Exactly who a policy brief should be written for depends on the aim of the specific policy brief and the level of its application, for example, local, national, regional or private.
Policy actors are busy and do not have time to read full length academic papers. On average, policy actors spend 30-60 minutes reading a policy brief (Jones & Walsh 2008: 6). Thus policy briefs are an effective way of bringing important research to the attention of policy actors because they can be read in a short amount of time. Making research findings easily digestible increases the likelihood of research being read and acted upon. Condensing findings into policy briefs reduces the potential for important research to be lost because the research is in a format that policy actors do not have time to access.
Policy briefs have the potential to reach large audiences through different networks because of their condensed format. Research has found that a policy actor will pass a policy brief on to colleagues if they perceive themselves to be important (Benyon et al. 2012: 76). This snowball effect, where a policy brief travels to an expanding circle of recipients, is only made possible because the research findings are in an accessible and transferable format.
How to write a policy brief
The aim of a policy brief can range from changing policy to raising awareness of an issue. The aim will determine who the correct policy actors to target are. Figuring out who to target will shape everything from your choice of language to whether or not you present preferred policy options.
Policy actors want relevant solutions to policy problems. A policy brief should clearly lay out evidence informed solutions to a problem that the specific actor is interested in. These solutions should be realistic, feasible within the current political climate and cost-effective. Understanding what a given policy actor wants, by putting yourself in their shoes, will help you write a more attractive policy brief. A good aim for any policy brief is to pass the ‘breakfast test’. A policy brief should be read and understood in the length of time it takes to drink a coffee over breakfast.
What should a policy brief include?
A) Title- keep it short and informative.
B) Executive Summary- two to three sentences summing up the entire brief. Use recognisable keywords and emphasise the relevance of the research to policy to draw the policy actor’s attention to read on.
C) Introduction/Summary of the Problem- explain the policy issue and why it is particularly important or current. Put the research into context.
D) Methods, Approaches and Results/Body- present the research/project findings in an accessible way for a non-specialist. Explain the methodology used to reach the results, such as a synthesis of existing research/literature or new research data. A policy actor wants to see robust results that are repeatable or corroborated by others.
E) Conclusions- reinforce the key message to take away from the policy brief. Remember the executive summary is where typical conclusion content is, do not simply repeat it.
F) Policy Recommendations- try and make only one feasible policy recommendation. If you are making more than one recommendation, differentiate them clearly e.g. in bullet points and keep it to three maximum.
G) References and Suggested Sources- use references sparingly and suggest a few additional sources at the end to give either background or more detail to the policy issue.
H) Acknowledgements, Author Details and Disclaimers- detail any funding used for the research, note down the author’s current positions and contact details, if the policy brief is being produced by an institution a disclaimer may be needed.
Notes on language
- Be concise and very clear
- Use active not passive language
- Highlight the benefits that your recommendations will have, to the policy system, to those affected by the policy and more generally e.g. economically or environmentally.
- Anticipate questions that the reader may have throughout the brief. For example, why should I carry on reading this? What relevance does this have? How did they come to these conclusions and recommendations? (Aldous-Grant 2012).
- Do not present evidence in a manner that is confrontational to the beliefs of the chosen policy actors, information will be acted upon if it is salient to the policy actors’ viewpoint. Distinguish between personal opinion and evidence-based opinion.
References
Benyon, Chapy, Gaarder, Masser (2012), ‘What Difference Does a Policy Brief Make?’, IDS, 3ie, NORAD, URL http://www.3ieimpact.org/en/evaluation/policy-influence/ policy/
Jones and Walsh (2008), ‘Policy Briefs as a communication tool for development research’, ODI, URL http://www.odi.org.uk/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/ publications-opinion-files/594.pdf
Adapted from Ffrench-Constant (2014) How To plan, write and communicate an effective Policy Brief: Three Steps to Success available from https://www.researchtoaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/PBWeekLauraFCfinal.pdf