Community360 facilitated a Report Writing workshop delivered Royal Literary Fund (RLF) author Philip Womack to fifteen local organisations at the One Colchester Hub in May.

The RLF programme – Writing for Life – enables writers to share their skills with local communities and it is free of charge. The programme fitted perfectly with the One Colchester Funding Panel commitment to support local voluntary groups and organisations to develop their skills in writing monitoring reports and the RLF agreed to support this aim.
We were thrilled to welcome the valued children’s author Philip Womack, who delivered the workshop in our Hub.

The only requirement for our attendees was to bring a pen and something to write on, and an idea for a short report they might have to write or can imagine having to write.
Effective report writing, as demonstrated in the workshop, plays a crucial role in this, enabling charity groups to communicate their impact effectively.
Building writing skills in the workplace is an essential part of the organisations applying for funding, writing monitoring reports for their projects, writing reports for future projects, board reports and everyday communications.

Sometimes it can be challenging to know where to start, what to say, and, in general, to avoid procrastination when sending reports. These were some of the reasons that the attendees explained why they had signed up for the workshop.
Philip Womack presented a practical and structured approach to report writing, using only three questions: what, so what and now what. This approach, which was well-received by our attendees, provides a clear structure that can be easily applied to any report-writing task. By turning report writing into enjoyable storytelling approach not only saves time and effort but also makes the process more engaging and effective.
The positive impact of the workshop was evident in the feedback we received. One participant shared, ‘I came for a workshop but received much more. I am so grateful to have attended and look forward to using my new skills.’ This kind of response validates our efforts and inspires us to continue providing valuable support for our community.
There is a potential to offer more sessions in the community, dependent upon need.