EES1134: Climate Change Policy

From the EES1134 syllabus:

"Policy briefs are short summaries of what is known about a topic or challenge. While they are succinct, they often distill large amounts of nuanced information. They are reports that clearly and concisely outline key challenges, summarize and evaluate policy options, and make recommendations to facilitate policy-making."

Objectives of a policy brief

• Provide background for readers to understand the problem
• Convince decision-makers that the problem should be addressed urgently
• Provide supporting evidence and recommendations for action

Contents of a policy brief

Policy briefs should:

• Be short and to the point
• Be based on firm evidence
• Focus on meanings, not methods
• Relate to the big picture

Reused/adapted from Writing effective reports: Preparing policy briefs (Food and Agricultural Organization)

It is recommended to read over a variety of policy briefs to get a sense of key sections and overall structure to include when preparing your brief.

Here is one sample method for consideration:

Retrieved from Ways to present research: Policy briefs (Research Retold, 2018)