Title

The title should communicate the content of the brief in a memorable way. As short and concise as possible. Max. 10 words.

Introduction

The introduction should distil the essence of the brief. Between 60-70 words.

Main points

In the main points, you provide a summary of the most important findings and lessons learnt. Make a 5-7 point bullet list.

Context

Describe the issue at hand and place it in a context.

Approaches and findings

Shortly describe the method you have used. Present your findings.

Conclusion

Gather the pieces from your ‘Approaches and findings’ section and present your conclusion. Use this part of the brief to interpret your data.

Policy recommendations

Present a bullet point list of policy recommendations based on your findings. Remember that they must be evidence-based.

References

Include a list of any literature/studies that you have referred to in your brief. Try to limit the list to max. 10 references.

The length of a policy brief

A policy brief should have max. 2000 words. When you take out the words in the title, the introduction, the main points, and the policy recommendations, you have about 1500 words left for the ‘Context’, ‘Approaches and findings’, and ‘Conclusion’ sections. Remember that 2000 words is the absolute maximum. Shorter is often better.