Handout at the AERC Policy Briefs workshop - Addis Ababa, December 2015

1. AERC Policy Brief
Workshop
Addis Ababa, 2015
WRITING POLICY BRIEFS
What is a policy brief and why is it important?
A policy brief is a short stand-alone document, focused on a single topic, presenting and
unpacking the findings and recommendations of a research project for an audience without
specialist knowledge, and those who simply do not have the time to read long research
documents. The main audience of a policy brief are those involved in the decision-making
process (i.e decision makers) who may know little or nothing about the topic but probably
need to have a general knowledge and background information in order to express an opinion
or make a decision. In simple terms, a policy brief is a clear message tailored for a policy
audience.
Policy briefs are an essential tool for bridging the research to policy divide. They are usually
between two to four pages in length; between 1000 and 2000 words. Make sure you are clear
about your audience, what they need to know and what action you want them to take based
on your policy brief; “writing that does not consider the audience is unlikely to succeed in its
objectives”(Datta & Pellini, 2011).
Is writing an effective policy brief really that difficult?
Learning to write effective policy briefs takes time and patience. Research may lose its ‘purity’
and findings can be easily misrepresented through a poorly-written policy brief. Policy-
makers, constrained by time and overwhelmed by various sources of information, are likely to
make a snap decision when choosing information to inform their decisions. This means that
your brief must stand out from the rest, in both its presentation and the clarity of content. You
are trying to sell your research, so be clear, and be heard!
Ingredients of an effective policy brief
1.Think about your audience: Know who your readers are, how
knowledgeable they are about your subject, how open they are to your
core message, and what their interests and concerns are. Make sure
you tailor your key messages accordingly.
2. Think about the context: You need to be aware of the political
context in which your target audience operates. Remember that policy
makers are not a homogenous group; needs and priorities differ by
sector and ministry, the level of position (national vs. subnational), role
in policy-making process (level of power); and phase of the
policy/decision-making process. In order to be applicable, your policy
brief needs to be designed and tailored to the context in which your
audience operates.
3. Evidence - Develop a persuasive argument: Think about “what
value does this have for the reader?” Develop a persuasive line of
argument stating clearly the purpose of your brief and providing an
overview of your evidence. Articulate your message in a way that
demonstrates the quality of your research, legitimacy of your findings
and transparency of the evidence underpinning your policy
recommendations.

2. POLICY BRIEF STRUCTURE
Executive statement: [220 words max]
Introduction: [330 words max]
Methodology: [110-220 words max]
Results and conclusions: [660 words max]
References and other useful resources: [220 words max]
A top tip for your executive statement
‘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)
Tips for writing a policy brief
1. Be Focused. All aspects of the policy brief (from the message to the layout) need to
be clearly focused on your target audience, (so ask yourself ‘How can my policy brief
have the most possible impact on this audience?’). Your argument must build on
what they already know about a problem, and then provide insight on what they don’t
know, and introduce your evidence on how the problem can be tackled.
2. Keep the audience in mind while writing. Use a professional as opposed to an
academic tone.
3. Ground your argument in strong and reliable evidence.
4. Be Brief. The focus of the brief needs to be limited to a particular problem or area of
a problem. Don’t try to cover all elements of your research in one policy brief.
5. Get to the point. Be succinct and to the point, using short sentences and
paragraphs.
6. Think about your language. This not only refers to using clear and simple language
(i.e. not the jargon and concepts of an academic discipline) but also to providing a
well-explained and easy-to-follow argument targeting a wide but knowledgeable
audience.
7. Make the text accessible. Make it easy for your reader to read all the way through
by subdividing the text using clear descriptive titles as guides (i.e. the above-
mentioned structure).
8. Be creative. The policy brief should catch the eye of the potential audience in order
to create a favourable impression (e.g. professional, innovative etc.). Think creatively
about how you present the information, e.g. use of colours, logos, photographs,
slogans, illustrative quotes, boxes, etc.
9. Be practical and feasible. The policy brief is an action-oriented tool targeting policy
practitioners. As such, the brief must provide arguments based on what is actually
happening in practice with a particular policy, and propose recommendations which
seem realistic to the target audience.
10. Make your policy brief travel. Don’t expect your brief to be read. Put some energy
behind it, engage with information intermediaries (whose job it is to access research
information and tailor it for different audiences), or go directly to policy makers and
make them aware of your policy brief. You could also explore using social media
such as Twitter, Social Bookmarking to bring attention to your policy brief.