No matter how good the research, its findings will only be widely read and understood if the final report is well-written and accurate.

To help build the capacity of collaborative research partners in writing reports, CIFOR recently held a writing workshop for a number of regional partners working on decentralization and forest issues.

The workshop, Can Decentralization Work for the Forest and the Poor?, ran from December 7th 2003 to January 2nd 2004 at CIFOR's headquarters in Indonesia. The workshop aimed to strengthen CIFOR partners' writing techniques, to use appropriate methodology and data and, eventually, to produce quality final reports. '

With CIFOR covering the cost of the workshop, partners from far-flung regions of the Indonesian archipelago were able to attend.

After discussions with CIFOR national scientists, the participants worked on writing technical reports. They also improved their research methodology and interpretation of data, using easily understood tables and diagrams, and were assisted in sourcing supporting literature by CIFOR's library staff. Participants then presented their draft report for review by international and national scientists at CIFOR.

Organizers of the workshop, Mochamad Indrawan, Heru Komarudin, Ronny Syam and Yulia Siagian, were all pleased by the participants' feedback, which suggested the support offered by CIFOR staff boosted the partners' confidence in themselves and their data.

Bambang Nugroho, from the University of Papua, took advantage of the workshop to fine tune his report on the Impact of Decentralization Implementation on Forest and Local People in Papua.

"Because of the workshop, I was able to produce a more comprehensive and complete draft of the project's final report," Bambang said.

Iman Suramenggala, of the Pionir Foundation in East Kalimantan, re-worked his report entitled Impacts of Local Forest Policy on Finance Sector and Land Use in Bulungan District, East Kalimantan.

"I would have liked the workshop to go longer, but it was still very useful in making my writing more structured and focused, and providing a supportive environment to concentrate on writing," said Iman.

Another participant, Zulkifli, from the Borneo Conservancy Foundation in Pontianak, said the useful input from CIFOR enriched the substance and analysis of his report, Forest Policy in the Era of Decentralization, Kabupaten Sintang,West Kalimantan.

Similar sentiment was expressed by Sudirman, from the Centre for the Study of Regional Autonomy Law and Policy in Sumatra, who said the workshop allowed him to focus on his writing and analysis in Legal Analysis on Forest Decentralization Policy in Tanjung Jabung Barat District, Jambi Province.

To read the decentralization reports, please contact: Sian McGrath s.mcgrath@cgiar.org or Yulia Siagian y.siagian@cgiar.org