QUICK GUIDE FOR THE PREPARATION OF
FINAL REPORTS FOR THE 8TH TRANCHE OF
THE DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT
The present quick guide was prepared to support implementing entities in completing the
Development Account’s (DA) reporting requirements for the 8th tranche projects that will close by
December 2015 or in 2016, for projects that received an exceptional extension.
December 2015
Introduction
The present quick guide was developed to support project managers and Development Account
Focal Points in preparing the final report to submit to the Development Account (DA)
Programme Management Team (DA-PMT) upon closure of each Development Account project.
It outlines key procedures and provides a template to facilitate the drafting of the final report.
The present document is organized as follows: Section I defines the main purpose of a final
project report for the Account; Section II provides an annotated template describing the key
items of a final report for the Development Account; the annex provides the template that
Development Account implementing entities should follow when preparing the final report.
I. Drafting a Final Report for the Development Account
 ‘What’: The final report is an internal project management tool which reviews the
implementation process of the project and presents the project’s outcomes and results. It
provides an opportunity for the project managers within the implementing entities to
summarize, upon closure of the project, the project’s achievements, outline the problems
encountered, as well as the good practices and lessons learned. The final report should
include a particular focus on assessing the extent to which the expected accomplishments
were delivered, as illustrated by the indicators of achievement. In the final report
implementing entities are also requested to elaborate on the sustainability of the projects’
efforts, the presence of multiplier effects and supplementary funding.
The final report represents, together with the evaluation report, a key tool for information,
learning, transparency and accountability. The assessment contained in the final report will
enable implementing entities to distil lessons learned, internalize them and make adjustments
for future projects. It will also help the DA Programme Manager to compile lessons learned,
promote the sharing of information on good practices and report to the General Assembly on
results and impacts achieved.
The combination of final and evaluation reports for each completed project offers a unique
opportunity to triangulate information and guarantee the soundness of the project’s findings.

‘How’: Final reports are drafted by project managers in the implementing entities and
should follow the outline provided in the report template.

‘When’: the final report must be submitted to the DA Programme Management Team (DAPMT) no later than three months after the financial closure of the project i.e. 31st March
2016 for projects that closed by the end of 2015. Ideally, the evaluation report should be
submitted with the final report.
December 2015
2
Quick Guide for final reports - DA 7th tranche
The table below summarizes a number of key features of the final report for DA projects, as
compared to the annual progress report, as well as the evaluation report, which is also due
three months after the operational completion of every DA project.
Table 1 Annual Progress Report, Final Report and Evaluation Report for the Development Account:
Summary table
Annual Progress Report
monitoring
Final report
Scope
Internal
project.
Type
Mandatory
projects.
Timeframe
Should be submitted by
January 31st for the
preceding year.
for
all
of
DA
Internal
project.
Mandatory
projects.
appraisal
for
all
Evaluation report
of
Independent/external
assessment of project.
DA
Mandatory for all DA projects
with a budget of $300,000 or
more.
For 8th tranche projects
that closed by December
2015, the final report
should be submitted by
31st March 2016.
For 8th tranche projects that
closed by December 2015,
the evaluation report should
be submitted by 31st March
2016.
For 8th tranche projects
that
received
an
exceptional extension, the
final report should be
submitted within 3 months
of the project's operational
closure.
For 8th tranche projects that
received an exceptional
extension, the evaluation
report should be submitted
within 3 months of the
project's operational closure.
The evaluation report should
ideally be submitted with the
final report.
Drafter
Project
manager
implementing entity.
Budget
No financial
required.
in
resources
Project
manager
implementing entity.
No financial
required.
in
External consultant hired by
implementing entity.
resources
2% of the total budget of the
project is initially budgeted
to fund the evaluation.
Should there be savings and
need for additional funds for
evaluation, the 2% figure can
be revised upwards. If the
proposed evaluation budget
exceeds 4% of the project
budget, prior approval needs
to be received from the DAPMT.
3
Format
Template
available
at:
http://www.un.org/esa/dev
account/projects/guidelines
.html.
Template contained in this
quick guide.
The outline of the evaluation,
including evaluation criteria,
must be defined in the ToR
for the evaluation.
All evaluations should be
conducted in conformity with
UNEG Norms and Standards.
II. Annotated Template for DA Final Reports
The annexed template should be used when preparing final reports on Development Account projects in
order to ensure consistency in format and content across all projects. The information reported will be made
available in summarized form on the Development Account website and will provide inputs to the
Development Account reports submitted to the General Assembly.
In Section 1 project managers are asked to recap basic information about the project. Following a brief
summary of results ( Section 2), project managers are then requested to review performance indicators and
activities (Section 3), outline the challenges encountered (Section 4), describe good practices and lessons
learned (Section 5) and elaborate on sustainability (Section 6), multiplier effects (Section 7) and
supplementary funding (Section 8). Alongside any additional information (Section 9), project managers are
finally asked to provide financial figures for the project (Section 10).
1. KEY PROJECT FEATURES
I. Project title
II. Project DA code
III.
Entity
Implementing
IV. Start date
mm/yy
Please specify the month
and year in which the
budget
allocation
was
received
VI. End date
Please specify the month
and year of the project’s
completion
VII.
Beneficiary
countries
a. Original: mm/yy as per prodoc
b. Actual date: mm/yy
1.
__________________
2.
___________________
___________________
4. __________________
December 2015
4
Quick Guide for final reports - DA 7th tranche
Please provide a complete
list of the countries that
benefited from the project’s
activities
3.
___________________
VIIII
Implementing
partners
Please list UN System and
other partners (do not
include
beneficiary
governments)
5.
…
___________________
UN system
Other partners
1.
__________________
1.
__________________
2.
…
___________________
2.
___________________
…
2. SUMMARY OF RESULTS
This section should be no longer than one page and should provide a concise and effective
narrative of the basic accomplishments of the project. It should not repeat information already
provided (for instance, information presented in the project document) but should highlight
results, potential impact and any relevant achievement related to the project’s implementation
(including unexpected results, both positive and negative). If the project (or one if its parts) is
considered a success story it should be clearly stated in this section. The information reported in
this section might be used for the DA website.
3. DETAILED REVIEW OF ACHIEVEMENTS AND IMPLEMENTATION
The purpose of this section is to understand how the project actually performed against what it
intended to accomplish. This should be done through the verification of the indicators of
achievement that were developed in the project document as well as through an assessment of
the implemented activities.
Entities are kindly requested to fill in the tables below:
- In Table 1 the comments column should be used to elaborate on the project’s contribution
towards the achievement of the expected accomplishments;
- Table 2 should list, under each expected accomplishment, the set of activities that were
actually implemented by the project. For each activity listed, project managers should
highlight whether the activity represents a variation from the project’s initial design (project
document) and, if so, in what ways (e.g. additional activity/change in activity initially
envisioned etc.).
Table 1 - Review of Performance Indicators
Expected
Accomplishment
EA1
Indicator of
achievement (T0)
Indicator of
achievement (T1)
Comments
Please specify the baseline, if
measured at the start of the
project
Please
provide
an
estimate or actual values
of the indicator at the
Please elaborate on the progress made
on the EA based on the indicator data or
other relevant data.
5
end of the project
EA2
…
Table 2 - Review of Activities
Activities implemented
Please provide the complete list of activities implemented under
the framework of the project
Comments
Please specify whether the activity represents a variation of the
project’s design. Significant variations that took place should be
explained under paragraph 4 (Challenges/problems
encountered).
EA1
A.1.1
A.1.2
…
EA2
…
…
4. CHALLENGES/PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
Project managers are asked to elaborate on the problems faced by the project, both in terms of
the project’s design (e.g. type of activities, expected accomplishments, objectives, etc.) and
implementation (e.g. change in country situation, administrative processes, collaboration with
partners, etc.). All issues faced, as well as any action taken to address them, should be reported
in the table below.
Table 3 - Challenges and Actions
Description of challenges
Please list all challenges faced
Action(s) taken to solve the issue, if any
For each challenge, please indicate whether and how it was
solved
December 2015
6
Quick Guide for final reports - DA 7th tranche
5. GOOD PRACTICES AND KEY LESSONS LEARNED
In this section entities are requested to elaborate on good practices, with respect to the design
or execution of the project, which could be successfully replicated in future programming.
The section should also outline any relevant finding that can be considered important lessons
for future programming.
6. SUSTAINABILITY
This section should elaborate on the extent to which the achievements of the project are likely
to be sustained beyond its completion, leading to durable, self-sustained results. It should also
include reference to any follow-up activity to the project that was implemented or initiated by
the entity or other partners following the completion of the project.
7. MULTIPLIER EFFECTS
This section should elaborate on whether the project triggered processes for the replication of
its activities, in other participating countries, non-participating countries, or, alternatively, any
plan to do so.
8. SUPPLEMENTARY FUNDING
This section should elaborate on whether additional funding (financial or in-kind) was leveraged
to further the implementation of the project (e.g. securing additional participants at workshops,
paying for venues/additional activities, etc.). In addressing this section, implementing entities
are asked to fill in the table below.
Please note that supplementary funding does not refer to funds leveraged for projects other
than the one being reviewed (follow up activities to the project or spin-offs in other countries
should be reported in sections 6 and 7, respectively).
Table 4 – Financial Leveraging
Contributing Entity/Donor
Purpose
Amount raised
Cash (USD)
In-Kind
9. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
In this section any additional information on the project’s activities, such as relevant press
clippings, media coverage, meeting reports, publications, websites, etc. should be mentioned (if
the information is available online, please include the relevant URLs).
7
10. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Project managers are asked to fill in the table below with accurate figures for each object class.
Table 5
Object
Class
Description
602
General Temporary Assistance
604
Consultants and Expert Groups
608
Travel of staff
612
Contractual services
616
Operating expenses
618
Supplies, Materials etc.
621
Fellowships, grants and
contributions
A. Budget/Allotment (as per project
document) (USD)
B. Revisions to allotments
any) (USD)
(if
C. Explanations of revisions to
allotments (USD)
D. Total Expenditure (USD)
Total
December 2015
Annex: Template for DA Final Reports
1. KEY PROJECT FEATURES
I. Project title
II. DA project code
III.
Entity
Implementing
IV. Start date
mm/yy
Please specify the month
and year in which the
budget
allocation
was
received
VI. End date
Please specify the month
and year of the project’s
completion
VII.
Beneficiary
countries
Please provide a complete
list of the countries that
benefited from the project’s
activities
VIIII
Implementing
partners
Please list UN System and
other partners (do not
include
beneficiary
governments)
a. Original: mm/yy as per prodoc
b. Actual date: mm/yy
1.__________________
___________________
4.__________________
2.___________________
3.___________________
5.___________________
…
UN system
Other partners
1.__________________
1.__________________
2.___________________
…
2.___________________
…
December 2015
2. SUMMARY OF RESULTS
3. DETAILED REVIEW OF ACHIEVEMENTS AND IMPLEMENTATION
Table 1 - Review of Performance Indicators
Expected
Accomplishment
EA1
Indicator of
achievement (T0)
Indicator of
achievement (T1)
Comments
Please specify the baseline, if
measured at the start of the
project
Please
provide
an
estimate or actual values
of the indicator at the
end of the project
Please elaborate on the progress made
on the EA based on the indicator data or
other relevant data.
EA2
…
Table 2 - Review of Activities
Activities implemented
Please provide the complete list of activities implemented under
the framework of the project
Comments
Please specify whether the activity represents a variation of the
project’s design. Significant variations that took place should be
explained under paragraph 4 (Challenges/problems
encountered).
EA1
A.1.1
A.1.2
…
EA2
…
…
4. CHALLENGES/PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
Table 3 - Challenges and Actions
Description of challenges
Please list all challenges faced
Action(s) taken to solve the issue, if any
For each challenge, please indicate whether and how it was
solved
December 2015
10
Quick Guide for final reports - DA 7th tranche
5. GOOD PRACTICES AND KEY LESSONS LEARNED
6. SUSTAINABILITY
7. MULTIPLIER EFFECTS
8. SUPPLEMENTARY FUNDING
Table 4 – Financial Leveraging
Contributing Entity/Donor
Purpose
Amount raised
Cash (USD)
In-Kind
9. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
11
10. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Table 5
Object
Class
Description
602
General Temporary Assistance
604
Consultants and Expert Groups
608
Travel of staff
612
Contractual services
616
Operating expenses
618
Supplies, Materials etc.
621
Fellowships, grants and
contributions
A. Budget/Allotment (as per project
document) (USD)
B. Revisions to allotments
any) (USD)
(if
C. Explanations of revisions to
allotments (USD)
D. Total Expenditure (USD)
Total
December 2015