Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CARE M&E Report Writing Workshop PDF
CARE M&E Report Writing Workshop PDF
WORKSHOP
FOR THE
FOOD TRANSITION PROJECT
STAFF
Materials developed by
Mary Picard, Ph.D.
Monitoring & Evaluation Advisor
CARE International in Kosovo
Report Writing Workshop for FTP 1
_______________________________________________________________________________
AGENDA TOPICS:
EXERCISES
1 ON QUALITY OF INFORMATION SOURCES
2 ON KNOWING THE PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE OF YOUR
REPORT
3 ON DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN AN ACCOMPLISHMENT, A
PROBLEM, ETC.
4 ON OBJECTIVITY
5 ON ANALYSIS
Report Writing Workshop for FTP 2
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. Know the purpose and the audience of your report well and write
it accordingly.
10. Select the most effective way to present the information. Use
tables to show quantitative information or to report events or
activities for which there is some pattern.
Report Writing Workshop for FTP 5
_______________________________________________________________________________
source?
What does the information tell me? Is it a detail that has no
relevance or importance for my analysis? Am I able to aggregate
it with other similar types of information?
Does the information have some value? What do I need to do to
make this information more useful to me and my project? Is
there something I can do?
GROUP EXERCISE 1
The audience can also vary. Each has a different level of decision
making, accountability and involvement in the project. Here are
some examples with which you are familiar:
1. the donor(s)
2. the project manager
Report Writing Workshop for FTP 8
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. field coordinator
4. monitoring officer Would you
5. distribution officer write the
6. field monitor same way
and include
7. beneficiary the same
info in your
report to
Here are some questions that you should ask yourself before you your super-
begin to write your report: visor if you
were writ-
ing to a co-
For whom am I writing this report? What can I assume and worker?
not assume that this person(s) already knows?
In reviewing each question or section of the report format I am
given, do I understand why that question is important and what
purpose it serves? More specifically, do I know what the larger
question(s) is behind the issues raised in my report format?
Is the information I am providing in my report appropriate for
the questions which my supervisor must then answer in his/her
report?
What types of quantitative recording must be done by partners
and by staff which I will need to aggregate or summarize in my
report?
What actions or decisions must my supervisor make with the
information I provide?
What will my supervisor do with my report? Will it be used for
further reporting?
What effect will this information have in the immediate term and
in the longer term? Whom and what will it affect?
GROUP EXERCISE 2
Divide up into groups composed of staff who prepare the same type of report.
Using your report format as a base, ask yourselves, for each section of the
report why your supervisor needs this information and what s/he will do with it.
What actions and decisions will be made with this information?
Report Writing Workshop for FTP 9
_______________________________________________________________________________
There are some givens and having a structure for your report
will give you (and the reader!) some guideposts and a way to
navigate through the report (guideline #3). Lets look now at
some of the basic components of a report . . .
I. OVERVIEW
A. Activity #1
1. Accomplishments or Achievements Against the Plan
2. Constraints Affecting Progress (or Problems
Encountered)
3. Actions to Address Constraints
4. Planned Activities for Next Period
B. Activity #2
1. As above
2. As above
3. As above
4. As above
etc.
Examples:
A. Relationships with Partners
B. Management Issues
C. Administration Issues
D. Operational Issues
V. CONCLUSIONS OR RECOMMENDATIONS
Report Writing Workshop for FTP 10
_______________________________________________________________________________
I. OVERVIEW OR SUMMARY
Example: UNMIK has still not issued the definition for Category II, hence, the
commencement of Category II benefits has been delayed.
_________________________
A. Activity #1
1. Accomplishments or Achievements Against the Plan
2. Constraints Affecting Progress (or Problems Encountered)
3. Actions to Address Constraints
4. Planned Activities for Next Period
What was done by whom and where and how well it was done?
If there were targets set, to what extent were they achieved?
Or if you are operating according to a plan or pre-set schedule,
did you achieve what you planned to do? If not, why not?
Report Writing Workshop for FTP 12
_______________________________________________________________________________
Guideline EXERCISE 3
#4: Use
discipline
in Work individually on this. For each numbered sentence in the
preparing example paragraph, identify it as (a) an accomplishment, (b) a
your
report. problem or constraint and whether it is internal or external, (c)
Think an action to address a problem or constraint, (d) a planned
before
you write!
activity, or (e) a detail which is not necessary or does not belong.
Paragraph:
{ This week field staff focused more on the secondary distribution done by
MTS. | They checked all delivery points in the AOR to ensure the distribution
was running properly and that food was being picked up at distribution points. }
There were problems during the field activities and, in many cases, villagers
were complaining to the MTS branches about the reduction in numbers of
beneficiaries. ~ But the community leader at the Roma delivery point in Gjilan
requested a reduction in the number of beneficiaries from 363 to 315, because
some households were now better off. We ensured that the food for the
months of August and September were distributed. We informed all delivery
points that the reports to the branch offices are due on the 2nd of the month.
We will collect the reports from the branch offices next week. We still
have not received the WFP food distribution plan for next month. We hope
we will receive it soon.
Report Writing Workshop for FTP 13
_______________________________________________________________________________
OBJECTIVITY
Do not make a claim or assertion for which you do not have the
data to back it up. Every statement of truth requires evidence.
Be very careful not to take what is true for one place or one
situation and generalize; similarly, do not forget, when you make
a statement, to refer to whom, how many, where, and when
EXERCISE 4
Entire group together : Critique the following paragraph and table in
terms of their objectivity and rewrite them in a more appropriate
fashion.
Example:
Descriptive Analytical
In Mitrovica North, the data shows In Mitrovica North, the data shows
that 332 households have WFP ration that 332 households have WFP ration
cards, while 1680 households are cards, while 1680 households are
registered with the CSW. registered with the CSW. This
indicates that only 20% of households
registered with the CSW are
vulnerable and meet the Cat. I.
criteria. This tells us that . . .
But dont
But in order to be explanatory, we need to summarize and
forget aggregate our information. And in order to aggregate, we need
your
to have consistent information for all cases or events.
objectiv-
ity when
you In aggregating or looking at the bigger picture, we look for
explain
the data,
patterns or trends and seek to identify them. The danger is
make sure there is always some degree of interpretation involved in
your
reviewing the data.
conclusion
is true
for all We also look for the exceptions and seek to explain them.
cases.
Our own judgment and intellect really come into play when we
begin to prioritize the issues and problems based on the
explanations that emerge from our analysis.
EXERCISE 5
Divide into small groups. Review the data below and see what kind of
analysis you can do on it. What questions could you ask about this
data? What conclusions can be reached? What trends do you see?
What problems emerge from this analysis which need to be further
investigated and how would you prioritize the problems?
CONSISTENCY
LOGIC
There should be a flow and links from one paragraph to the next.
The food distribution and delivery went well this week. The correct food
was brought to the delivery sites and picked up by the MTS to the
distribution points. People in the villages of Cernica, Binac, Donja Budriga,
Bosce and Partes came to the distribution points. Only in the village of
Gornje Kusce the MTS branch boycotted the distribution because
tensions in their village were high and they were afraid to distribute. We
expect distribution to continue to go well in these other villages.
APPENDIX 1
SOME DEFINITIONS
Accomplishments or Achievements
What did you achieve? means the same as accomplish but is often
used in the context of projects to refer to the extent to which you
achieved or reached some target(s) within your plan. It has the
connotation of comparing planned against actual.
These are all very similar but, to distinguish nuances, here are some
examples: