The Policy Change Proposal
This week, discuss your thoughts related to developing a proposal to improve an existing social policy.
Here are some ideas to get you started. Choose one to respond to for the discussion this week.
What are the elements of a successful proposal? What proposal elements are generally most important for different audiences? Have you ever submitted a proposal? If so, what were the results? How did you decide to use the format you chose?
Watch an advocacy presentation on YouTube (or a similar platform). What did you like and dislike about it? How effective do you think it was and why?
RESPOND TO PEER MIKE:
What are the elements of a successful proposal? What proposal elements are generally most important for different audiences? Have you ever submitted a proposal? If so, what were the results? How did you decide to use the format you chose?
According to the International Development Research Centre (2023), a policy brief should bring attention to a certain problem, suggest options and then make specific recommendations. Along this path, every section should point back to the purpose, the gravity of the issue should be driven home and the advantages for the recommendations should be laid out with specific attention to the advantages which would promise to be most rewarding to your audience. Do not assume you are preaching to the choir and that your readers are all supporters of your stance (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2023). Instead assume that part of your job is to win others over from another stance, and that your readers will mainly consist of stakeholders of some sort. Also avoid jargon and realize that many of the readers, while empowered to support or thwart your efforts, are not necessarily experts in the area you are addressing. Lastly, make your brief brief.
I once made a recommendation regarding inviting probation officers to sit in on a day of programming at the treatment center I worked at, never thinking that it would do more than illuminate the fact we were proud of what we did and believed in the importance of treatment. The proposal first went to the program directors and, after some finesse, an email was sent off to the head of probation with an invitation.
The result was that we had a group of eight probation officers each week for a month sit in on a weeks worth of programming and even participated in the educational groups. It was an incredible experience and it taught me the importance of knowing your audience. In this case, the two lures probation found most enticing were the concepts of understanding addiction more and learning how to establish better rapport with their clients through empathy.
References
International Development Research Centre. (2023, June 5). How to write a policy brief. IDRC. https://idrc-crdi.ca/en/funding/resources-idrc-grantees/how-write-policy-brief#:~:text=However%2C%20effective%20policy%20briefs%20tend,and%20implications%20of%20the%20research.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (2023, December 8). Policy briefs. The Writing Center – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/policy-briefs/
