What a Policy Brief Contains

What a policy brief is

A policy brief is a short document, usually four to eight pages. It takes a single bill, law or government decision and sets out what the text says. The brief names the office that wrote the bill, the date it was published, and the public records that show how the issue has been handled before. A policy brief does not argue. It shows.

How a policy brief works

A policy brief works by giving the reader the same information a public official has. The first page names the bill and the office responsible. The second page quotes the key sections of the bill in plain language. The third page shows the public spending records related to the issue from the last three budget cycles. The fourth page lists the questions a member of the public can ask the responsible committee or ministry. Each part of the brief points to a public document the reader can check.

The five parts of a WATAG policy brief

The title page. This page holds the title of the bill, the number of the bill, the date it was published in the gazette, and the name of the ministry or committee that wrote it.

The summary of provisions. This section quotes the three to five key sections of the bill. Each quote is followed by a plain-language sentence that says what the section does. The summary does not add opinion.

The budget record. This table shows the allocations for the issue in the last three annual budgets. It names the vote head, the amount allocated, the amount released, and the amount spent. The data comes from the approved budget and the quarterly implementation reports published by the Treasury.

The questions for the public office. This list has five to ten questions a member of the public can ask the responsible office. Each question starts with the name of the document it refers to, such as 'In the 2023 budget, vote head 2301 shows...'

The sources. The last page lists every document the brief draws from. Each entry gives the title of the document, the office that published it, and the date of publication.

What a policy brief does not cover

A policy brief does not cover the political history of the bill. It does not name the politicians who sponsored it. It does not predict whether the bill will pass. It does not say whether the bill is good or bad. It does not grade the performance of the ministry. Those subjects belong to other kinds of writing. A policy brief stays with the text of the bill and the public records of spending.

Where the records live

The records a policy brief uses live in public offices. The bill itself is published in the official gazette of the National Assembly or the state house of assembly. The budget records are published by the Budget Office of the Federation and the state treasury offices. The quarterly implementation reports are published by the same offices. A reader can request a physical copy from the publications desk of each office or download a PDF from the office website.