How to write Policy Brief?

What is the role of epidemiological study

Laksono Trisnantoro

Dwidjo Susilo

I

Content:

1. Understanding Steps for doing Policy

brief (IDRC version)

2. Discussion on the Role of

Epidemiological Study

3. Work: Use your study for Policy Brief

Writing

4. Plan of Action: Participating a 4-week

Blended Learning on Policy Brief

(started in October 2016).

What is a Policy Brief?

A short document that presents the findings and recommendations of a research project to a non-specialized audience

Aimed at government policymakers and others who are interested in formulating or influencing policy

A stand alone document, focused on a single topic

About 2 – 4 pages (no more than 1,500 words)

What should a policy brief do?

Provide enough background for the reader

to understand the problem

Convince the reader that the problem

must be addressed urgently

Provide evidence to support one

alternative

Stimulate the reader to make a decision

What should a policy brief contain?

Be short and to the point.

Be based on firm evidence (various

sources)

Focus on meanings, not methods (what

you found & what you recommend)

Relate to the big picture

Policy Brief Tittle

Short

◦ keep it to less than 12 words

Catchy

◦ grab the reader’s attention

◦ Try to include relevant key words

◦ use an unusual turn of phrase that sticks in the mind

◦ consider using a question as a title

To the point

◦ should be relevant to the topic

Example of Policy Brief Title

Food security in protracted crises:

What can be done?

HIV, food security and nutrition

Natural resources: The climate change Challenge

Addressing Drugs and Conflicts in Myanmar: Who Will Support Alternative Development?

Do Provinces and Districts/Cities Need Tobacco Control Policy?

Executive Summary

Policy message at the beginning –

sometimes printed in a box or in bigger

type

A one or two sentence overview of the

brief that entices readers to go further

Ask yourself, “What are the main points

you want policymakers to get – even if they

read nothing else?”

Example of Executive Summary

Tobacco control policy that is carried out by provinces and districts/cities in addition to protecting people from a variety of diseases induced by smoking, it can also save local finance from the costs of diseases caused by smoking.

Introduction

Answer the question WHY is the topic

important, WHY should people care

Answer the question WHAT were the

goals of the research and overall findings

Create curiosity about the rest of the brief

Structure the Introduction

The problem (What is the problem?

Why is it important?)

Background, context (What happens,

where, who is involved?)

Causes of current situation (Why? Give

evidence or examples.)

Effects of current situation (What effects

does it have? Give evidence or

examples.)

Example of Introduction

Introduction

Two of the three Indonesian men are smokers with an average consumption of cigarettes 13 cigarettes per day. Although the average age of starting smoking was 17.6 years, but about 75% of Indonesian smokers started smoking before the age of 20. A total of 78.4% of those aged 15 years and over exposed to smoke at home, 63.4% in government offices, 17.9% in health facilities, 85.4% in restaurants and 70% in public transport.

This policy brief is intended as a reference for local governments of non tobacco/cigarettes production to protect the public from secondhand smoke exposure through prevention and health promotion as well as for the region's financial rescue of healthcare financing from various diseases induced by smoking.

Approaches and Results

Summarize facts, issues and context

Reduce detail to only what reader needs to

know

Provide concrete facts or examples to

support assertions

Keep the paragraphs short and restricted

to a single idea

Use more headings and subheadings

Example of Approaches and Results

Conclusion

Base conclusions on results

Aim for concrete conclusions and strong assertions

Conclusion

Implication and Recommendations

State clearly what could or should happen next

Implication – what could happen

Recommendation – what should happen

State the recommendations clearly and in a way that is easy to understand

Keep them short - five or six are enough

Make them realistic that can be implemented

Implication and

Recommendation

Example of Implication and Recommendation

Policy

◦ Establish Regulation on Smoke-Free Area (KTR)

◦ Total Bans on advertising and promotion of cigarettes

◦ Push the Central Government to ratify FCTC

Community Empowerment

◦ Provide the correct information on health issues-related to smoking among teens

◦ Encourage the movement of smoke-free homes to protect passive smokers

Health

◦ Develop stop smoking clinics

◦ Encourage the attention of health professionals

Design Variation

Boxes

Sidebar

Callout

Bulleted list

Graphic (with title)

Photo (with caption)

• Cases

• Definitions or

explanations

• Examples to

illustrate points

Appropriate action by the

local government could

protect people from

exposure to tobacco smoke

and save the region's money

from healthcare costs of

various diseases induced by

smoking.

correspondence

Dwidjo Susilo (dsusilo@gmail.com)

Siwi Padmawati (siwi.padmawati@gmail.com)

Laksono Trisnantoro (trisnantoro@yahoo.com)

References

Food and Agriculture Organization of the

United Nations. Food Security

Communications Toolkit. Rome. 2011.

International Development Research

Center. Toolkit for Researchers: How to

Write a Policy Brief. Accessed from

http://www.kebijakankesehatanindonesia.ne

t/component/content/article/1835.html.

2. Discussion:

Where is the place of Epidemiological

Research?

Work: Use your study for Policy

Brief Writing

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Plan of Action:

Participating a 4-week Blended Learning

on Policy Brief (started in October 2016)

Send your email address and cellphone

number

There will be offering for joining the

Blended Learning in

www.kebijakankesehatanindonesia.net

Thank You