Discuss within your team, and with key stakeholders as appropriate, the key lessons that you have learned in the process of identifying challenges and goals. Think about what kinds of evidence and knowledge will benefit the advancement of understanding and the work of others. Did your situation analysis reveal any surprises that might apply in other, similar situations? Did you create products during the course of your work, whether they were tools that you used to create analyses or the results of your analysis that might be useful to others? Did you conduct syntheses or collect new information that advance academic science?
When you have undertaken a significant new initiative, especially if it’s in relatively uncharted territory, a “Lessons Learned” document can help others navigate similar terrain in the future. This can be a considerable undertaking, so it’s important to dedicate appropriate staff resources to the project — and to ensure that the project is worth the effort.