Policy briefs

This paper from the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC) provides a detailed discussion of the use and development of policy briefs.

It outlines the format for a policy brief providing guidance for each component in order to maximise its impact.

Excerpt

"Policy briefs are short documents that refer to a public problem associated with governability. They are addressed to people related to the government who may know little or nothing about the topic, but need to have a general background quickly in order to express an opinion or make decisions. Policy briefs summarize a large amount of complex detail, so the reader can easily understand the heart of the issue, its background, the players (“stakeholders”) involved and any recommendations or educated guesses about the future of the issue. These briefs can include action proposals (recommendations) or they can summarize what is known about the specific topic or problem, and the possible ways to approach it (analysis)." (Weyrauch and D’Agostino, 2012)

Contents

• What is a policy brief?
• Scope of a policy brief
• Characteristics of policy briefs
• Analysis or recommendation policy brief?
• What is an effective argument?
• Which are the components of a policy brief?
• Format and design of policy briefs
• Some criteria to bear in mind