A persuasive policy brief allows you to formulate and influence policy. It’s how you upwardly manage to get policy ideas through. The clarity, tone and sharpness of your words will allow you to contribute to positive policy outcomes, even if you are not the decision-maker. How to craft the perfect policy brief?
Before writing anything, ask yourself why it needs to be written and what do you want the Minister to do. The best policy briefs are those that are needed and have a purpose. Start there.
The three questions a persuasive policy brief must answer
What is it for?
This is the purpose or the intention of the brief you are writing. It can be to inform an issue, to recommend a course of action, or to brief a Minister before an interview or meeting. Keep that objective in mind as the north star of your document.
Why it matters?
A Minister receives multiple documents daily. Why should they care about this particular brief? Why is it important for them? Not you. Answering these questions will put you in the right mindset and help you be persuasive and helpful.
Plan your structure and start with the most important thing, the recommendation. Go straight to the point. If there is any urgency, say it explicitly indicating deadlines and a reason to take action by that date. If a course of action should be taken, argue why and show evidence to make your case.
What next? (The most important one)
This is what you want the Minister to do and the main reason why the Minister should read your brief. The action that needs to be taken has to be clearly stated in the recommendation at the top of the document (See the templates for guidance here).
Three common mistakes to avoid
Giving too much or too little information
This is a common tension when writing a policy brief. I’ve been on both sides, writing and reading policy briefs. If it’s too long the Minister would miss the main point. If it’s too short the decision maker would ask for more details.
As a general rule, the shorter the better. Ideally, a recommendation box within one page with relevant information, and attachments if needed. Paraphrasing Antoine de Saint-Exupery the ‘right length’ is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
Assuming the person that’s reading the document knows it all.
Provide enough context that’s relevant to the point you want to make. Remember this would be one of the many documents the Minister would have to read. Assume general knowledge of the issues but not to the level of detail you might have. A synopsis is all that’s needed. Keep your text to high-level policy issues considering the political dimensions of your recommendation (Go back to the strategic triangle as a reference point).
Being ambiguous
Own what you say. Rest assured that you are doing everything to the best of your ability. Provide all the information that’s relevant to make a decision in a clear (avoid jargon), objective and succinct way. Be specific on your recommendation of the best course of action and sustain your recommendation.
How to structure a persuasive policy brief?
Start with the recommendation. It should be self-explanatory so that if nothing else is read, the Minister will know exactly what to do, why and by when.
The minutes will contain more information to sustain the recommendation. Provide context to the issue, define the scope of the problem, discuss policy alternatives, and give more detailed recommendations of a course of action. Remember, this is not a table of contents to the attachment. It’s the essence of what you are saying. The attachments will provide additional details if needed, but assume they won’t be read.
To make it easier I’ve prepared some templates that can help you structure your policy briefs and provide guidance on how to communicate key ideas. I’ve also added additional resources that could be helpful.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
