Reports are how managers, donors and partners see your work. In NGO adverts in northern Ghana, report writing, narrative and financial reporting, and success stories come up again and again. A clear, honest report makes a project look well run; a confusing one raises questions even when the work was good.
Two kinds of report
- Status updates are short and frequent, often weekly or monthly, for your manager or team. They answer: where are we, what is next, and what needs attention?
- Donor reports are longer and follow the donor's template, often quarterly and at the end of the project. They follow the logframe and include financial information.
A one page status update
A simple structure works for almost any update:
- Overall status: on track, at risk or off track, in one line.
- Done since last update: three to five bullets.
- Next period: the main planned tasks.
- Issues and risks: what needs attention, and what you need from the reader.
- Spending: a line or two on budget versus actual.
Write for a busy reader: put the most important point first, use short sentences, and give numbers rather than adjectives. "Eight of ten members trained" is better than "training went very well".