I have a Writing Assignment due 17 hrs

Mark Abelson, MSW

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM SOC 426: Social Legislation & Social Policy

Policy Brief Assignment

What is a policy brief?

Succinct consideration of policy options for a particular audience (e.g., officials, bureaucrats, politicians, development practitioners, donors). More “professional” because it is geared towards readers who have a limited amount of time to make a practical decision, while a policy analysis (research) paper is more “academic” because it pays more attention to the scholarly roots of particular arguments and judges their merit on intellectual and logical criteria.

Policy briefs need to be highly accessible to people who are not familiar at all with the policy issue. They are primarily used by those with relatively little context or additional information, so they need to be highly understandable and able to stand on their own.

Policy briefs are short, typically 2 single spaced pages (not including the reference page), and may include pictures, graphs, charts, etc., along with a fair amount of white space ( required). Use common terms/language and spell out every acronym.

Why learn to write a policy brief?

Useful in (1) pursuing a career in public policy or international development; (2) advocacy work to present to people effected by the policy or people who you want to understand and perhaps advocate for or against the policy; and (3) experiment with a different medium of research into policy. Also, it summarizes key information for the purposes of education and advocacy; and helps you succinctly present and persuade your intended audience about a social welfare policy.

What are the components of a policy brief?

1. Executive Summary: This component consists of a short summary (approx. 125 words) of the purpose of the brief and its recommendations. It is often best to write this section last. Please indicate the audience for whom the brief is intended, (e.g., a particular government agency, legislator/politician, branch of an organization). Be as specific as possible. If you are writing the brief as a representative of an organization, you will state that in the executive summary.

2. Background on the Issue: Include only the essential facts that a decision maker “needs to know” to understand the context of the issue. This section should include the depth and scale of the issue, who is affected and how, and why it’s bad–you’ll want to judiciously include facts that document this. Be clear, precise, and succinct.

3. Statement Regarding the Existing Policy: This section summarizes what has been done about the problem thus far and why this has not sufficiently addressed the issue as described in section 2. It should include the law you are writing this policy brief about, and other laws prior to it, if applicable. The objective of this section is to inform the reader of policy options that have already been pursued and why they have failed to address the issue.

4. Policy Options for Advocacy: This section lists the possible courses of action that your organization would like the policy maker to pursue that would change or improve the existing law. Provide two potential courses of action, along with two advantages and two disadvantages for each course of action. Never advocate for a policy option that is less than you are willing to agree to.

5. Your Recommendation: After prioritizing the relative advantages and disadvantages of the above options, recommend one option to your audience. Yes, this may require going out on a limb on an extremely complex issue that challenges your ethical instincts but you knew that going into the process. If you presenting this brief on behalf of a group of people or a particular organization, then you will need to state that you are making this recommendation on their behalf.

References (attached as a separate page to the Policy Brief)

The following types of references must be included in your policy brief. You will need a minimum of 5 references. Suggested numbers of references from a category are given in parentheses.

(1) Peer-reviewed journal article (2-3).

(2) Governmental documents/publications/websites (1-2).

(3) Think tanks, policy institutes, advocacy organizations, or professional associations (1-2).

(4) Optional: Relevant books and articles from the course reading