From a project report to a policy brief

Eva Ludi, Overseas Development Institute

Example: World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) Global network of Soil and Water Conservation

(SWC) specialists WOCAT’s mission is to support innovation

and decision-making processes in sustainable land management by analysing and synthesizing experiences developing and applying standardized tools for

documenting, monitoring, evaluating, sharing and using knowledge

The basis

Database with 400 technologies 260 approaches from over 40 countries

Book describing 42 case studies

364 pages!

The process

One of the authors of the WOCAT Synthesis Book to draft a text for a Natural Resource Perspectives (NRP)

The first draft was written from the perspective of a project collaborator

► Achievements of the project were in the foreground and not the general

messages

The draft

Example

“WOCAT distinguishes between agronomic, vegetative, structural and management measures.”

“A useful distinction can be made among agronomic, vegetative, structural and management measures.”

Example

“55% of the technologies presented in the book are combinations of various agronomic, vegetative, structural and/or management measures.”

“More than half of the technologies presented by WOCAT (2007) are combinations of various agronomic, vegetative, structural and/or management measures.”

The NRP

4 pages

3500 words

The policy brief

A policy brief should….

…be based on evidence but not focus on details

…generalize context-specific findings …relate to the big picture

More information

WOCAT report http://tinyurl.com/yhfrrht

Policy brief http://tinyurl.com/ykyv7nz