What is a policy brief template?

A policy brief template is a document that you use when you want to implement a change in a policy or require a specific policy to become active in handling a situation. It’s almost like an official petition to a company, community, or governmental policymakers to implement a change to help manage a situation.

How can it help in effectively communicating policy recommendations?

A policy brief template helps you structure your request in an easily readable way, effectively delivering the message to policymakers. It’s a short document to ensure policymakers can scan it for relevant information. It adds all the required information in one document, along with its research and solutions.

What’s included in a policy brief?

To write an effective policy brief template , you must add the following sections: Summary of the brief’s contents Introduction to the Issue Background of the problem Recommendations on how to handle it Explanation and research of the Issue Various solutions/policies pros and cons Your recommended policy/solution References and resources

How to write a policy brief template?

Each brief can look different. As long as the required information is included, there’s no right or wrong way to do it. However, following our complete and customizable policy brief template lets you see the ideal way to structure it so policymakers can read it easily. The document is generally between two and four pages long (about 1,000-2,000 words), but it can also be shorter at around 700 or longer at around 3,000. Ultimately, the policy length depends on the subject. However, as policymakers are busy people, we don’t recommend making it longer than 3,000 words.

Policy Brief Template

Created by:

[Owner.FirstName][Owner.LastName]

[Owner.Company]

Summary: (Policy Brief Title)

This (Title) brief is for the express purpose of the following Issue (“Issue”):

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Recommendations

In this (Title) brief, we recommend the following steps to solve the Issue:

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Introductions

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Brief Background of the Issue

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Statement of the Problem and Its Significance

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Context and Importance

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Detailed Problem Description

Below, we describe the problem of the Issue and the effects of this Issue:

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Impact Analysis

The affected parties are:

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Precedents or Related Policies

Precedents:

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Related Policies:

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Policy Implications

Policy Option 1: (Option1.Solution)

We believe that an option is (PolicyOption1.Description). The following research was done to determine the effectiveness of the solution to the Issue:

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The effects of the solution on the Issue will be:

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Pros

(Pro.1)
(Pro.2)
(Pro.3)

Cons

(Con.1)
(Con.2)

Policy Option 2: (Option2.Solution)

We believe that an option is (PolicyOption2.Description). The following research was done to determine the effectiveness of the solution to the Issue:

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The effects of the solution on the Issue will be:

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Pros

(Pro.1)
(Pro.2)
(Pro.3)

Con

(Con.1)
(Con.2)

Recommended Policy

We recommend the following policy:

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Justification for the Recommendation and Its Expected Benefits

We recommended the above policy due to the below research and benefits:

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Resources and References

The following resources and references were used to research and justify the brief:

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Conclusion

In closing, the (Issue) is a critical problem for (Affected.Parties) and should be handled with due consideration. It is of the utmost importance, as (Urgency.Reason1) and (Urgency.Reason2). That is why our proposed solution, (Recommended.Policy) will help (RecommendedPolicy.Benefits).

[Recipient.Company]

Signature

MM / DD / YYYY

[Recipient.FirstName][Recipient.LastName]

[Owner.Company]

Signature

MM / DD / YYYY

[Owner.FirstName][Owner.LastName]