policy brief

policy brief Order Description   My service learning placement is at a church and I am under the breakfast program. I prepare the ingredients that are used in the food like cutting a potato and other vegetables. I also serve breakfast to the people and sometimes have a conversation with them. The program is under an organization called CRC (Toronto Christian Resource Centre) and you can find more information under it. You will be required to write a policy brief based on a topic related to your service learning placement (20%). The brief will examine the factors influencing food (in)security and food sovereignty identified through your placement, and provide recommendations to decision-makers. The assignment: You have been asked to write a policy brief on behalf of the organization you have been working with for the service learning placement. Considering the below information, please write a policy brief on a specific issue/problem related to food (in)security/food sovereignty of your choice, not longer than 2000 words. What is a policy brief? The policy brief is a document that outlines a rationale for choosing a particular policy direction or course of action. It is commonly produced in response to a request directly from a decision-maker who needs advice. The purpose of the policy brief is to convince the decision makers in the organization of the need to adopt the preferred alternative or course of action outlined and therefore, serve as an impetus for action. Your policy brief should be: • Focused – all aspects of the policy brief (from the message to the layout) need to strategically focused on achieving the intended goal of convincing the decision makers. For example, the argument provided must build on what they do know about the problem, provide insight about what they don’t know about the problem, and be presented in language that reflects their values, i.e. using ideas, evidence and language that will convince them. • Professional, not academic –The common audience for a policy brief is not interested in the research/analysis procedures conducted to produce the evidence, but are very interested to know the writer’s perspective on the problem and potential solutions based on the existing evidence. • Evidence-based – The policy brief is a communication tool produced by policy analysts and therefore all potential audiences not only expect a rational argument but will only be convinced by argumentation supported by evidence that the problem exists and the evidence supporting particular alternatives or paths forward proposed in the brief. • Limited – to provide an adequately comprehensive but targeted argument within a limited space, the focus of the brief needs to be limited to a particular problem or area of a problem. • Succinct – The type of audiences targeted commonly do not have the time or inclination to read an in-depth 20 page argument on a policy problem. Therefore, it is common that policy briefs do not exceed 6 – 8 pages in length. Your policy brief will be under 2000 words. • Understandable – This not only refers to using clear and simple language but also to providing a well explained and easy to follow argument for your audience. • Accessible – The writer of the policy brief should facilitate the ease of use of the document by the target audience and therefore, should subdivide the text using clear descriptive titles to guide the reader. • Promotional – The policy brief should catch the eye of the potential audience in order to create a favourable impression (e.g. professional, innovative, etc.). In this way many policy brief writers use of colour, use of logos, photographs, slogans, illustrative quotes etc. to illustrate their argument. • Practical and feasible – The policy brief is an action-oriented tool. As such the brief must provide arguments based on what is actually happening in practice and propose recommendations which seem realistic to the decision maker. As discussed above, policy briefs directly reflect the different roles that the policy analyst commonly plays, i.e. from researcher to advocate. The type of brief that we are focusing on is one from the more action-oriented, advocacy end of the continuum. Although there is much variation at this end of the scale, the most common elements of the policy brief are as follows: • Title of the paper ???? • Context and importance of the problem ???? • Critique of policy option(s) ???? • Policy recommendations ???? • Appendices ???? • Sources consulted or recommended More specifically, your policy brief should have the following elements: Title The title aims to catch the attention of the reader and so needs to be descriptive, punchy and relevant. Context and importance of the problem The purpose of this element of the brief is to convince the decision maker that a current and urgent problem exists which requires them to take action. The context and importance of the problem is both the introduction and first building block of the policy brief. As such, it usually includes the following: - A clear statement of the problem or issue. - A short overview of the causes of the problem - A clear statement of the policy implications of the problem which clearly establishes the current importance and policy relevance of the issue. Critique of policy option(s) The aim of this element is to detail shortcomings of the current approach or options being implemented and therefore, illustrate both the need for change and focus of where change needs to occur. In doing so, the critique of policy options usually includes the following: - A short overview of the policy option(s). - An argument illustrating why and how the current or proposed approach is failing. It is important for the sake of credibility to recognize all opinions in the debate of the issue. Policy recommendations The aim of the policy recommendations element is to provide a detailed and convincing proposal of how the failings of the current approach need to changed. As such this is achieved by including; - A breakdown of the specific practical steps or measures that need to be implemented. - Sometimes also includes a closing paragraph re-emphasising the importance of action. Appendices Although the policy brief is a short and targeted document, authors sometimes decide that their argument needs further support and so include an appendix. Appendices should be included only when absolutely necessary. Sources consulted or recommended Your policy brief should be thoroughly referenced, following academic standards.