You may find the following structure useful when preparing your final report on the policy and legal framework for small enterprises:
• Title page • Table of contents • Executive summary
This should be a two- to three-page summary of the main findings of the study. • List of abbreviations used
Make sure you list only the abbreviation you have used (It is common to find reports where this list has been copied from elsewhere and contains a number of abbreviations that are not actually used in the report!)
1. Introduction
The introduction should describe:
• Purpose of the assessment (this should include a description of how the profile complements any other reports, such as the other fields of assessment contained in this guide)
• Proposed use of the information contained in the report (i.e. why is this report relevant and how it will be used)
• Any other relevant background information
• The definition you have applied in the report when referring to ‘micro enterprises’, ‘small enterprises’, ‘medium-sized enterprises’, ‘large enterprises’, etc. (Note: This is likely to be drawn from some form of official definition, but there are likely to be cases when some of the data you present applies definitions that are somehow different to these definitions, in which case you will need to clearly indicate such variations.)
• Structure of the report.
2. Overview of the policy framework for small enterprises This chapter should present the following information:
• Structure of governance (including levels of government, main policy, legal and regulatory instruments)
• Brief historical review of the development of small enterprise policy • Overview of the policy framework
• Identification of main policy domains affecting the small enterprise sector. It is important that the information you present in this chapter is a balance between detailed description and analysis. It is easy to present too much information that baffles, tires or confuses the reader. Make use of the appendices when necessary and ensure that tables are clear and easy to follow.
3. Review of selected policy domains and their affect on small enterprise employment
This chapter should present the following information: • General description of the main policy domains assessed
• Description and assessment of the policies, laws and regulations found in each selected domain
• Summary of key issues, strengths and weaknesses found in the policy domains assessed.
Again, it is important that the information you present in this chapter is a balance between detailed description and analysis. It is easy to present too much information that baffles, tires or confuses the reader. Make use of the appendices when necessary and ensure that tables are clear and easy to follow.
4. The organizational arrangements for small enterprise governance and promotion
This chapter should present the findings of the assessment of the organizational arrangements affecting small enterprise governance and promotion. It should include the organizational arrangements for the following:
• The design, implementation or review of policies, laws and regulations
• Small enterprise research and the provision of advice to government and other agencies on small enterprise issues
• Advocacy on behalf of the small enterprise sector or provide a mechanism for effective and representation of small enterprises
• Business development services to small enterprises • Financial services to small enterprises
• The provision of infrastructure that is used by small enterprises.
Here too, it is important that the information you present in this chapter is a balance between detailed description and analysis. It is easy to present too much information that baffles, tires or confuses the reader. Make use of the appendices when necessary and ensure that tables are clear and easy to follow.
5. Summary and conclusions
This chapter should present a summary of the findings contained in the previous chapters, highlighting the major findings. It should then come to some conclusions. These conclusions should address the main purpose of the study and its contribution to the broader assessment project. For example, the conclusions may address the:
• Key issues affecting small enterprises in the policy and legal framework, especially those dealing with employment
• Main strengths and weaknesses of the policy and legal framework • Organizational issues
• Priorities for reform that would make the policy and legal framework more conducive to small enterprise development.
It would be unusual for a report of this kind to present recommendations because this report mainly describes the current situation with regard to small enterprise employment. Recommendations are more likely to stem from the findings of the overall collection of studies undertaken in an assessment project.
• List of references
Make sure you are consistent in your use of references. The agency that has commissioned this research may have specific requirements regarding the referencing system you use, so it will be important to ask about this. Annex 3 contains information on the ILO’s preferred referencing system.
• Appendices
The appendices should contain any information that you think the reader may wish to refer to. This information may include tables that are too detailed or long for inclusion in the core of the report, lists of people or organizations consulted, useful excerpts from other reports, etc.