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How to create a good report in a grant management system.

We know how important reporting is to your organisation – without analysis, it is difficult to know that you are spending money in the right places, and delivering against your objectives.

Creating a good report in a grant management system requires careful planning and attention to detail. We can help you ask the right questions in order to extract the important data, and we can help you show this data to the stakeholders who need to understand it.

Firstly, define the purpose and scope of the report.  Before you begin creating the report, you need to determine what you want to achieve with it. Identify the information that needs to be included, the audience that will be reading the report, and the timeline for completing the report.

At AIMS, our decades of experience has taught us that it is critical to structure grant reporting for learning. We know it is important for trusts and foundations to collate information about the projects they support and how their money is being spent. And we also see that often reports could be better created to support organisation insight and development.  We suggest that you ask what information could be reported on that would create holistic learning across your organisation – find out what you could be doing better.  

Secondly, collect the data.  This may involve gathering information from multiple sources, such as financial reports, project evaluations, and recipient reports. It is important to make sure the data is accurate, complete, and up-to-date. A good grant management system will allow you to automate this process, making reporting simple – which makes it more likely to happen regularly.

Thirdly, analyse and interpret the data in a way that your stakeholders can understand.  Use a reporting tool that allows you to present the information in an organised and meaningful way. Before submitting the report, review it carefully to ensure that all the information is accurate and complete. Make any necessary revisions or edits to improve the report’s clarity and readability.

Which brings us to our final suggestion – share your knowledge generously. The insights that you find will be valuable to many of your colleagues, stakeholders and possibly even recipients.  Using more informal channels of communication can be very effective – how many reports are sitting getting dusty on a shelf somewhere? A q&a session, or a simple phone conversation with the right colleague, can sometimes be a more significant way to share learning. 

Are you thinking about how to revamp your reporting process?

We have over 30 years of experience in the grant management field, across many different sectors – let us share our learning with you.

Get in touch today for a no-strings chat.

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