A report on a Community of Practice is a statement of how well or how not so well the Community is doing.
Reporting on the Community is important because it celebrates the success of Community achievements and raises member status and credibility; it shows progress to senior managers and stakeholders, and helps justify initial funding, and bolsters support for additional funding.
When creating reports, they should be regular, address leaders, stakeholders, sponsors and members, and always include both quantitative data and qualitative data.
A report on a Community of Practice is a statement of how well or how not so well the Community is doing. It is good practice for the Community’s Core Team to provide frequent updates, that is, reports on the success of the Community to the community leaders, sponsors, and members. As a Community Leader or Community Manager, (see Community Roles for more in-depth analysis) reporting to upper management and reporting to members is sometimes known as part of “managing up and managing down.”
Why is reporting on CoPs important?
Think of this common thought experiment: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?". Results have less of an impact if nobody knows about them. There are several reasons to report out on the progress of the Community:
Celebrates the success of Community achievements, which is important for members as it validates the time and effort of their contributions and creates a sense of accomplishment.
Recognizes and publicizes the contributions of members raising their status and credibility - a key value for members.
Shows progress to senior managers.
Justifies initial funding and bolsters support for additional funding.
Encourages new member recruitment: everybody wants to be on a winning team!
Helps further the goal of raising the visibility of CoPs and enhancing the value of CoPs as key contributors to organizational goals.
How do you create a CoP report?
The Core Team should discuss and decide who it is going to report to, how. and when and what the reports should contain.
It is recommended that the reports consist of three sections:
Impact metrics – these should be the key measures of success that are of immediate interest to the stakeholder that you are reporting to.
Internal analytics – these are the measurements that show the health of your community
Stories – these should directly relate to the first two sections and be the most impactful and where possible, emotional real-world story. Read the article about Stories for information on how to write good stories.
When deciding to create your reports, consider the following:
Audience – As with any kind of content, the first consideration should always be the audience. Who is the audience, what needs to be included, and how will the results be used? This might include answering questions such as: Who will use it and how? What are the must-have metrics versus nice-to-have metrics? What can be credited specifically to communications versus other outlying factors? You should report not only to the leaders/sponsors but also to the members. Regularly reporting to members helps to celebrate success along the way, recognize key contributors, and build a sense of community.
Frequency – Report at least once a quarter to the leaders and sponsors, perhaps every 6 months, with periodic informal updates in the meantime. At the start maybe once a month, then once a quarter. Get a feel from your leader/sponsor on what they need and when (when do they report to their superiors and how frequently).
Content – Include both data AND stories (quantitative and qualitative data). Emphasize that success stories are especially important (events, changes in operations, changes in process or client living conditions) as they pack the emotional and personal punch often missing in just the data.
Goal – State what the goal was and convey performance against that goal. This would include the key elements of the program and the data: How did the goal of the communications program support the organization’s mission? Who was the target audience? What were the strategy and tactic(s)? What was the result or outcome, by how much and in what way did your target audience change?
Report Options – Decide which reporting option will most successfully convey the results to the audience. There are three principal options to consider:
Scorecard: visually appealing graphics that help tell a story of the relationship between goals and results.
Dashboard: dynamic displays that offer daily access to the KPIs of a tactical initiative and often update in real-time.
Written report: provides a comprehensive review of the results of the community effort.
Considerations for creating written CoP reports
Written reports are the most common option and good reports will include interpretations of the data, insights, and recommendations for continuous improvement. Some considerations for written reports include:
The entire report should be built around telling a story. (See the Article on Stories.)
A good report should answer the “so what” question (that is, what does all this actually mean?) and provide recommendations and next steps in every case, particularly along the lines of “what worked,” “what did not work,” and “what we could do better next time.”
Convey the meaning of any given chart or page in the headline. For example, instead of the title being (or the title of the slide if you are using Powerpoint) “Awareness and Reputation,” consider something such as “High Levels of Awareness Drive Higher Reputation for the World Bank as a Thought Leader.”
Note: These reports can also have a positive effect not just on existing members but on potential members too in encouraging them to join your growing, active, impactful community.
Blog » Creating Reports about CoPs
Creating Reports about CoPs
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What is a CoP Report?
A report on a Community of Practice is a statement of how well or how not so well the Community is doing. It is good practice for the Community’s Core Team to provide frequent updates, that is, reports on the success of the Community to the community leaders, sponsors, and members. As a Community Leader or Community Manager, (see Community Roles for more in-depth analysis) reporting to upper management and reporting to members is sometimes known as part of “managing up and managing down.”
Why is reporting on CoPs important?
Think of this common thought experiment: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?". Results have less of an impact if nobody knows about them. There are several reasons to report out on the progress of the Community:
How do you create a CoP report?
The Core Team should discuss and decide who it is going to report to, how. and when and what the reports should contain.
It is recommended that the reports consist of three sections:
Impact metrics – these should be the key measures of success that are of immediate interest to the stakeholder that you are reporting to.
Internal analytics – these are the measurements that show the health of your community
Stories – these should directly relate to the first two sections and be the most impactful and where possible, emotional real-world story. Read the article about Stories for information on how to write good stories.
When deciding to create your reports, consider the following:
Audience – As with any kind of content, the first consideration should always be the audience. Who is the audience, what needs to be included, and how will the results be used? This might include answering questions such as: Who will use it and how? What are the must-have metrics versus nice-to-have metrics? What can be credited specifically to communications versus other outlying factors? You should report not only to the leaders/sponsors but also to the members. Regularly reporting to members helps to celebrate success along the way, recognize key contributors, and build a sense of community.
Frequency – Report at least once a quarter to the leaders and sponsors, perhaps every 6 months, with periodic informal updates in the meantime. At the start maybe once a month, then once a quarter. Get a feel from your leader/sponsor on what they need and when (when do they report to their superiors and how frequently).
Content – Include both data AND stories (quantitative and qualitative data). Emphasize that success stories are especially important (events, changes in operations, changes in process or client living conditions) as they pack the emotional and personal punch often missing in just the data.
Goal – State what the goal was and convey performance against that goal. This would include the key elements of the program and the data: How did the goal of the communications program support the organization’s mission? Who was the target audience? What were the strategy and tactic(s)? What was the result or outcome, by how much and in what way did your target audience change?
Report Options – Decide which reporting option will most successfully convey the results to the audience. There are three principal options to consider:
Considerations for creating written CoP reports
Written reports are the most common option and good reports will include interpretations of the data, insights, and recommendations for continuous improvement. Some considerations for written reports include:
Note: These reports can also have a positive effect not just on existing members but on potential members too in encouraging them to join your growing, active, impactful community.
This article is part of the WBG Communities of Practice Toolkit licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The toolkit features practical resources to help you develop impactful Communities of Practice. 📖 Learn more about the Toolkit. ▶ Access the Toolkit.