a person in the policy dept of my nonprofit asked me to design the template for policy briefs their dept sends out. not having any idea what a policy brief is (that’s what i like about my job, i get to learn about all sorts of stuff), i google to edjumacate myself, but it’s not an easy topic to research, i’m finding. i.e., i haven’t found that there’s a “how to write a policy brief for dummies” book. so i just emailed this to the head of the policy dept:

I’m trying to google this, and not getting much. I ask because (one of your employees) asked me to design a template for policy briefs she sends out.

Questions:

What is the purpose of a policy brief, why does a policy brief exist? Does it have a specific purpose, and is it quantitatively proven that it’s an effective medium? Is it necessary, mandated by policy work? Do people send them out just cuz it’s done?

Are there certain formats one has to follow?

What other ways can one, possibly in tandem, communicate to an audience awareness of that policy issue?

Who reads policy briefs? Age, profession, liberal/conservative, etc?

As one who has read a good deal of policy briefs:
a) Any things you’ve liked about certain policy briefs that stand out in your mind?
b) Any things you hated, such as boring, difficult to read, etc?
c) What is it like to have to wade thru countless policy briefs? (I ask so I can figure out how to make ours stand out, get recognized.)

here are links i found giving me an introduction:

policy.hu/ipf/fel-pubs/samples/PolicyBrief-described.pdf

nrharural.org/advocacy/pdf/Policyguide.pdf

European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies:

Policy briefs emphasize the key policy lessons from the Observatory studies in a brief and concise format that are easy to read for busy policy-makers.

i really like how that one in so few words focused almost entirely on the user’s experience, almost making the policy-maker WANT to read it because of the promise that their needs and wishes were taken into consideration, first and foremost.

iie.com/publications/pubs_type.cfm?ResearchTypeID=2:

The Institute’s Policy Briefs in International Economics are short papers that convey urgent policy problems and outline courses of action to resolve them. Each brief begins with an assessment of a current issue, then critiques existing policies, and concludes with policy recommendations.

see how this description talks all about the creator’s viewpoint, and not the reader’s? not saying it’s bad (maybe there’s a reason?) but it’s a noticeable difference. which paragraph makes you want to read their respective policy brief more?

from the meta tags of http://www.rand.org/labor/rb.html:

Research briefs present policy-oriented summaries of individual published, peer-reviewed documents or of a body of published work.

not quite sure what that’s saying.

globalhealth.org/view_top.php3?id=621:

The Global Health Council regularly reviews the science and evidence available regarding global health related policy issues important to our members and the broader global health community. The results of these reviews will be shared with a broader audience through policy briefs and fact sheets, including those listed below.

not so jargony as the previous, but the writing of the paragraph is muddy, could be much more concise. i know, i know, i’m getting off the point. i personally am way anti-jargon (yeah, i the 6th grade i had the vocabulary level of a senior in college, but i much prefer simple, to the point, eschewing obfuscation), but perhaps, with policy briefs, that’s not the point, perhaps the convoluted jargony writing is what’s required. (then the voice in my head says this is what it cannot trust or like about politicians and government, how simple human matters get so distorted and made unlike their clearer selves.)

cthealth.org/…PolicyBriefs:

Policy briefs, the newest CHF publication, are easy-to-read four-page documents addressing key health concerns for Connecticut.

a little better, but “key health concerns” is a little vague.

wphf.org/pubs/briefs.html

Suggestions for Writing Policy Analysis, describes two different formats used to write policy papers.

Writing Policy Papers goes into a full page of detail:

The purpose of the policy paper is to provide a comprehensive and persuasive argument justifying the policy recommendations presented in the paper, and therefore to act as a decision-making tool and a call to action for the target audience.

In summarising the ideals and values of the field of policy science, the applied nature of the discipline is central. There are two main factors which differentiate policy science from traditional academia as described below.

publicpolicy.umb.edu/documents/Polictywriting.pdf

valdosta.edu/pa/argyle/POLPOSPA.pdf

Guidelines for Writing a Policy Research Paper

Some Thoughts on Writing a Policy Paper:

A policy paper is analytical, not descriptive. It does not simply offer facts or provide a description of events;
rather it uses facts and descriptions to evaluate policies, to develop questions for analysis, to provide evidence
for the answers to these questions, and to make recommendations for actions.

Writing the Policy Paper:

The requirements of this assignment are to define a problem, collect information, integrate it, apply it to the problem, create a set of possible solutions to the problem, and make a recommendation to the decision maker based on all of the above.

How to Write a White Paper – A White Paper on White Papers:

Know Your Audience

Perhaps the biggest mistake white paper writers make involves not properly understanding the disposition of their readers. Instant affinity is key. A white paper must quickly identify problems or concerns faced by its readers and lead them down the path to a solution provided by your product or service. Different types of readers look at the same problems from different perspectives. For example, an engineer might care about technical nuances, whereas a CIO is more interested in business benefits. In the case of high-level executives or managers, their busy lifestyle means they have extremely short attention spans, an important consideration when writing to this type of audience. If you do not grab the reader’s attention in the first paragraph, you will never achieve your objectives.

Communicating Population and Health Research to Policymakers:

Conveying information in brief written formats. Research results and policy messages need to be presented in ways that policymakers can absorb quickly. One useful format is the short, well-written, and well-designed policy brief. Participants learn how to prepare a two-page policy brief based on their research results to complement their oral policy presentations.

also in the research i’m doing, i googled “policy brief” which is bringing up a ton of pdf sample briefs, and i’m downloading them and adding to my gallery, so i can go thru them, see common elements, what works, what doesn’t work, what could be improved, traditions i might need to respect.

i also would like to find out what other kinds of related documents exist (i think fact sheets may be related, and perhaps what i call a policy brief is also called other names).

update:
the policy director responded to my email this morning, and these are the answers she gave me

What is the purpose of a policy brief, why does a policy brief exist? Does it have a specific purpose, and it quantitatively is proven that it’s an effective medium? Is it necessary, mandated by policy work? Do people send them out just cuz it’s done?

Policy briefs are fact-based but also persuasive briefs regarding any issue (such as TBI etc, but the NEA, MALDEF, NRA, Sierra club produce them) Yes, they are effective, journalists, legislative staffers, etc, use them, as do other professionals (for example, ours are quoted in the California Department of Public Health Planning commission reports, the congressional research office studies, and many articles, etc.)

Are there certain formats one has to follow?

Generally I like to keep them fairly simple and sliced and diced in bite-sized chunks (like a legal brief)

What other ways can one, possibly in tandem, communicate to an audience awareness of that policy issue?

Website content, chances are the reader may visit the website (often call me). Other ways are press conferences, releases, or earned media events.

Who reads policy briefs? Age, profession, liberal/conservative, etc?

All ages, legislative staffers tend to be younger (though not all), journalists are all over the map age-wise. Professional staffers at policy making institutions again, researchers may be younger and management older. They are policy wonks, egg heads, lawyers, academics, legislators, but that is not to say they live under a rock. They can handle dense material but are very busy so making it easy to read and easy to lift out relevant chunks is helpful. Pull quotes and clear sub-headings help in this regard – as do graphs and such.

They are both liberal and conservative.

As one who has read a good deal of policy briefs:
a) Any things you’ve liked about certain policy briefs that stand out in your mind?
b) Any things you hated, such as boring, difficult to read, etc?
c) What is it like to have to wade thru countless policy briefs? (I ask so I can figure out how to make ours stand out, get recognized.)

I will send some samples. For investigative journalists and policy geeks like me (and the rest of the policy dept), wading through them is fascinating addictive and maddening.

and that’s why she’s good at her job. =)