The document provides guidance on writing effective policy briefs. It discusses that policy briefs are short documents that present research findings and recommendations to non-specialist policy audiences. The document outlines key elements of a successful policy brief such as understanding the audience, crafting clear and memorable messages, using a standard structure of an executive summary, introduction, methodology, results, implications and recommendations, and avoiding common pitfalls like including too much jargon or methodology. The goal is to distill research into concise yet compelling recommendations to influence policymakers.

1. AERC POLICY BRIEF
WORKSHOP
The Art of Policy Briefs
2015

2. OBJECTIVES OF THIS SESSION
What is a
policy
brief?
Planning
for policy
influence
Messaging
Structure
and
design
Wrap-up Surgery

4. Policy briefs are short documents that present the findings and
recommendations of a research project to a non-specialist
readership. They are often recommended as a key tool for
communicating research findings to policy actors [who often do
not have the time to read long technical research documents]
(Young and Quinn, 2007)
In simple terms…
A policy brief is a clear message tailored for a policy audience.
WHAT IS A POLICY BRIEF?

5. RESEARCH COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

6. 2. PLANNING FOR POLICY INFLUENCE

7. REMEMBER YOUR AUDIENCDE
• Who are your readers?
• How knowledgeable are they about the subject?
• How open are they to the message?
• What are their interests & concerns?

8. PLAN ACCORDINGLY
•Policy makers are not a homogenous group
•Needs differ by sector, ministry etc.
•Level of position (national vs sub-national)
•Role in policy-making process (level of power)
•Political and media context: opportunities?

9. THE EVIDENCE
• How legitimate and credible are my
findings?
• Building credibility:
Make sure your figures are correct
and verifiable
Present your research clearly and convincingly
Look for stakeholder/local involvement
Collaborate with other researchers

10. YOUR LINKS AND ENGAGEMENT
Be pro-active…
• “Effective policy entrepreneurs – or champions – will make
the most of networks but will also use
• connections or negotiating skills, be persistent, develop
ideas, proposals and expertise well in
• advance of policy ‘windows’”.
• – Neilson, S. (2001), IDRC

11. 3. CREATING AN EFFECTIVE MESSAGE

12. GOOD RESEARCH MERITS GOOD COMMUNICATION
Qualityofresearch
Quality of communication
Source: Communicating Food Policy Research, IFPRI (March
2005)

13. DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE MESSAGES
Think about the following questions:
1. What is the objective of your message?
2. Why is this important?
3. Who are your target audiences?
4. What do you want them to do?
5. How exactly should they do it?

14. MEMORABLE MESSAGES
• What do you want to say, how and to whom?
Messages should be designed with audiences in mind and tailored to fit their needs –
identify your audience
Messages should be memorable, engaging and limited in number – KISS!!
Messages should be simple – avoid jargon and scientific terminologies
Messages may need to answer the question: ‘why do I care?’

15. MESSAGE PYRAMID
• What is your key
message?
• What messages fall out
of it?
• What evidence do you
have to support your
message?
Primary
Message
Main
Messages
Supporting Points

16. WHAT DOES AN EFFECTIVE MESSAGE LOOK LIKE?
The 4Cs model:
1. Comprehension
2. Connection
3. Credibility
4. Contagiousness
Make your messages pass the ‘Grandma Test’’
“The 4Cs model is a
useful tool for objectively
evaluating the
effectiveness of many
forms of communication:
what’s working, what
isn’t working, and why.”

17. A GOOD MESSAGE SHOULD
• Raise awareness
• Create interest
• Foster desire to act
• Prompt an action

18. T THE POWER OF WORDSo change
radically your message, and their effect on the

19. REMEMBER

20. ACTIVITY (based on the 4C’s)
1. Did you instantly understand what the brief is about?
2. Did it evoke an emotional response?
3. Was it or the messenger credible?
4. Did you feel the message “stuck” and made you want to react in
some way?
Apply each of these questions to the policy brief handed to your group
and report back during plenary. Also try to rate how well each of the
briefs does against these questions on a scale of 1-10 (i.e. On a scale of
1-10 say how well the policy brief was able to convey the messenger as
credible).

21. 4. POLICY BRIEF STRUCTURE

22. 1. Executive Statement
2. Introduction
3. Methodology
4. Results and
Conclusions
5. Implicationsand
Recommendations
6. References

23. BE VISUAL
“Effective policy
entrepreneurs – or
champions – will make
the most of networks and
connections”

24. 5. COMMON POLICY BRIEF PITFALLS TO BE AWARE OF
• Complicated tables and graphs (that no one
understands)
• No visuals – pictures can add context and interest
• Recommendations not included
• Text heavy and too much jargon – keep it simple
• Lacks clear message from the beginning
• Too much focus on methodology
• Policy brief not seen as an opportunity to engage with
policy audiences

25. EXECUTIVE STATEMENT:
Top tip: Try to complete this paragraph…
‘The objective of this policy brief is to ______ (action verb –
like convince, inform) ______ (target audience(s) – e.g.
Ministry of Agriculture) that ______ (what should happen –
e.g. they should invest in road infrastructure) (ODI Rapid)

26. Executive statements examples
Copper price and exchange rate dynamics in Zambia re-examined
EXECUTIVE STATEMENT
“ The objective of this policy brief is to inform the central bank and the Ministry of Finance that changes in
copper price have a significant bearing on the stability of the kwacha exchange rate. Changes in copper price
affect income and revenue from the mining sector, and through spending, inflation and consequently the
exchange rate. Thus, an appropriate policy response is required to limit vulnerabilities to adverse copper price
movements and ensure maximum benefits are derived from copper price booms.”

27. • Top Tip:
• To frame this think about how:
• (1)The recommendations you are suggesting could have a
positive effect on people’s lives, their environment and
wellbeing.
• (2) Add context to your work by relating it to news and events
that are prevalent within the media.

28. INTRODUCTION
2. Introduction
• Start with a sentence piquing the
interest of your reader
• Informative sentences building to
your research
• A statement shaping the view that
you will support or build upon in
the next sections

29. METHODOLOGY
3. Methodology
• Less is more
• Remove jargon
• Put yourself in the policymakers
shoes

30. RESULTS & FINDINGS
4. Results/findings
• Details of your findings/evidence
• ‘Meat’ of argument
• Don’t include findings not relevant
to your core message

31. 4.5 Implications and RECOMMENDATIONS
5. Implications and
Recommendations
• Recommendations: What
specifically do you think should
change? (Max 3)
• Implications: What general policy
changes/actions do the results
point to?

32. IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS EXAMPLES
The objective for this policy brief is to convince policymakers at the State Ministries of
Health of the need to increase adolescents and young people ’s (AY P) access to youth-
friendly sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services.
Implication:
“Current limited access to youth-friendly sexual and reproductive services could lead to
an increase in the number of sexually transmitted infections among youth”
Recommendation:
“Policymakers at the State Ministries of Health should create an enabling environment to
increase AYP’s access to youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services by
increasing the number of youth friendly SRH service points available to youth in their
states, training existing health care providers to be able to deliver youth friendly SRH
services and by increasing the awareness of AYPs about the availability and location of
youth friendly services”

33. REFERENCES
6. References
• Don’t include everything
• Choose those that most strongly
support your recommendations