While you can mention or list field trips in your monthly report, all major field trips
should be reported in separate field trip reports.
A field trip should have a purpose, so your report on the trip should begin with
indicating what was the purpose of the trip. The purpose should justify making the
trip, even if you fail to achieve what you set out to do on the trip. The purpose
should directly relate to at least one of the objectives of the project, as listed in
the project document.
Technical details, of course, can be listed in any orderly fashion, dates and locations
of the travel, persons met (with their titles, agencies' names, times of meeting,
venue, and so on), sites seen, meetings attended. Make your list easy to read, easy to
understand, and brief but complete.
A field trip report should emphasize the results of that trip. Did you achieve your
purpose? To what extent? Why? What unexpected observations did you make? What
consequences do those observations have? Have you observed indicators of any results of
previous projected activities? Should any project objectives be modified from what you
observed? Did you identify any new problems? Did you come to any new conclusions, alone
or in discussion with some of the persons you met or meetings you attended?
Ensure that you report on the extent to which you achieved the purpose of your trip.
Meeting Reports:
All meetings, of course, should have a purpose, and the purpose must be related to
achieving the objectives of the project. Reports on those meetings, therefore, should
concentrate on the purpose and indicate the result of the meeting in terms of progress
towards meeting those objectives. See Meetings.
It is precisely in meeting reports that you can get misled by using the passive voice.
Avoid phrases such as "It was stated that ..." or "It was said ..." Use the active
voice by stating who said what: "Mr Otieno (The DA) suggested that we ..." or "The
whole group (except Ms Kapia) agreed that ..."
The preparing of written reports is part of the substantive management skill training.
The reproduction and distribution of narrative reports must be included in proposals
and contracts.
Workshop Reports:
As well as community project reports and mobilizers field activity reports, reports of
workshops held are also valuable. After each workshop, the coordinator (with input from
the other facilitators, including a written report from the main trainer) should write
a report. The report should not be a list of activities that took place. Each report
should be analytical, and focus on the result of the activities that took place, and
how far they reached the objectives of the workshop.
As with all reports, such reports should not end with a list of activities, but
indicate the results of those activities (the degree to which the desired ends are
reached) and with lessons learned (about holding a workshop, not the lessons included
in the workshop, which are in this case activities).
See: Preparing a Workshop.
What Topics Should Be Included?
Again, during several workshops with mobilizers, I asked participants what topics
should be included in community project reports.
Most groups of mobilizers offered the following:
Background, introduction;
Project successes!! Why? (factors, causes);
Project failures (in reaching objectives) Why? (reasons);
The community's participation (decision making);
The community contribution (donations, inputs eg. labour, sand, cash);
Needed changes (eg changes in strategies);
Unanticipated problems;
Lessons learned;
Recommendations (specify to whom).
That forms the basis of a good check list, and you can turn it into a check list to
review any report you write, or teach a community implementing committee to write.
Overall, however, remember that every report should compare what was expected or
desired with what happened. Emphasize results of actions taken over description of the
actions themselves.
For a model format of reports, which indicates where to place each of these topics,
see: A Model Report Format.
So those are the topics that the different kinds of reports should contain. Finally, we
go through some tips and advice on making reports good. A report is good (a) if it is
read and (b) it is acted upon. How do we write good reports? See Better Reports.
PART D: Writing Better Reports:
Reports that are just filed without being read, or thrown in the trash, or just used to
wrap ground nuts, are useless. A good report is a report that is read. So the question
arose, "How can we encourage that a report will be read?"
Learning how to write better reports can be fun. Writing a report does not have to be a
boring, tiresome and uncomfortable task that you loath to face each time a report is
due. When you learn some skills and tricks, writing reports can be challenging., Text
You can turn report writing into an essential element of the professionalism of your
job, and as a tool to monitor what you are doing. There is no magic or mystery in doing
this; and this document will show some of those skills and tricks that you can easily
learn and use.
Write reports so that they will be read, not simply filed away. To do that, you must
write them so that they are easy to understand, and that they invite the reader to read
all the way to the end. You must know who your intended reader is (your "target"
audience), why your reader would want to read your report, and what your reader needs
and wants to know from your reports.
There are many ways to find out what your audience wants to know (and therefore to read
about in your report), and you probably know more than 80 per cent already. When you
finish your first draft, put it to the test. For each sentence that you write, ask the
question, "Will this interest my readers?"
No single individual should try to write a community progress report alone. The
facilitator should make it a group activity by the community representatives, on behalf
of the whole community, for approval first by the community.
Encourage members to ask for help from friends and colleagues, programmer, manager,
staff and those who can assist in either concepts or in style. Think of preparing a
report as a written form of "dialogue" in which each successive draft is a continuation
of the process.
What is A Good Report?
A good report is one that is read and action taken because of it (not just filed and
ignored). How can you make your report more likely to be read? The following are a few
tips on making better reports. An effective report is one that is read; and that
stimulates some sort of an action as a result of being read.
Very importantly, your reports should be "concise." To be concise means that they
should be both brief and complete. Short reports are more likely to be read than long
reports. But reports that miss important information are disappointing. One important
way to shorten your reports is to omit unnecessary phrases (such as "During the
reporting period ...") and repetitions of things included elsewhere in each report.
A report is easier to read when it is written in simple, straight forward language,
with correct grammar and words easily recognized. Do not try to impress anyone with
flowery language, esoteric vocabulary, or long and convoluted sentences. Use short,
simple sentences. Use sub titles to separate sections (as in this document). Use short
paragraphs. Avoid the passive voice.
Remember that many of those who should read your report know English as a second
language. Always use the famous "KISS" principle ("Keep It Simple, Sweetheart...") when
you write any report.
A Report Must be Easy to Read:
Once again, in workshops with mobilizers in the field, I asked participants to tell me
what made a report more likely to be read. You are a manager and a report has come
across your desk. Are you going to throw it away? Are you going to file it without
looking at it? Are you going to just skim it and not read it carefully?
Are you going to read it carefully and think about what it says enough to make some
decisions? What characteristics of that report are more likely to make you read it
carefully?
The participants came up with the following suggestions. It should have or be:
Short but complete (concise);
Containing only what is necessary;
Simple; written in good language;
Having no repetition, no redundancy;
Including no preaching, lecturing;
Containing interesting and relevant information;
Well structured and organized;
Neat and tidy (typed or well printed/written).
This, too, would be a good check list (a) for yourself when you are writing reports or
(b) training community leaders in report writing.
Tips on Writing Better Reports:
Once a famous West African musician was asked by some young musicians what advice he
would give them to become as skilled as he. – "I can give you three tips," he said. "My
first tip is: Practice. My second tip is: Practice, and my third tip is: Practice."
The same advice can be given in writing or any sort: Write several drafts. Proof read
in between. Ask a friend to "proof" it (review it and offer suggestions). Ask for feed
back and advice: be your own teacher. The three tips are: "Rewrite! Rewrite, and
Rewrite!"
You might believe that rewriting your document would be a waste of time and effort. Far
from it. Professional writers may write as many as seven drafts before they allow a
document to stand with their good name. You should write at least three drafts: a rough
first draft, a second draft, and then your final draft.
Be prepared to rewrite even the final draft. Re-writing it allows you some time between
writings to get a more objective yet critical look at your document, remove many of the
obvious errors, and avoid writing a document that you will later regret.
Another tip is to first write an outline. Before you start the first sentence, write
down an outline of the topics that you want to cover. Make it a short list of three
word notes. Just use a scrap of paper; it is for your eyes only.
You may wish to re- arrange the order of topics as soon as you see them on paper. You
can use that outline as a personal guide while writing your first draft.
A few more words about the passive voice. It is disease of many bureaucrats. It is a
way to obfuscate –– that is to write words as if you are being informative, but really
hiding some of the important information. Experienced readers will recognize your use
of the passive voice immediately.
The passive voice, like statistics, has some times been compared to a bikini bathing
suit (What it reveals is interesting but what it hides is vital).
What Makes a Report Good?
What Makes A Good Report? Again I asked the participants in the workshops to tell me
what made good reports, or reports good. They suggested the following:
Attractive
Straight forward, honest, no deception (no lies)
Interesting illustrations, designs. (colour if possible)
Brief, short
Neat and readable (good handwriting)
To the point
Simple English (or whatever language)
Well spaced
Has title and sub titles
Organized or structured.
Like the two lists above, this list can be combined with them to make an overall check
list for checking through any report that you may write, and for holding a report-
writing workshop with participating community members. See Errors for a short list of
common writing errors that you can correct.
Conclusion:
Remember that writing reports need not be boring, look upon the task as a challenge.
Emphasize results over activities. Go beyond description; be analytical. Know your
audience and the needs of your readers. Write in easy to read, simple language. Avoid
the passive voice. Write concisely (briefly but completely). Organize your reports by
using an outline and by using subtitles. Write several drafts before the final one.
By using these tips and guidelines, you can teach yourself and your community clients
to improve your report writing. Remember, it is not necessary to be bad to get better.
This module asks the questions: "Why?" should reports be written, "to Whom?" do they
go, and "What?" should be included, then goes on to discuss the "How?" they can be
written well, to be useful.
It is for community development field workers, social animators, facilitators of self
help, community management trainers, capacity strengthening trainers and other
mobilizers working to encourage and train low income communities to solve their own
problems, to identify their own resources, and to plan their own development.
While it is directed towards the field workers or mobilizers, it also discusses how
CBOs (Community Based Organizations) whose capacity are being strengthened, how to
write community self help project progress reports.
Field workers can use these notes, therefore, not only to write their own reports, but
also to train CBOs how to write community progress reports.
Introduction:
Community field workers have the admirable (but not so easy) task of organizing
communities to unite, identify their priority community needs, and become organized
well enough to identify and mobilize available resources so as to implement community
projects.
Within their set of tasks, there are two kinds of reports:
Reports by themselves as animators, to communicate their own progress, their
achievements,
and recommendations about their animation and training work; and
Reports about the community activities and projects, not written by the animators but
by
representatives of the communities; with the training and guidance of the animators.
This document is aimed at animators, to:
Write their own reports about their animation activities, and
Assist communities to write their community project progress reports.
Another distinction to make is in the content of their reports. Although they can be
combined, reports can include:
Narrative Progress Reports (relating to objectives); and
Financial Reporting and Accountability.
This document emphasizes the "why" and "how" of narrative reporting, but makes some
reference also to the need for financial reports. This appendix has four parts, as
follows:
PART A: Why Write Reports?
Purpose
Reason
The Need for Reports
Who Benefits?
How Do They Benefit?
PART B: Who Should Receive Them?
Audience or Target
Write for Your Readers
Why Do They Need Them?
Distribution
For Whom are Reports?
PART C: How to Write Reports:
What Contents?
What Topics?
What to Include?
Chapters?
Emphasis? (Activities and Results)
PART D: Writing Better Reports:
Skills
Tips
Organization
Style
Clarity (Concise and Simple)
PART A: The "Why" of Report Writing:
Have you ever felt annoyed or discouraged because you must write a report? Is writing
just a boring and tedious duty, that seems you have to do because of some bureaucratic
regulation?
Would you rather be doing the "real" work of organizing meetings, leading community
members to make their own decisions, training people and watching them learn new
skills, or guiding a community through constructing its own project?
Well, here is some good news. Writing reports can be challenging, interesting and even
fun. And report writing is not something separate from the "real" work. It is a
necessary and integral part of the work; it is just as "real" as the rest.
Report writing is useful and valuable (especially when it is done right). Read on; this
document tells you all about it.
Some Discussions With Mobilizers:
Recently, I asked some mobilizers (1) in a Uganda community management training
session, "Why should reports be written?"
These are some of their answers:
because we have to;
to enable us to keep records;
to inform all interested Ugandans;
to tell about failures and successes;
for ourselves, to keep on knowing what we are doing;
to communicate to donors and funders (how the project progresses);
so donors could be encouraged knowing what happened with their donations;
to let other people know about the developments of a project;
so other people can be encouraged to do their own projects;
so community members would be encouraged and informed;
so other people can learn what we did;
to help researchers to do their work;
to determine further actions;
to use for evaluation; and
for the Government.
Footnote (1): I had been invited by some mobilizers and community project implementors
to come to the field to give them some tips on writing reports. The community
management contract with the CBO includes clauses that require the CBO to write
progress reports on their community projects, or else subsequent phases of their
funding would not be forthcoming. They wanted to ensure that the reports they had to
write would be "according to the standard" required by community management, to ensure
payment of subsequent instalments. My task, as I saw it, was to demonstrate that the
clauses requiring CBOs to write progress reports were there for good reason (empowering
the communities); not merely a mindless bureaucratic requirement. At this point I must
express my thanks to all the community management mobilizers, Community Development
Assistants (CDAs) and CBO members who contributed to these workshops and therefore to
the content of these guidelines. (All errors are my own).
As the discussion continued, and the participants each added reasons for reports, we
all became aware that reports have many useful purposes and (so long as they are read)
play an integral part in success in community work.
Therefore, we concluded:
We should write reports;
Reports should be read; and
Action should result from each report.
Monitoring and Report Writing:
In any workable project design, there are specific steps (ie define problem, generate
goal, specify objectives, identify resources, choose a strategy, implement, monitor,
redesign as needed), and monitoring is a necessary part.
Just as we can not ride a bicycle unless we can see where the bicycle is going, so also
we cannot stay on track with a community project unless we "see" where the project is
going. That "seeing" is monitoring the project, and communicating it to the
contributors and decision makers.
The monitoring of progress of any project or activity must be therefore be integrated
with its planning and implementation. It is therefore included in community management
training.
Monitoring should be done by the community members themselves, by all other actors
represented by the signatories of the community contract, and by or on behalf of the
several donors, by all who contributed and participated in the community project.
How to monitor, and how to institutionalize monitoring and assessment, is part of the
community management training. Trainers as facilitators must draw out of community
members (eg through brainstorming sessions) what should be monitored.
If any one factor can contribute to early paralysis and cancelling of community
activities, it is the suspicion of misuse of resources; "thus endeth sustainability."
Project Progress Reports:
A project is not complete unless it is monitored. Monitoring must be recorded and
communicated. That communication is a report.
A project progress report is a record and communication of the results of project
activities: the degree to which objectives are or have been reached; reasons why:
assessment of factors; and recommendations.
A progress report is a necessary part of a project.
Field Worker's Routine Report:
A worker, voluntary or paid, is given a job in order to achieve some results. Those
desired results should be stated on the job description of the worker. How do we know
if that worker achieved the desired results (or to what degree)?
A worker's routine report shows the degree to which activities have resulted in desired
results; reasons why: assessment of factors; and recommendations.
In both cases, a report should compare what was wanted with what was achieved; analyse
the reasons; and make recommendations.
Good reports are vital !
PART B: Who Should Receive Reports?
Before deciding who should receive any report, it would be useful to review who
benefits from those reports. Let us look at the benefits to each of these:
These include:
The authors of the report;
The community engaged in the project;
Any other community;
Donors and contributors (including community members);
Researchers; and
Government: central, district, local.
Benefits to the Author(s):
At first glance, one might assume that the recipient benefits first and foremost from a
report. Not quite! The first beneficiary is the author (or authors).
Why is that? In our workshop, I asked the mobilizers to suggest why the author or
authors might benefit from writing a report. Here are some of their suggestions:
It arranges and organizes the available information;
Information just inside one's head is disorganized;
Any missing information can be identified;
The author can get a total and more neutral view;
It makes analysis and assessment easier;
It clarifies the relationship between the activities (input) and the (output) results;
It assists the author in making a less biassed self assessment;
It provides information for making recommendations; and
It can lead to changes in objectives, strategies, and/or activities in the future.
A bonus benefit (possible, but not guaranteed) is feedback (advice, experience,
recommendations, about the report, author, and others). After the authors, of course,
the next beneficiaries are the recipients.
Who Receive Reports?
Consider the actors that should receive reports. (When writing reports, always remember
who will read them). All can use reports for the same benefits as listed above.
These can include the CBO (community based organization or the executive of the
community project), LC (Local Council), CAO (District's Chief Executive Officer), DPC
(District Programme Coordinator), the agency or project national headquarters (which
might in turn report to UN, the government, home headquarters, and the donors).
When objectives, strategies and activities are modified (based on reports) the project
can be fine tuned and improved; then the target communities benefit from those reports.
Decisions by community based organizations, such as sending copies of financial
statements (when and to whom), and verbal reporting at community meetings, are made in
similar brainstorming sessions as the facilitator trainer guides community members
through the why and how.
How Do Recipients Benefit?
How do recipients of reports benefit?
There are three main ways they can benefit: information, assessment, encouragement.
Table 1: Who Benefits from Reports?
Who Benefits? How Do they Benefit from Reports?
The author(s) of the report Through writing, the author(s) learn skills (how to
organize ideas, how to write), identify weaknesses, identify failures and successes,
and identify strengths (many hidden until written). Writing (itself) improves
assessment abilities.
The community engaged in the project Just as "seeing" helps the driver of a car
check on its speed and direction, so a community "sees" its progress through monitoring
and reporting. Results (reaching desired objectives) make community members feel happy
and encouraged (to do more) (especially verbal reports).
Any other community By seeing or hearing about a community's progress, people in
any other community get their awareness raised; they learn that such things are
possible. When the read or hear about the community's achievements, they are also given
courage (encouragement) to undertake their own community projects.
Researchers Researchers can use well written reports as sources of research data.
Donors and contributors Donors and contributors can learn how their donated money,
labour, land, or donations in kind are being used, by reading or hearing reports.
Remember that all the community members are donors. Do not think that only outsiders
are donors.
Government: Central, District, and Local Community project reports and
mobilizers' reports help by providing vital information that is needed for informed and
effective planning, at the central, district and local level of Governments. As in the
other cases above, reports are also a source of encouragement, useful to Governments as
well as others.
PART C: How to Write Reports:
These guidelines are written in such a way as to be useful for any field workers who
work in projects with outside funding, and which are designed to stimulate local
communities to manage their own development.
Different Objectives; Different Report Contents:
We noted that the objectives of the mobilizers are different from the objectives of the
community projects that they support. That implies that their reports will be
different, because the essence of a good report is that it compares results attained
with results desired.
Reports in General:
One over-riding principle that you should aim for in all report writing is to report on
the results of your activities. This requires some analysis on your part that goes
beyond a mere description of your activities.
You are working for a project that has several donors, and is channelled through an
agency that needs to be informed about some specific things going on in the field. Your
reports are the main pathways or channels of information to the people who decide to
fund this and other such projects.
Each separate report should be correctly identified. At the very beginning are the main
identifiers, including at least the title (period and location the report covers) and
the author.
At the very end are some identifiers that should appear on every document. Each report
should include the following:
The name of the author(s) and what it is all about should be clearly marked at the
beginning of the report. The "What it is all about" should include the geographic area
and the time period about which you are writing. You should include your title and
position as well as your name as author.
Some necessary identifying information should be placed at the bottom of the last page.
Put the computer file name (and path) on the bottom left side. Put a code for the print
date on the centre of the bottom line. Put initials of the author (in upper case
letters) then a slash, then the initials of the typist (in lower case letters) on the
bottom line on the right side of the last page.
Those are some important elements of all reports. There are five kinds of reports that
mobilizers should be familiar with, and they differ from each other.
Monthly Progress reports;
Community Project reports;
Mobilizers' Routine reports;
Field Trip reports; and
Meeting reports.
Let us now go through the five different kinds of reports.
Monthly Progress Reports:
The following refers to any routine progress report: monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, bi
-annual or annual. A progress report is different from a situation report (sitrep) in
that a sitrep merely states what has happened and what was done about it during the
reporting period. A progress report, in contrast, relates activities to objectives.
The most important source of information about any project can be the routine monthly
progress reports, if they are done the right way. The donors, the headquarters of the
implementing agencies, the leaders in the target group, and the agencies monitoring the
project and administering the donors' funds, all need to know how well and how much the
project activities have led to attaining the project objectives.
The most important distinction you can make, therefore, is to distinguish between:
Your activities (inputs), and
The results of those activities (outputs) or effects on the target group.
Although progress reports may differ among several formats, somehow that distinction
must be made. Design your report with two major headings: (a) activities, and (b)
results, or, for each project objective, includes a section on (1) activities and (2)
results of those activities.
A common mistake made by many beginners is to think that all they have to do is to
report their activities. Not so. A good progress report is not merely a descriptive
activity report, but must analyse the results of those reported activities. The
analysis should answer the question, "How far have the project objectives been
reached?" Since you are not beginners, and are professional, you can demonstrate your
professionalism by going beyond the description of activities in your progress reports.
Always review the project objectives before writing any monthly progress report.
Usually these are found in the "Project Document" (ProDoc). In the analytical component
of your report, you could list those objectives, each as a separate section with a
separate sub title, and write an analysis of how well you have moved towards meeting
each objective. Where you have not reached the objective, or if you have over reached
or under reached any quantitative aspect of it, you should include an explanation of
why.
Community Project Reports:
A detailed monthly narrative report should include how far each of the intended
objectives have been reached, what were the reasons they were not fully reached, any
lessons learned, and suggestions and reasons about changing the objectives if they were
found to need changing.
The narrative report can include information about events and inputs (what actions were
undertaken, see below), but should emphasize outputs (the results of those actions in
so much as they lead to achieving the stated objectives). Attention should be paid to
the number and location of beneficiaries. The monthly report would best be organized
into sections corresponding to the sections of the proposal.
As well as narrative reporting, there is the financial reporting. A detailed monthly
financial report should include what moneys were received and from where, (1) what
moneys were expended, listed line by line according to the budget categories in the
proposal, reasons for over- or under- spending, and an assessment of how well the
expenditures contributed to reaching the stated objectives of the project.
Footnote (1): We recommend that a CBO obtain resources (funds) from several sources. Do
not let the organisation or group become dependent upon a single donor.
Mobilizers' Routine Reports:
Look at the difference between a community project report and a community mobilizer's
report; remember that their objectives are different. The community project objectives
should be simple, such as "to build a school," or "to rehabilitate a water supply."
What are mobilizers' objectives (for reporting on progress)? A mobilizer's objectives
are different from the objectives of a community based project, so progress reporting
(on reaching objectives) will be different.
In simple terms, the desired result of the work of a mobilizer is a mobilized
community. The job description of a mobilizer is to mobilize; and that encompasses
several elements (eg. community unity building, ensuring participation of marginal and
vulnerable groups, setting community priorities, management training, encouragement,
leadership without politics). (2)
Footnote (2): This intervention involves three important elements: (a) awareness
raising, then (b) mobilization, then (c) management training. Community management
training first raises awareness for the need of transparent accountability; ways in
which all community members can see for themselves that the received resources are
actually directed to the project and not diverted to other things. Then the training
goes on to the "How" of transparent financial accountability, the keeping of accurate
double entry ledgers, the linking of receipts to entries, the production of accurate
and valid financial statements and budget outcomes.
Here is a matrix that relates mobilizers' usual objectives with what should be included
in mobilizers' reports.
TABLE NOT HERE XXX
Field Trip Reports:
While you can mention or list field trips in your monthly report, all major field trips
should be reported in separate field trip reports.
A field trip should have a purpose, so your report on the trip should begin with
indicating what was the purpose of the trip. The purpose should justify making the
trip, even if you fail to achieve what you set out to do on the trip. The purpose
should directly relate to at least one of the objectives of the project, as listed in
the project document.
Technical details, of course, can be listed in any orderly fashion, dates and locations
of the travel, persons met (with their titles, agencies' names, times of meeting,
venue, and so on), sites seen, meetings attended. Make your list easy to read, easy to
understand, and brief but complete.
A field trip report should emphasize the results of that trip. Did you achieve your
purpose? To what extent? Why? What unexpected observations did you make? What
consequences do those observations have? Have you observed indicators of any results of
previous projected activities? Should any project objectives be modified from what you
observed? Did you identify any new problems? Did you come to any new conclusions, alone
or in discussion with some of the persons you met or meetings you attended?
Ensure that you report on the extent to which you achieved the purpose of your trip.
Meeting Reports:
All meetings, of course, should have a purpose, and the purpose must be related to
achieving the objectives of the project. Reports on those meetings, therefore, should
concentrate on the purpose and indicate the result of the meeting in terms of progress
towards meeting those objectives. See Meetings.
It is precisely in meeting reports that you can get misled by using the passive voice.
Avoid phrases such as "It was stated that ..." or "It was said ..." Use the active
voice by stating who said what: "Mr Otieno (The DA) suggested that we ..." or "The
whole group (except Ms Kapia) agreed that ..."
The preparing of written reports is part of the substantive management skill training.
The reproduction and distribution of narrative reports must be included in proposals
and contracts.
Workshop Reports:
As well as community project reports and mobilizers field activity reports, reports of
workshops held are also valuable. After each workshop, the coordinator (with input from
the other facilitators, including a written report from the main trainer) should write
a report. The report should not be a list of activities that took place. Each report
should be analytical, and focus on the result of the activities that took place, and
how far they reached the objectives of the workshop.
As with all reports, such reports should not end with a list of activities, but
indicate the results of those activities (the degree to which the desired ends are
reached) and with lessons learned (about holding a workshop, not the lessons included
in the workshop, which are in this case activities).
See: Preparing a Workshop.
What Topics Should Be Included?
Again, during several workshops with mobilizers, I asked participants what topics
should be included in community project reports.
Most groups of mobilizers offered the following:
Background, introduction;
Project successes!! Why? (factors, causes);
Project failures (in reaching objectives) Why? (reasons);
The community's participation (decision making);
The community contribution (donations, inputs eg. labour, sand, cash);
Needed changes (eg changes in strategies);
Unanticipated problems;
Lessons learned;
Recommendations (specify to whom).
That forms the basis of a good check list, and you can turn it into a check list to
review any report you write, or teach a community implementing committee to write.
Overall, however, remember that every report should compare what was expected or
desired with what happened. Emphasize results of actions taken over description of the
actions themselves.
For a model format of reports, which indicates where to place each of these topics,
see: A Model Report Format.
So those are the topics that the different kinds of reports should contain. Finally, we
go through some tips and advice on making reports good. A report is good (a) if it is
read and (b) it is acted upon. How do we write good reports? See Better Reports.
PART D: Writing Better Reports:
Reports that are just filed without being read, or thrown in the trash, or just used to
wrap ground nuts, are useless. A good report is a report that is read. So the question
arose, "How can we encourage that a report will be read?"
Learning how to write better reports can be fun. Writing a report does not have to be a
boring, tiresome and uncomfortable task that you loath to face each time a report is
due. When you learn some skills and tricks, writing reports can be challenging., Text
You can turn report writing into an essential element of the professionalism of your
job, and as a tool to monitor what you are doing. There is no magic or mystery in doing
this; and this document will show some of those skills and tricks that you can easily
learn and use.
Write reports so that they will be read, not simply filed away. To do that, you must
write them so that they are easy to understand, and that they invite the reader to read
all the way to the end. You must know who your intended reader is (your "target"
audience), why your reader would want to read your report, and what your reader needs
and wants to know from your reports.
There are many ways to find out what your audience wants to know (and therefore to read
about in your report), and you probably know more than 80 per cent already. When you
finish your first draft, put it to the test. For each sentence that you write, ask the
question, "Will this interest my readers?"
No single individual should try to write a community progress report alone. The
facilitator should make it a group activity by the community representatives, on behalf
of the whole community, for approval first by the community.
Encourage members to ask for help from friends and colleagues, programmer, manager,
staff and those who can assist in either concepts or in style. Think of preparing a
report as a written form of "dialogue" in which each successive draft is a continuation
of the process.
What is A Good Report?
A good report is one that is read and action taken because of it (not just filed and
ignored). How can you make your report more likely to be read? The following are a few
tips on making better reports. An effective report is one that is read; and that
stimulates some sort of an action as a result of being read.
Very importantly, your reports should be "concise." To be concise means that they
should be both brief and complete. Short reports are more likely to be read than long
reports. But reports that miss important information are disappointing. One important
way to shorten your reports is to omit unnecessary phrases (such as "During the
reporting period ...") and repetitions of things included elsewhere in each report.
A report is easier to read when it is written in simple, straight forward language,
with correct grammar and words easily recognized. Do not try to impress anyone with
flowery language, esoteric vocabulary, or long and convoluted sentences. Use short,
simple sentences. Use sub titles to separate sections (as in this document). Use short
paragraphs. Avoid the passive voice.
Remember that many of those who should read your report know English as a second
language. Always use the famous "KISS" principle ("Keep It Simple, Sweetheart...") when
you write any report.
A Report Must be Easy to Read:
Once again, in workshops with mobilizers in the field, I asked participants to tell me
what made a report more likely to be read. You are a manager and a report has come
across your desk. Are you going to throw it away? Are you going to file it without
looking at it? Are you going to just skim it and not read it carefully?
Are you going to read it carefully and think about what it says enough to make some
decisions? What characteristics of that report are more likely to make you read it
carefully?
The participants came up with the following suggestions. It should have or be:
Short but complete (concise);
Containing only what is necessary;
Simple; written in good language;
Having no repetition, no redundancy;
Including no preaching, lecturing;
Containing interesting and relevant information;
Well structured and organized;
Neat and tidy (typed or well printed/written).
This, too, would be a good check list (a) for yourself when you are writing reports or
(b) training community leaders in report writing.
Tips on Writing Better Reports:
Once a famous West African musician was asked by some young musicians what advice he
would give them to become as skilled as he. – "I can give you three tips," he said. "My
first tip is: Practice. My second tip is: Practice, and my third tip is: Practice."
The same advice can be given in writing or any sort: Write several drafts. Proof read
in between. Ask a friend to "proof" it (review it and offer suggestions). Ask for feed
back and advice: be your own teacher. The three tips are: "Rewrite! Rewrite, and
Rewrite!"
You might believe that rewriting your document would be a waste of time and effort. Far
from it. Professional writers may write as many as seven drafts before they allow a
document to stand with their good name. You should write at least three drafts: a rough
first draft, a second draft, and then your final draft.
Be prepared to rewrite even the final draft. Re-writing it allows you some time between
writings to get a more objective yet critical look at your document, remove many of the
obvious errors, and avoid writing a document that you will later regret.
Another tip is to first write an outline. Before you start the first sentence, write
down an outline of the topics that you want to cover. Make it a short list of three
word notes. Just use a scrap of paper; it is for your eyes only.
You may wish to re- arrange the order of topics as soon as you see them on paper. You
can use that outline as a personal guide while writing your first draft.
A few more words about the passive voice. It is disease of many bureaucrats. It is a
way to obfuscate –– that is to write words as if you are being informative, but really
hiding some of the important information. Experienced readers will recognize your use
of the passive voice immediately.
The passive voice, like statistics, has some times been compared to a bikini bathing
suit (What it reveals is interesting but what it hides is vital).
What Makes a Report Good?
What Makes A Good Report? Again I asked the participants in the workshops to tell me
what made good reports, or reports good. They suggested the following:
Attractive
Straight forward, honest, no deception (no lies)
Interesting illustrations, designs. (colour if possible)
Brief, short
Neat and readable (good handwriting)
To the point
Simple English (or whatever language)
Well spaced
Has title and sub titles
Organized or structured.
Like the two lists above, this list can be combined with them to make an overall check
list for checking through any report that you may write, and for holding a report-
writing workshop with participating community members. See Errors for a short list of
common writing errors that you can correct.
Conclusion:
Remember that writing reports need not be boring, look upon the task as a challenge.
Emphasize results over activities. Go beyond description; be analytical. Know your
audience and the needs of your readers. Write in easy to read, simple language. Avoid
the passive voice. Write concisely (briefly but completely). Organize your reports by
using an outline and by using subtitles. Write several drafts before the final one.
By using these tips and guidelines, you can teach yourself and your community clients
to improve your report writing. Remember, it is not necessary to be bad to get better.
Comments
Post a Comment