Paul Mundy Anatomy of an NCCR policy brief Research evidence for policy

Paul Mundy Research evidence for policy Published by NCCR North South since content.php/page/id/250 content.php/page/id/250

Paul Mundy What types of information? “…provides research highlights from the NCCR North-South on important development topics…” “…offers information on topics such as governance, conflict, livelihoods, globalisation, sanitation, health, natural resources and sustainability in an accessible way.”

Paul Mundy Recent topics Conservation in protected areas: Do local people benefit? Making migration safer Overcoming ambiguities in decentralisation Natural resources: the climate change challenge

Paul Mundy Elements of written communication Structure  How the information is organized Design  How it is presented Content  What it says

Paul Mundy Title Masthead Lead Policy message Publisher Main text Structure Photo

Paul Mundy Photo Graphic Policy implications Caption Main text

Paul Mundy Boxes Text 2-3 paragraphs per heading words per paragraph 1900 words total Headings One level of headings 3-6 words each

Paul Mundy Publisher info Further reading 2-3 vital items Keywords Cases words each Authors: Photos, names, positions, s Series info

Paul Mundy Design Attractive format A4 size (actually, A3 folded) Clear headings Orange echoes masthead 2 columns Highlighted info in shaded boxes

Paul Mundy Photographs: 4 colour - attractive but expensive Boxes in two colours (black and orange) Colour says “read me!” Narrow columns: 5-6 words, easy to read Like a newspaper – readers scan down the middle of the column

Paul Mundy Photo: Well composed, subjects not looking at the camera Graphic: Clear, easy to understand Caption: reversed over transparent rectangle Caption: Explains graphic White space Dotted orange border

Paul Mundy Elements all aligned to grid Easy in a desktop publishing program like Adobe InDesign Hard to do in Word! Text flush left, ragged right

Paul Mundy Publisher’s logo Cases in shaded box 4 pages total Reference material “Don’t read me!”

Paul Mundy Content Title Lead Policy messages Example from Bolivia Title: grabs attention, tells reader what is in the document Lead: grabs attention, sets the scene, tells reader what to expect in rest of document Policy messages: if they read only this, they will have got the message! Main text: divided into short sections, each on a different aspect

Paul Mundy Captions explain and build on photo – make photo not just decoration Boxes contain info that does not fit into text Short, easy-to-read text: don’t make the readers work to understand what you are saying Bolivia Example from India India Analysis of ex- amples More analysis

Paul Mundy More analysis Even more analysis Policy implic- ations Graphic and caption Graphic: contrasts situation before decentralization (orange) with after (blue) Caption: Explains graphicPolicy implications: What does it all mean for policy? 4-5 points

Paul Mundy Cases Self-contained, highlight main points only Reference material Where to go for more information Key refs only Cases Further reading “This issue” Who helped put it together This issue

Paul Mundy Elements of an NCCR brief Title Policy message Lead Main text Cases Boxes Table or graphic Photos Further reading Authors This issue

Paul Mundy Elements of an NCCR brief Title  Max 80 chars Policy message  Max 640 chars Lead  Max 700 chars Main text  Max 7000 chars  At least 6 subtitles  Final section = Policy implications Cases  Max 1630 chars  3 different countries Boxes  Ca 440 chars Table or graphic  Max 1 Photos  Max 3  With captions Further reading  2-3 key refs only Authors  Name, position, institution, This issue  Academic adviser, policy adviser, editors, design