Writing a Policy Paper

A policy brief is a common advocacy and policy-making tool that is generally used to
communicate and persuade policy-makers and decision-makers on a certain course of action.
This type of persuasive, evidence-based, and structured writing represents one of the most
powerful ways of contributing to policy debates and in influencing policy/decision-making
processes and is commonly used by a variety of stakeholders including, non-governmental
actors, such as think tanks, philanthropists, activists, government, and even private sector
organizations. Policy briefs are typically authored by an organization not an individual.
Policy briefs are different than policy memos. The table below highlights the main
differences between the two:

Policy Memo Policy Brief
Author: Government advisor Non-governmental stakeholder: thinktank, private sector organization, NGO
Availability: Internal document Public document
Audience: Government officials only Government officials,
parliamentarians, general public
Content: Action-oriented; weighing and
comparison of alternatives; focus
on policy recommendations

Components of a Policy Brief
A policy brief needs to include a balance between describing an issue in a compelling way
and providing convincing recommendations to solve the issue. To achieve this, your policy
brief should feature five general elements (Global Debate and Public Policy Challenge,
2013):
a. Problem and policy-oriented: A policy brief is practical and action-oriented. Its
content must focus on the problem as well as the practical solutions that can be
offered from a specific perspective.
b. Analysis-driven: Building on facts and evidence, your policy brief must demonstrate
analytical thinking on the range of possible solutions for the given problem. The
arguments you put forward should be the result of a measured and balanced
consideration of the possible solutions that you derive. They should take into account
the potential costs and benefits of suggested policies for different stakeholder groups that you meet. Your arguments should not be based on your opinion or
unsubstantiated ideas.
c. Evidence-based: To convince policy-makers, it is important to demonstrate that your
ideas are well researched and make sense. You will need to provide and cite
convincing examples such as data, scholarly and other literature, information and
observations draw from stakeholders we visit, and possibly comparisons with action
or inaction taken in other situations/places. Provide evidence from multiple reputable
sources and cite these sources properly using a consistent referencing format.
d. Offers viable recommendations: The goal of your policy brief is to persuade a
decision maker to address a specific issue and implement the policy that you have
devised. You have to be convincing and ‘hit the right note and tone’ (i.e. not to
argumentative and not to passive).
e. Appealing layout: A professional looking layout will help to draw your audience into
reading your policy brief. Your policy brief should include several short paragraphs
and sub-headings, which make the brief easy to read and the messages clear. You may
use bullet points, graphs, tables, or other illustrations to get your point across. Be
careful though not to distract the reader from your arguments.