State of Victoria
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POLICY BRIEF GUIDE
ISSUE COVER SHEET
Issue: Write approximately 50 words identifying the issue, and provide a
ief overview of why the
issue is important to address. This subsection should summarise key information from your
“Purpose” section of the Policy Brief below.
Background: Here, write an approximately XXXXXXXXXXword summary of the ‘what & how’ and ‘who’
explained in your Background section of the Brief.
Comment: Here, write an approximately 50 word summary of the Key Issues section from your Brief.
Recommendations: Here, write an approximately 50 word summary of the recommendations you
provide in your Recommendations section. This should be a very
oad, high-level overview of the
ecommendations.
Note: No references are required in this section. Overall, try to keep the Issue Cover Sheet to one full
page only.
Name:
Date:
Readers: Minister for Health, Victorian Government
State of Victoria
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The Title of a Policy Brief Goes Here
Purpose
Here, write a small paragraph (approximately 60-70 words) to introduce the Brief (why you
are writing this Brief and what it will achieve). It is important to include: a definition of any key
terms, a sense of urgency to act (supporting evidence from references or statistics might be helpful
here), and conclude with a sentence providing the intention/purpose of the Brief. Note: References
are recommended where using factual statements in this section.
Background
Here, write 2-3 sentences to orient the reader (approximately 50 words),
oadly explaining
the big-picture impact of the topic, using scientific literature to support any factual statements.
What and How: Here, write approximately 350 words outlining the social, emotional and cognitive
outcomes for the developing child. Examining social, emotional and cognitive outcomes in-depth is
prefe
ed over providing a shallow list of numerous outcomes. Please note the importance of
explaining how exposure to tobacco results in the outcomes. An example: for the topic of childhood
obesity, a Policy Brief might identify that obesity in childhood can cause depression (an emotional
outcome), due to an impact on self-esteem, such that obesity cases children’s self-esteem to
plummet, which in turn results in increasing symptoms of depression. The information in italics
serves to explain ‘how’ exactly obesity causes depression (this example is
ief and your ‘how’ will
need further unpacking). Subheadings may be useful for formatting this subsection. Note: Scientific
eferences are required for this section.
Who: Provide approximately 250 words identifying the individuals (i.e., sub-groups) at particular risk
of either: smoking while pregnant (maternal risk factors); or the negative developmental outcomes
caused by exposure (child risk factors). Ideally you will provide 2 sub-groups at increased risk. For
example, for the topic: Chronic Pain in Adolescents, research shows that girls are at particular risk of
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increased pain and psychological symptoms. Therefore, a Policy Brief might explain here that female
adolescents have a higher risk than males of developing these symptoms and comprise an at risk
group of adolescents. You will need to consult the scientific literature to examine research on who is
at particular risk for your topic. Again, explaining a few key at-risk sub-groups in-depth is prefe
ed
to providing a shallow explanation of numerous sub-groups. Subheadings are helpful in formatting
this subsection. Note: Scientific references are required for this section.
Key Issues
There are risks of what could happen to the community if no action is taken; there are also
isks of things going wrong with a course of action. Here, you should write approximately 250 words
outlining the key risks to the State Government and/or the community if no action is taken, and/or
the risks of what could go wrong in the implementation of any new action. It is important for the
Minister to be aware of these key risks before deciding on a course of action. For example, if the
Minister will need to work with different government agencies or community groups to take action,
then there is a risk of these agencies not cooperating, or not agreeing with the Minster’s call to
action. This is a risk because disagreements between State Departments could inte
upt the entire
strategy. Your risks should reflect your insight into the real-world concerns of your topic. A good
Policy Brief will explain 2 – 3 key risks, identifying how exactly each one is a risk for the Minister or
for the community. Note: References are recommended in this section, to bolster your explanations
of exactly how/why something is a risk.
Recommendations
Here, you need to identify 2 clear and specific recommendations for the Minister on what to
do about the negative outcomes of tobacco exposure (approx. 250 words). You can either take a
preventative (reducing exposure); or treatment approach (what to do when exposure has occu
ed).
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You may use subheadings to clearly convey each recommendation. Each recommendation
must be actionable by the Minister, logical to occur in the state of Victoria, and must flow from the
evidence you have presented in the rest of your Brief. Recommendations can comprise either your
own solutions to the issue (based on the scientific evidence you have been reading and have
presented), or existing ideas you have identified from the literature that you might tweak or modify
to make them most fitting for the population examined in your Brief.
A good Policy Brief will explain each recommendation specifically and succinctly, providing
detail as to ‘paint a picture’ of what exactly the initiative/program/policy will look like in reality.
Policy writers need to give thought to: what exactly will be included in the program, how often it will
un, who will design and/or fund the program, who will work within the program day-to-day, who
the program will target, etc. The recommendations you present should reflect your insight into the
eal-world issues of your topic. Note: References may be used, but are not required for this section.
References
Here, you must provide a complete list of the references used, which must be set out according to
APA 6th edition specifications. Please consult an APA guide to ensure your layout is co
ect.
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HPS202/772 Assessment
Policy Brief
The impact of prenatal tobacco exposure on children’s
development
(you may include prenatal maternal smoking and/or exposure to second-hand smoke)
Due Wed Jan 22nd at 8:00 pm
Submitted via Dropbox
Contributes 40% of total Unit mark
Word count
1500 words (hps202)
1750 words (hps772)
The word count includes all words from the beginning of the ICS to the end of the
ecommendations section (10% leeway). This includes all in-text citations.
The reference list is NOT included in the word count.
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Tobacco Exposure Policy Brief
The situation: You are a Victorian Public Servant, working in a government department responsible
for policy and practice in Victoria. Your office has grown increasingly concerned about the negative
outcomes associated with tobacco exposure in pregnancy. Your manager has asked you to
ing this
issue to the attention of the Minister for Health. You wish to persuade the Minister to take action on
the negative impact of tobacco exposure in utero. You are tasked with providing a policy
ief on
tobacco exposure in utero and the negative impact on the developing child. Your
ief must include
an objective summary of the problem and provide concrete policy recommendations to the Minister.
What is a Policy Brief? A Policy Brief is a government document that informs a department or a
higher-ranking member of government on an issue, and makes recommendations about how policy
should be improved/changed/implemented in order to address the issue. Briefs can also be used by
high-ranking government members when they hold press conferences. A Policy Brief draws on
cu
ent research and international best practice and aims to:
1. Put a particular issue/problem on the agenda,
2. Convince readers of the urgency of the issue/problem, and
3. Convince readers of the need to take action based on recommendations.
The writing style is persuasive but formal, relying on scientific evidence to support statements.
The following sections should be included in your Policy Brief in the order presented below:
Issue Cover Sheet (ICS) (15 marks): An ICS is a cover page for a policy
ief that summarises the key
information provided in the
ief (similar to an abstract for a lab report). The ICS has standardised
subheadings, and should be completed using the ICS template to ensure all the
iefs that the
Minister receives look consistent. Your ICS should be on its own separate page, and you should aim
to keep it only one page long. It should provide a concise overview of:
• Issue: the issues identified in the Purpose section of your Policy Brief,
• Background: the key background information,
• Comment: the Key Issues for consideration, and
• Recommendations: include a summary of the recommendations you make in your Brief.
The body of the
ief is then set out in the following sections, headed:
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Purpose (5 marks): This section clearly and succinctly communicates the purpose of your policy
ief
(why you are writing it and what it will achieve). It should include a sense of importance and
urgency. The Minister receives a lot of policy documents and you need to justify why she should
continue to read yours- statistics can be helpful to communicate the scope of the problem and its
importance for Australians. It is important to include a definition of any key terms from the Policy
Brief topic. This section aims to convince the Minister of the necessity of action on the problem.
Background (30 marks): Here you unpack the detail of your evidence and arguments (similar to an
“Introduction” section of a lab report, where you present past research on the topic). Higher marks
are achieved through better explanation of research on the problem. Be sure to provide EVIDENCE
and EXPLANATION for the following sub-sections:
1. What negative developmental outcomes arise to the developing child as a result of tobacco
exposure in utero (social/ emotional/ cognitive outcomes), with consideration of How
exposure causes the outcomes? (15 marks). Provide