Policy briefings: How to create a briefing to engage with a policy audience

Posted on: 15 March 2024 by Dr Tom Arnold (Number of words: 252; Read time: 2 minutes) in Blog posts

Dr Tom Arnold, Research Associate at the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place and editor of the Heseltine Institute’s policy briefings, discusses the benefits of policy briefings for researchers and policymakers.

Policy briefings are an increasingly popular way of getting research in front of policymakers. Short, focused publications designed to summarise findings and their implications for policy can be useful for researchers hoping to influence policy. 

At the Heseltine Institute, we’ve published over 70 policy briefings since 2020. Our policy briefings have covered a huge range of policy topics, addressing critical issues in areas such as housing, public health, transport, local government and social care.

Effective Policy Briefings

As editor of our policy briefings, I’ve learnt a few things about how best to craft them. In my experience, the most effective policy briefings:  

Tell a story. Crafting compelling narratives, often with emotional appeal, can be more effective for engaging with policymakers than simply presenting facts. Ensuring research is digestible for non-academic audiences is crucial for delivering ‘impact’.  

Clearly written. Policy briefings should use accessible language and avoid jargon and overly technical language where possible. Your audience will likely be informed, but not experts in your area. Your job is to help them learn more about your topic. 

Focused, but not too narrow. The best policy briefings convey knowledge about a specific area of policy without going into unnecessary detail. This is a difficult line to tread, but crucial to ensure you get your message across.  

Policymakers are increasingly interested in academic research but often find it inaccessible. The world of academic research can be confusing for those not involved in it, but policy briefings can help researchers get important work in front of the right people.

Tom is delivering a workshop as part of Making an Impact 2024 to guide researchers through how to produce targeted policy briefings with potential to generate genuine impact. 'Your Policy briefings: How to create a briefing to engage with a policy audience' is taking place on 23rd May 2024, 13:00-14:30 BST online. Find out more and reserve your place here:

https://MAI24PolicyBriefings.eventbrite.co.uk

About the author

Dr Tom Arnold is a Research Associate at the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place and editor of the Heseltine Institute’s policy briefings.  

Further Reading

Heseltine Institute policy briefings: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/heseltine-institute/policybriefs/