SustainAxis Academy · M&E Fundamentals · Module 6 Reading

Analysis, Reporting & Ethics

Turning data into findings, a simple report outline, downward accountability, and an ethics checklist.

Basic analysis, kept simple

Count: How many (e.g. 140 farmers adopted).
Percentage: Out of the whole (140 of 200 = 70%).
Disaggregate: Always break the total down by sex, age and location. An average can hide who was missed.
Compare: Endline against baseline (the change), and result against target (did you meet it).
Qualitative: Read through interviews and focus groups for recurring patterns and reasons.

A number is not a finding

A finding is a number with its meaning attached: comparison + disaggregation + what it means. "70% adopted, meeting the target, but only 55% of women did, suggesting the training did not suit women." That is a finding, and findings are what reports and decisions are built from.

A simple report outline

Purpose — why this report, in two or three lines.
What we did — the methods, briefly.
Key findings — organised by indicator and target, always disaggregated. Use a table or one simple chart.
Conclusions — what the findings add up to.
Recommendations — what should be done. Keep these separate from the findings, so the reader can see that your advice rests on evidence.

Write for the actual reader (manager, district assembly, or donor).

From data to decision, and back to the community

Hold a short reflection meeting: "given this, what do we do differently?"
Account downward, not only upward. Take the results back to the community through a feedback meeting or durbar, in plain language, with a real way to respond.

Ethics checklist

Informed consent: people understand the purpose, agree freely, and may decline.
Confidentiality and security: protect personal data and store it safely.
Do no harm: take great care with conflict-affected communities and sensitive data.
Vulnerable groups: special care with children and at-risk people.
Minimise: collect only the data you will actually use.

Carry one idea with you above all the others. M&E is not paperwork for the donor. It is how you keep a promise to a community, and how you prove, honestly, whether that promise was kept.