Latest ELD News
September 2011

Recommended Resource: The Plain English Campaign's 'A-Z of Alternative Words'

This handy resource will help you keep your writing clear and simple, giving hundreds of alternatives to some of the pompous words that can litter our writing.

2012 Schedule Launched

Our schedule for the next 12 months is ready. Countries covered are Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines ...read more

Training for Save the Children (South and Central Asia) completed

A training on Developing Project Proposals concluded successfully in August for Save the Children on Project Proposal Writing ...read more

ELD in East Africa, July 2011

Two courses were run in Kenya in July 2011, as well as a customised training for Tearfund UK ... read more

New Distance Training Programmes Launched

Two new Distance Training Programmes have been launched on Case Study Writing and Project Proposal Writing ...

Training for Save the Children (Indonesia) completed

From 16 - 20 May, ELD Director Neil Kendick conducted an in-house training on Project Proposal Writing for the Save the Children Indoesia Country Team in Jakarta ... read more

Training for UNFPA, Sierra Leone completed

From 6 - 10 June, ELD Director Neil Kendick conducted an in-house training on Reporting Skills and Proposal Writing for the UNFPA Country Team in Sierra Leone ... read more

L'Art de Rédiger des Rapports

Our Reporting Skills Tookit is finally available in French / Notre Toolkit sur les techniques de reportage est enfin disponible en français ... read more / lire la suite

See all recent news

TOOLKIT: REPORTING SKILLS AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING

WHAT IS THE REPORTING SKILLS AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING TOOLKIT?

The Reporting Skills and Professional Writing Toolkit is a self-study programme that is based on the best of 10 years' experience working with INGOs, NGOs, GOs and IOs over hundreds of training courses. It's available as a PDF handbook as well as a Standard Edition for convenient desktop study, and, for larger organisations, the Trainer Edition is supported by a complete Training Pack.

Included in the Standard Edition is the entire programme as a PDF Ebook and the Toolkit can be downloaded as soon as you order securely online. With over 230 pages of explanations and tasks, it's complete. Whether you use the Ebook only, or follow the steps using the Standard Edition, you can learn the skills of analysis, planning, drafting and editing effective reports without having to interrupt your busy schedule. This Toolkit takes readers through the entire reporting process from setting objectives, through data gathering and analysis tools, to planning, drafting, editing and designing the report.

The programme is full of clear explanations and examples, frequent practical exercises, and an extended case study to fully apply all the tools presented. This is not just a 'book about reporting skills' - this practical guide will give you the skills to:

• Set evaluation goals - know what you are doing before you start
• Select data gathering methods - select the best way to get breadth and depth of information efficiently and economically
• Analyse quantitative and qualitative data - really understand what your data is telling you
• Plan the report - put your ideas into a structure that works
• Write more clearly and organise your ideas and analysis effectively - getting to the point in a powerful, persuasive style
• Edit and design the final result for impact
  

WHAT'S IN THE TOOLKIT?

The Toolkit is spread over 8 easy-to-follow modules that cover ALL the steps of the writing process.

Module One - Professional Writing & the Writing Process - is an introduction to the programme, and clarifies what Professional Writing is and what makes writing effective. Also introduced is the Writing Process - Analysis, Planning, Drafting & Editing.

Module Two - Setting Objectives and Data Gathering Methods - covers the preparatory phase of the investigation: setting objectives, developing the research plan and selecting the data gathering methods. The module also looks at evaluation reports, progress reports and investigations based on Terms of Reference.

Module Three - Analysing and Interpreting Information - looks at how to interpret statistics before moving onto the three steps of data analysis. In the extended case study which runs through the programme, we turn a fact sheet on children's issues into a report structure and finally into a Mind Map of interrelated issues.

Module Four - Planning the Report - covers the planning phase. The tools of SPR (Subject / Purpose / Reader) analysis and Reader Profiling are practiced and the case study analysis is now developed into a clear plan for the report.

Module Five - Writing Skills: Clarity - is the second writing skills component and investigates how to get your message across and improve the impact of your writing. The module demonstrates how to measure how clear your writing is and gives you some simple, effective tools for improving the power of your sentences.

Module Six - Writing Skills: Organisation - presents the deductive / Inverted Pyramid approach to organising writing, before looking at the various ways to present the main points. The second half of the module deals specifically with organising persuasive paragraphs that synthesise interpretation as well as supporting ideas, examples and evidence.

Module Seven - Putting it all Together - takes the practical work to a new level. The analysis and the plan, together with the writing skills are applied to develop an extended report. This module is almost entirely task-based, walking readers step-by-step through the drafting process.

Module Eight - Finishing off the Report - completes the programme, covering writing the summary, designing the cover page, page layout, using visuals, writing style and the editing process. The programme ends with a summary of the main points covered and visual review of the entire programme.

If you would like to see what's inside the Toolkits in detail, sign up to our newslist and we will send you free introduction modules to all four.

THE TRAINER EDITION: BUILD THE SKILLS OF YOUR TEAM - FLEXIBLY AND AFFORDABLY

With the Trainer Edition you can conveniently reinforce the lessons in the Toolkit through structured, well-planned sessions for your staff. For a fraction of the cost of sending your team on training, you can pass on the benefits of ELD's years' of experience through this 'workshop-in-a-box'.

Conducting structured training will help you increase the impact of the programme and make sure all staff acquire the skills of effective reporting. The Toolkit's eight modules are packaged as a 30-hour training programme which can be delivered in one intensive course or spread out over as many days as you wish.

As well as convenience, the low cost of the Trainer Edition compares favourably to the expense of sending even one participant on a 5-day training course - a big advantage when budgets are under pressure.

The pack includes session-by-session notes, tips on preparation and delivery and course monitoring & evaluation tools. Any trainer with good people management skils can facilitate this straightforward programe. There are around 250 PowerPoint slides, broken down into the eight thematic modules of the programme, providing powerful visual support to the learning activities and discussion. Participant handouts are ready to print, and ordering a Licence + Training Pack means all your team will have access to the the full Handbook and Standard Edition for reference and self-study. Included also are supplementary materials - daily feedback forms, evaluation form, cut-up tasks and colour graphs for data analysis, and a model report based on the case study central to the course.

PURCHASE

There are various purchase options depending on your organisation's needs as follows:

• PDF Only - Immediate download of the toolkit in handbook form. (Please note you should order one copy for each person who will receive the handbook.)
• Standard Edition - This edition includes the PDF handbook as well as all the materials organised into a self-study programme for easy desktop study.
• Trainer Edition - In the Trainer Edition, the above materials are supplemented with PowerPoint slides, a trainer guide and participant handouts, allowing organisations to conduct their own training without the need for external facilitators.

What are the different editions? Click here.

Toolkits are provided on a licensed basis. The Single User Licence is for personal study, while organisations that wish to distribute multiple copies to their staff can order licences for the appropriate number of users.

COST

PDF Handbook Only - 25 GBP

Standard Edition

Single User - 40 GBP
10-User - 300 GBP
25-User - 600 GBP
50-User - 900 GBP

Trainer Edition

Reference Copy - GBP 200
10-User - 500 GBP
25-User - 750 GBP
50-User - 1000 GBP

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Reporting Skills and Professional Writing is also available as a Distance Training Programme.

Also available in French.

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