4.2 Writing a policy brief

A policy brief must be easy to read, so it’s important to get the structure right. Its length can vary depending on the discipline and content: it could be one, two or four pages, but no longer – policy-makers are time-poor and will struggle to engage with longer documents (ffrench-Constant, 2014). You should ensure that everything the reader really needs to know is on the first page.

A policy brief should include the following features:

• Title: Keep it snappy, short and informative.
• Executive summary: Two to three sentences summing up the entire brief. Use recognisable keywords and emphasise the relevance of the research to encourage the policy-makers to want to read on.
• Introduction, or summary of the problem: Explain the policy issue and why it is particularly important or current. Put the research into context.
• Methods, approaches and results: Present the research or project findings in an accessible way for a non-specialist. Explain the methodology that was used to reach the results: for example, was it a synthesis of existing research or literature, or new research data? A policy-maker will want to see robust results that are repeatable or corroborated by others.
• Conclusions: Reinforce the key message to take away from the policy brief. Remember that content that would typically be in a conclusion will already be in the executive summary; do not simply repeat it.
• Policy recommendations: Try and make only one feasible policy recommendation. If you are making more than one recommendation, differentiate them clearly (in bullet points, for example) and keep to a maximum of three.
• References and suggested sources: You should use references sparingly. Suggest a few additional sources at the end to give either background or more detail on the policy issue.
• Acknowledgements, author details and disclaimers: You should list any funding used for the research, and note down the authors’ current positions and contact details. If the policy brief is being produced by an institution, a disclaimer may be needed.

You should break up the text into short paragraphs, and consider using boxes, subheadings and lists – as long as the text still makes sense. Consider using diagrams and tables to save on words. Put important points in bold or italics, but do not overuse them or the brief will appear cluttered and confusing (Bennett, 2017).