Part B, Briefing Paper (25%)
1,200 words
One important aspect of community work, whether in a local government setting, a large government department or an NGO, is to ‘brief’ decision makers on an important issue or situation. A briefing paper aims to provide a concise and coherent explanation of the issue and it must also provide relevant information to enable a decision to be made. Often briefing papers demonstrate the need to change a current policy approach, to form a new policy or cease a current policy.
Students are to submit a briefing paper that relates to a specific policy area. It should include:
1. A clear statement of the purpose of the policy brief
2. A concise summary of the issue
3. Identification of the available policy options
4. Recommendations for change, backed up by evidence
5. A reference list
Below are some ideas to guide you in putting together your paper:
· Ensure you build the structure around the five dot points above. They don’t need to be sub-headings, but you should cover all these aspects in your paper. Using headings of some sort is recommended.
· Focus on a specific social policy issue. You might find it helpful to design for yourself a ‘context’ and ‘audience’ for your paper. For example, imagine you are writing a briefing paper for a ministerial advisory council on suicide prevention in rural areas, or for a large NGO involved in advocacy with government, advising them on the need for policy change regarding some aspect of homelessness policy, or for a director of a government department dealing with an aspect of policy relevant to people who’ve recently arrived in Australia. (These are just examples, use your own experience or interest to find your way into something you can do a good job with, or that opens up a new field of knowledge for you).
· Make sure you research your topic thoroughly – briefing papers are all about condensing as much useful information as possible into an easy to understand paper, for the benefit of the reader.
· Language should be formal, but clear, and not too technical in a way that it is inaccessible for someone not very familiar with the field you’re writing about.
· Recommend a course (or courses) of action and give well thought out reasons. This is not an opinion piece, but it is a document that aims to outline reasons for why something should or shouldn’t happen, or why/how something should change.