How to report on the session?


This blog is one of a series of Facilitation Thoughts which look at various aspects of facilitation. 



The facilitator should confirm the reporting requirements with the organisers. 


There are some sessions which are organised for policy making or other planning activities. These kinds of sessions - consultations, planning, reviews - should have a  rapporteur. The rapporteur would be responsible for recording the questions, decisions, ideas, concerns, complaints, solutions etc discussed by the group. 

There should be time for the rapporteur to check in with the participants to confirm that the reporting is accurate. Some rapporteurs might select a smaller group of the participants to review the draft  report to ensure the accuracy.

If a rapporteur is not present, then the facilitator should plan time to capture summaries of the discussions and then transcribe them to the report of the session.
Some persons might audio record segments of the session to keep as a reference.

The structure of these reports will depend on the theme of the discussions.

There are other types of sessions - eg training sessions or awareness sessions - where  the facilitator would not need to report on details of the participants' contributions. A report might not even be required.

However, it is useful to get into the habit of reporting so that there is opportunity for the organisers and the facilitator to reflect on the session. 
A report template shown here with some of headings which might be useful.


REPORT Template
[This template is shared as a guide only. You can use some or all of the headings as you see fit ]
You can download and use.

Name of Report :

Submitted by {name], Facilitator
Date :

About the [session ]
{Background }
{What were the Objectives / Learning Objectives}

Participants
[Number of persons, name of persons , and any other date required by the organisers – summary of age, gender, geographic location etc ]

Methodology
[Agenda – and changes which were made from the plan]  
[Description of activities and results ]

Workshop Outcomes
[Describe the outcomes of the discussions ]

Participants' Evaluation of the session
[Summarise the evaluation of the session ] 

Next steps / Participants' Recommendations
[Document recommendations which were made during the session ]
Facilitator Recommendations
[Note any observations ]
Annex1 : Evaluation Responses ([ Number ]forms collected) {Some details of the information from the evaluation forms }



A report can be enhanced with additional media such as video or audio recordings  - e.g.  this recording from Help & Shelter of nurses who participated in a training session.

What other considerations should go into the report of a session?


Have a look at the other Facilitation blogs

Author : Vidyaratha Kissoon  contact : vidyak1 (at) gmail (dot) com

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