DARWIN INITIATIVE
Reporting Guidance Notes for Project Leaders
This document gives information for all reporting required for Darwin projects, including how to
prepare and submit your report, what it should contain, and what else you should send. Please
read it carefully before preparing your reports. LTS International Ltd (LTS) will check you have
submitted all the necessary materials before payments are made according to the details set out in
the Finance and Reporting Instructions.
Annual reports
Annual reports are due by 30 April each year and should be presented according to the
information below and using the most recent Annual Report Format available on the website at
http://darwin.defra.gov.uk/resources/reporting . It is expected that the report will be prepared in
close collaboration with your host country partners. If your project has just ended/is about to end,
you need not submit an annual report provided your final report will be submitted by 31 July.
Final reports
Final reports are due within 3 months of the end of the project and should be presented
according to the information below and using the Final Report Format available on the website. It
is expected that the report will be prepared in close collaboration with your host country partners
and that you will include the names of the main contributors.
Half Year reports
You are required to submit a Half Year report by 31 October each year. This report is read and
any issues raised are discussed within LTS and, if appropriate, with Defra. These reports are
helpful to keep us updated on project progress and to alert us to any issues that would be better
dealt with before the next annual report. You should not expect any response to this report and
should raise any substantive issues separately with Eilidh Young in the first instance. If you have
been specifically asked to include information with your half year report, you should ensure this
information is included.
All reports (except Fellowship reports – where guidance is included in the report template)
If you are unable to meet the deadlines please contact Eilidh Young immediately.
Communicating problems in reporting as early as possible is important to allow LTS to administer
the reporting and payments processes efficiently.
We reserve the right to request resubmission of a report if the information provided is insufficient to
demonstrate what the project has been doing, or if the report has not been submitted in the format
requested.
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Timely reporting is a condition of your award and persistent late reports may lead to you
becoming ineligible for future funding and will delay funding for your current project.
Please note that your project cannot be signed off as completed until LTS is satisfied with
your Final report. Defra reserves the right to withhold the retention amount outlined in the
Reporting and Finance Information document if reports are submitted late without prior
agreement with Eilidh.
Invoices or financial statements for your project should not be included with your report but sent
as quickly as possible to Darwin Finance at the address below. Likewise, any planned changes
to your project schedule/workplan or budget changes should be discussed with LTS
directly rather than being requested in your report.
Eilidh Young, LTS International, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik EH26 0PL
Email: Darwin-Projects@ltsi.co.uk
Tel: 0131 440 5181
Fax: 0131 440 5001
Format of Reports:
1. Please provide a structured flowing report set out under the section headings shown in
the Template, with page numbers and a list of abbreviations if necessary. Reports should
be written in a formal style and give an overall view of the project, but should not go into
too much detail.
2. Each section should address the issues and queries found in the guidance text under each
section heading unless they are not relevant to your project. Please do not leave the
guidance text in your report.
3. Given the Darwin Initiative objective to support host country institutions build their capacity,
these institutions should play an active role in report preparation. You are expected to
acknowledge their role by, for example, including names of individuals or organisations as
appropriate.
4. Where applicable, reports should address comments and issues raised in reviews of the
previous year’s annual report, and describe actions taken during the year in response to
reviewer’s recommendations. Please limit reports to the relevant timeframe.
5. Reporting should be against the current project logframe, which should be included as
Appendix 2. A template has been included at Appendix 1 for a narrative against the
logframe for the reporting year. Please report against the most recent logframe, in which
any agreed changes should be clearly indicated. Some changes at Activity level are an
expected part of project delivery and do not require formal approval to make changes
(unless there are substantive budget implications). Changes at Output level will need
detailed justification and should be submitted for approval on a Change Request Form.
The Project Purpose/Outcome defines the contractual obligation and should not normally
be changed; however, reviewers may suggest rephrasing to improve clarity and
understanding. Please note that, while the logframe is a flexible tool and should be
adapted to reflect implementation realities, approval for major changes, especially to
outputs and purpose, should be requested from LTS.
6. If your project takes place alongside other ongoing initiatives, please ensure that you
clearly identify activities attributable to Darwin funding. While it is helpful to
understand the big picture, your report should focus on what is being supported by the
Darwin Initiative.
7. If support material is included, such as training manuals, workshop reports etc, this should
be confined to appendices and in an electronic format if possible. You do not need to
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include every project document, but you should provide adequate evidence of the work
undertaken. Documents in local languages need not be attached although they can be
referred to. If material in a local language is significant, a translation should be provided.
You may wish to provide a list of material that is available ‘on request’ rather than submit
large amounts of information.
Publications:
1. Details of all publications produced over the year should be included in the report.
2. Please provide copies or website addresses for all publications and other material that is
cross-referenced in the report to allow the reviewer to assess the scientific and technical
quality of the material supplied.
Submission:
1. Send your reports and supporting material (maximum 5MB) by email to Eilidh Young at
Darwin-Projects@ltsi.co.uk. Your email should indicate whether you have additional
information to send by post or whether your full report is within the email. This is important
to ensure that all relevant material is available to the reviewer.
2. If your report is too large to email, please send a short email to discuss the most
appropriate way to deliver the report.
3. All electronic submissions will be acknowledged. Postal submissions will be
acknowledged once all material expected has arrived.
4. If you have emailed the full report, you do not need to send a hard copy of the report. If
you have additional information to send (eg publications, outputs, CD of larger files),
please ensure that as far as possible printed material is double sided and uses recycled
paper, in line with Defra’s environmental policy. All printed materials and CDs should be
sent to Eilidh Young at the address on page 1.
5. Please use the checklist at the end of the report template prior to submission to ensure you
have included all the necessary information.
The Review process:
On receipt of the Annual and Final reports, Eilidh will carry out an administrative check to ensure
they are completed. Thereafter, Defra will arrange for a ‘technical’ review of all Annual and Final
reports to be carried out.
Use of reports
Defra has invested in a programme of work to increase the global accessibility and value of
information relating to projects funded by the Initiative. One of the most important features of the
current Darwin website is the ability for users to download electronic copies of the main documents
relating to a project. The key aim of this is to ensure that the huge amount of useful information
that has built up over the lifetime of the Darwin Initiative is made available to the public. This
includes application forms, project reports and copies of major outputs available electronically.
Please note that under the Freedom of Information Act (2000), it is presumed that information
about Darwin Information projects should be available in the public domain. Any justification for
exclusion from the website will need to explain why the material should be considered to fit the
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exemption criteria of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 legislation
(http://www.foi.gov.uk/guidance/exintro/chap03.htm). Decisions on disclosure will be made on a
case by case basis. Your concerns will be taken into account as far as possible, however the
onus is on project leaders to make a sufficient case in relation to any information they feel
should be withheld.
In order to learn from the experiences of Darwin projects and to be able to report more fully on
what the Darwin Initiative has achieved since it started the Darwin Secretariat may commission
some discrete pieces of work. In the past, these have included:
Mid Term reviews of current projects, identified under the criteria published on the website, and
with the aim of supporting the project and learning lessons for the Initiative.
Evaluations of Closed Projects: these are a mixture of desk based reviews and visits to project
locations to seek information on the impact and legacy of Darwin projects.
Thematic Evaluations focus on a specific theme and examine how the Darwin Initiative has
contributed to it and what lessons can be learnt from projects who have worked/are working in
these areas.
These pieces of work are very helpful in disseminating the results and supporting the ongoing work
of the Initiative and clearly involve the use of project reports and reviews. As far as possible, we
will inform project leaders in advance if their projects fall into any of these areas of work, to ensure
that you are kept up to date and also to allow you to comment on the work undertaken, to ensure
you feel your project is well represented. Please be aware that this may mean you are contacted
after your project has closed and that your involvement, while desirable, is voluntary.
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