Writing for public policy
Module: 5. Professional Development
Date: 04.03.2024 – 05.03.2024
Instructors: Bernhard Knoll-Tudor, PhD
Abstract
4-5 March 2024 | Skills Training
Policymakers tend to be pressed for time and receive too much information. Those who want their arguments to influence policy must learn how to communicate data and key messages as clearly as possible. In this skills-building workshop, Executive MPA students will learn how to structure a policy paper, write an executive summary and formulate recommendations vis-à-vis policymakers. They will also analyse the strengths and weaknesses of selected policy briefs.
By the end of this Executive MPA module, participants will be able to
- Choose among types and templates of policy papers and see their capacity to produce effective policy writing enhanced: Understanding / scanning the audience; asking about the who, what and why of a policy brief;
- Test various templates for executive summaries and learn how to structure them;
- Tailor recommendations and present policy choices;
- Understand why certain policy papers have more impact than others: Some employ stale bureaucratese; others excel in clarity, use data at crucial points of the argument, build up dialectics as part of dramatic sequencing and provide a policy solution that uses imagery in a strategic manner.
This seminar is offered in the open enrolment programme and as part of the Executive MPA programme.
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