This course is about developing effective reports. It shows how to develop a brief, gather and analyse data, and write this up into a well structured easy-to-understand report.
We use reports to present and analyse information to enable us to understand this better and make good decisions Some reports do this well, others are difficult to understand, do not have the right information and provide no analysis or conclusions.
This course aims to help you avoid some of the traps that result in ineffective reports and ensure that the time spent in developing and reading reports is efficiently used.
What this course offers
Taking the course and using some of the tools and guidelines will help you develop knowledge, skills, processes and documentation that will enable you to become more capable of developing effective reports.
What you will learn
1. What is an effective report?
This describes effective reports. It shows how reports need to follow a particular structure to ensure information is presented clearly and logically that enables conclusions and recommendations to be made. It also outlines the principles and benefits of effective reports.
2. How do you prepare an effective report?
This describes the initial stages of preparing a report, including developing the brief, and identifying and understanding the information to be analysed.
3. How do you write an effective report?
This describes the structure and content of effective reports. It shows how it is important to follow a particular order in the report to ensure that information is easy to understand and conclusions and recommendations can be drawn.
4. Are there tools and guides you can use to develop effective reports?
Checklists and templates that can be used in developing reports are provided. These enable the process of writing reports to be more efficient and to help avoid ‘reinventing the wheel’.
How you will learn
The course is online and you will be able to access the following resources
- Course presentation
- Course book
- Course quiz
- Templates and guides
- Course work
- Additional reading
The course is self-paced and you can work through the material in your own time. Course numbers are capped, so the length of access to courses will be limited to provide access to new participants. However, we aim to provide access for at least 1 month.
Course certificate
A course certificate can be provided should you wish to receive formal confirmation of your successful completion of the course. For this, you must download and apply tools and guides provided and submit coursework. This will be reviewed by the Course Instructor and, where requirements are met, a course certificate will be issued.
What do I need to attend the course?
You will need access to the Internet and a Gmail account with a password to access the course.
Who developed the course?
The course was developed by Instructors who have designed and run management and technical courses for the United Nations, government departments, universities, professional bodies and community organisations.
Accessing the course, course books, tools and guides
Access to the course enables you to view the presentations, the course book, tools and guides, the additional reading, the coursework and take the quiz. This is free. Please contact us with your Gmail address and the course you would like to attend here.
Course books, tools and guides can be viewed online during the course. If you would like to download and use these, these can be accessed through the shop.