1. Weekly Status Reporting Tracking to Build Organizational Capacity

2. Purpose The Weekly Status Report is part of a series of reporting tools designed to improve the effectiveness of CSOs. It has several main objectives. 1.It creates unambiguous, early signals indicating the condition of the Project Work, the Funding and follow-up Proposal (end of Project). 2.It signals escalation to Senior Management when problems exist by assigning Red or Amber indicating that the process is not working. 3.It helps in making proactive decisions based on clear criteria. 4.It provides input to a Weekly Capacity Building tool which tracks the Weekly Status for every project to identify systemic challenges 5.It is designed to improve communication to CSO executive.

3. Weekly Project Status Report The report Status signals Areas of the project that are going well (Green) Potential delays to be escalated to PM and Deputy to resolve (Amber) Areas that need to escalated to the director immediately (Red) The Amber attempts to give time for resolution before going red.

4. Project Officer assigns Status 1.Your project name and status is reported based on clear criteria Green – Project is on track, on budget Amber – Concerns exist over the project, staffing, funding, or future issues Red – Delays are encountered or anticipated “this week” unless problems are solved immediately) 2.Yellow or Red indicate Challenges need to be solved imminently for project to succeed Future long term dependencies are in jeopardy. The Note should provide detail indicating the cause. 3.Red indicates Dependencies need to be addressed in order to complete this week’s activities (e.g. vehicles, approvals, staff requirements, secretarial or financial support required that you have had challenges arranging.) Issues are to be escalated to Senior Management (if they have not already been escalated,.)

5. Project Condition: Did I have a successful week? You will know if you had a successful week by several criteria: 1.You and your project team have succeeded in completing your previous week’s planned activities 2.You have made all required deliveries 3.You have filled and signed all necessary documents 4.You have kept picture to supplement documents 5.You’ve taken all necessary measures 6.You have submitted all required reports and forms 7.You have done all this and kept within the approved budget

6. Project Condition: Will I have a successful week? Even if you had a successful week last week, it is not a guarantee that your current or future week(s) will be successful. The following conditions will help you to determine likelihood of success: You have a clear work plan based on a Project Schedule Your work plan is reflected in the Project Schedule You are assured that all project dependencies for this week have been addressed (e.g. Funding, Staffing, Resources, Vehicle) You feel comfortable that you and your team members will be fully occupied on the project for some time to come.

7. Weekly Finance and Proposal Status 1.Funding Status for each Project (using a traffic light approach) Green means a)Funding is available and in the account for completing this phase b)Follow-up phases are being appropriately addressed if the project is within 6 months of completion it should be in proposal stage If the project is within 3 months of completion, the follow-up proposal should be approved and sent If within 1 month, a preliminary acceptance of the proposal has been acknowledged. If within 2 weeks, money should be on its way or in the bank. Amber means: a)Funding is available for completing this phase but the following problems exist a)Project Reporting is due and the donor is waiting b)Proposal for follow-up is not yet in place according to above criteria Red means either: a)Project Funding is inadequate for current work b)Project funding has stopped or will not meet project requirements based on current estimates c)Project Funding has been delayed and threatens this coming weeks work

8. Weekly Financial and Proposal Status (cont’d) Notes for Amber or Red should include: 1.Dependencies that need to be addressed in order to complete this week’s activities (e.g. approvals, expense signatures, secretarial support requirements, transportation costs) NOTE: Only include those which you have had challenges arranging. 2.A brief outline of financial activities planned to resolve issues 3.Future long term dependencies if they are on the critical path 4.Any other issues to be escalated to Senior Management if they have not already been escalated. 5.If a follow-up Proposal is due, indicate what the issues are.

9. Project Planning Project Officers should have a weekly work plan for themselves and communicate in advance assignments to the team The work plan should account for updates of all tasks completed in previous weeks and outline all tasks planned for this week and future A work plan should fully utilize the individual(s) working on the project and indicate times when they are available for others tasks. Looking ahead to future weeks should be considered and planned to eliminate project delays The work plan can be communicated using a project scheduling tool which shows milestones, meetings, resource usage and critical path scheduling. (You can install one using this link)You can install one using this link The Project or Initiative needs to be well funded. If money is not available, the project will be delayed. Project funding needs to available for the current week. Money needs to be available following the project in order to maintain staffing. Additional funding must be arranged, possibly through a follow-up project.

10. Reporting at staff meetings Project Officers should ideally report on the following: 1.Their Weekly Status TRAFFIC SIGNAL Report (Red, Amber, Green) 2.A very brief outline of activities completed during last week 3.A brief outline of activities planned, travel plans and anticipated outcomes 4.Creative solutions to challenges faced either by the team or the beneficiaries during the past week. 5.Any learning or suggestions that might help other project leaders.

11. Creating a Weekly Status Report The Weekly Status Report is created from a template (usually done by the individual responsible for tracking all reports) Weekly Status Reporting TemplateWeekly Status Reporting Template (Weekly Status.xls) 1.Open the template 2.Go to the “Instructions” tab and review directions 3.Go to the “Send To” tab and enter Project Name, Initial Report Date (if known), as well as Position and contact information for Director, Deputy, Program Manager and Program Officer 4.Set Escalation levels to determine the e-mail distribution for various statuses

12. Creating a Weekly Status Report (cont’d) The Weekly Status Report is created from a template (usually create by the individual responsible for tracking all reports) Weekly Status Reporting template (Weekly Status.xls)Weekly Status Reporting template 1.Enter a one, two or three word title for the Project (e.g. MDG, BRIDGES, TAKPO AGRICULTURE, HELP DISABLED, Barton Hill Jamaica) 2.Click on the “Save Report” button. 3.The Template will create a file using the Project Name (e.g. Weekly Status Barton Hill Jamaica.xls) 4.When the information is complete, click on “Distribute to Project Officer” button to send the report to the Project Officer (Project Manager/Coordinator).

13. Updating a Weekly Status Report The Project Officer is responsible for updating the Weekly Status. 1.Open the Weekly Status Report (e.g. Weekly Status Barton Hill Jamaica.xls) and enable macros. 2.On the Project Status tab, ensure all information is filled out Project Name, Start and End Date of funded project, Reporting Date, Project Officer. 3.The Reporting Date is Monday of the coming week. Ideally, reporting should be done on Friday evening or at least by Monday morning 4.Select a status for each of Project Condition, Funding Condition and Proposal Condition by double clicking and selecting from the lists. 5.Enter Notes regarding the status especially if Red or Amber, indicating why that status was chosen. 6.When complete, click on the “Send Report” button. The report will attempt to send to the named distribution list. Click on Yes or Allow if the computer asks. The Reporting Date will increment to next week if successful. 7.If the “Send Report” fails, send the report manually to the individuals named on the tab “Send To” and update the date manually, then save the report file.

14. Weekly Status Tracking Capacity Measurement by viewing patterns in Weekly Updates All submitted Status Reports should be kept in the same Folder The Project Status from each project is recorded on a weekly basis with tracking notes related to the project and funding issues. This is done by clicking “Update Status from Project” Long term red or amber signals a need to investigate causes (e.g. late or poor reporting, unacceptable donor conditions) allow for learning from mistakes and find creative and permanent solutions (e.g. improved reports, better timing, etc.) At the end of each quarter, click on “Add New Quarter”

15. Strategic Improvement Capacity Development (the Goal) Consistently Green reports indicate that better approaches are being taken: projects teams are consistently delivering, contingency plans are working, funding is available, staff are occupied and paid regularly, and follow-up proposal are being accepted and funded before money run out at the end of the project. Green