Development Cooperation Handbook/Guidelines/How to build trust and provide solid support for your reports

This list is a component of List of things to do in order to illustrate a project/action

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How to built the trust and provide solid support for your reports.

Provide solid support

1. Give some numbers. Numerical data arranged to show a trend, correlation, or relationship.
2. Give the evidences
3. Quote your sources; explain if and why they are reliable or unreliable -- authoritative or not authoritative.
4. Proceed logically from evidences to conclusions.
5. Give images and illustrations.
6. Give specific Instances and examples that clarify or prove a point.
7. Make analogies: A comparison between an unfamiliar concept and a familiar one to clarify a concept that might otherwise be difficult to understand.
8. Testimony: A statement or endorsement given by someone who has a logical connection to the topic and who is a credible source. Before using testimony, ask:
   - Is the material quoted accurately?
   - Is the source biased, or perceived as biased?
   - Is the source competent in the field being consulted?
   - Is the information current?
   

Self review of your trustworthiness

Questions to ask yourself while writing a report

1. What do you want to say?
2. To whom do you want to say it?
3. How are you going to say it?
4. How will you organize you ideas?
5.  Can you be logical?
6. Can you prove it?
7. How many numbers do you throw at them?
8. Is your report believable?
9.  Is it simple?
10.  Is it too long?

In order to build the trust and explain the challenges remember that the project does not achieve its objective directly! The activities that the action team will carry out will produce the outputs that will empower beneficiaries to better interact with their communities and utilise project deliverables to achieve the project outcomes. These outcomes will enable the stakeholders to tackle the problems identified and produce changes in the factors generating these problems, thereby contributing to the achievement of the project objectives.

Other tools

Templates

Tasks implementation report form
Template - Project Status Snapshot
Template - Project status summary
Template - Project Status Report

Checklists

What to do in order to obtain information about a project
What to ask in order to obtain information about a project
What to say in order to provide information about a project

Guidelines

Guideline: how to report project performance
How team members can improve overall project communication

See also

Project information distribution
Manage Implementation of Project Execution