Presented by

Madhuriya Kumar Dutta

Trade and Investment Facilitation DepartmentMekong Institute, Thailand16 May 2012

A report is a communication tool to present M&E results by presenting raw data & information as knowledge.

A report is an opportunity for project implementers to inform themselves & others (stakeholders, partners, donors, etc.) on the progress, problems, difficulties encountered, successes & lessons learned during implementation of programs & activities

A report is a compilation of descriptive information.

Data are raw facts and figures that on their own have no meaning

• Yes, Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes, No,

• 42, 63, 96, 74, 56, 86

• None of the above data sets have any meaning until they are given a CONTEXT and PROCESSED into a useable form

These can be text, numbers, symbols

To achieve its aims one need to process data into information.

Data needs to be turned into meaningful information and presented in its most useful format

Data must be processed in a context in order to give it meaning

Data that has been processed within a context to give it meaning

A Manager could use this information to decide whether or not to raise or lower price

Yes, Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes,

Yes

Raw Data

ContextResponses to the market

research question – “Would you buy brand x at price y?”

Information ???

Processing

•State explicitly whether & how much progress or results surpassed, met, or fell short of expectations & why

•Specify actions to overcome problems & improve performance, where necessary

•Identifies the need to adjust resource allocations, indicators, or targets, where necessary

Results & accomplishments

Performance

Explicit

Action

Identified need

Way forward & sustainability of

results

•Discusses the way forward & the prospects for successful programme closeout or graduation & addresses aspects of sustainability of results

Oral presentations Discussion sessions Informal contacts Oral presentations Discussion sessions Informal contacts Press & media releases Visual presentations Formal academic papers & books Internet, e-mail & websites

Three types of communication are often required by donors (in addition

to regular financial information):

Written progress reports

(quarterly)

Internal mid-term

evaluations

Participatory final

evaluations

Be as concise as possible given the information that needs to be conveyed.

Be consistent with the amount of information to be presented.

Focus on results being achieved compared with the expected results as defined in the DMF or defined in the objectives.

Be clear on your audience (e.g. Country Directors, Governments, donors, technical persons).

Write in plain language that can be understood by the target audience.

Be consistent in your use of terminology, definitions and descriptions of partners, activities and places. Define any acronyms.

Present complex data with figures, summary tables, maps, photographs and graphs.

Only highlight the most significant key points or words (using bold, italics or other stresses).

Include Success Stories in Box Include references for sources

and authorities. Include a table of contents for

reports over 5 pages in length.

Think about sentence and paragraph construction.

Edit for grammar, spelling and punctuation errors.

Use the spell check function.

Use headings and sub-headings to make your text reader-friendly.

Correctly reference any material you use from other authors

Completeness – All information in 1 document.

Accuracy/Reliability – be sufficiently accurate for the purpose

Timeliness –useful results to be obtained in the time available.

Good presentation –use of graphs, charts and other diagrams helps make information more digestible.

Relevance – Only information that is of importance to the decisions being taken is of value.

Thank You