TECHNICAL REPORTING
You will be expected to provide both interim and final technical reports that detail your progress toward the project’s stated objectives.
The report should help IDRC staff assess:
- the technical progress of your project;
- and the purpose and relevance of all project expenditures to date.
If work is undertaken in collaboration with other organizations, it is expected that technical reports will be prepared jointly.
IDRC places a high degree of importance on these reports and they are included in the Project Outputs noted in the General Terms and Conditions of the Grant Agreement.
Your accountability: Reporting on project performance
Project outputs and technical and financial reports must be submitted on time — they are a condition of receiving your advances. Missing or insufficient documentation will lead to delays in project payments. IDRC’s grant agreement specifies the type of outputs and the frequency of the technical and financial reports that must be submitted.
As noted below, all project outputs and technical and financial reports must be submitted within the schedule established in Part 3: Schedule of project milestones of the grant agreement. All project outputs, including technical and financial reports, must be submitted electronically through IDRC Connect.
How IDRC grants are disbursed
IDRC grants are disbursed on the basis of a schedule of milestones outlined in the grant agreement (Part 3: Schedule of project milestones).
The schedule of payments reflects the IDRC grantee’s expected cash flow as indicated in the proposal budget or, if submitted prior to approval, the project work plan. The initial payment is contingent on the signing of the grant agreement by all parties. Interim payments are released based on the progress of project activities and after the Centre receives and approves the required project deliverables.
Payments during the lifecycle of the project are determined by the forecast submitted by the IDRC grantee. The forecast is submitted in the working currency of the institution and the payment is converted to Canadian dollars at the exchange rate in effect at that time. Therefore, it is important to record and report all expenditures and project payments in the working currency of the project. When the project is closed, the final project payment is adjusted to account for exchange variations. Any shortfall must be absorbed as part of the institution’s contribution to the project.
Interim Reports
An interim (or progress) report should provide a concise description of the activities planned and completed during the reporting period (see Guidelines for preparing interim technical reports). The exact dates of the reporting period should be clearly specified.
The following information should be provided for each project objective:
- details of the work carried out;
- results; activities planned for the next period;
- an evaluation or assessment of progress;
- an outline of problems encountered and the actions to take to address them;
- and administrative aspects (i.e., changes in staffing, organizational changes in the institution, the
status of trainees supported by the project, and future training requirements).
Other research output may be shared (such as research papers, surveys, and questionnaires), but these outputs do not replace the required technical reports.
The interim technical report is an opportunity to reflect on the management of the project from various perspectives: technical, administrative, and financial. It is suggested that recipients familiarise themselves with the required content for interim reports from the outset of the project, so that they can remain aware of the key elements of these reports and are better able to maintain the information which these reports require.
Download the GuidelinesThe final report
The final technical report should:
- explain what was achieved with the funds;
- detail the time that was spent on the project; and
- draw lessons from the experience.
Technical reports are reviewed closely by the technical contact person identified in your grant agreement. This officer assesses the project’s progress in achieving its stated objectives and determines whether additional project payments are justified. Please contact the responsible officer identified in your grant agreement for additional information on the interim or final technical reports.
The following guidelines are for the content of the Final Technical Report, focusing on a substantive discussion of project activities, lessons learned, outputs, and outcomes. Actual substantive outputs of a project should be submitted separately and not be embedded within the report.
Download the Guidelines