1. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com Anatomy of an NCCR policy brief Research evidence for policy

2. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com Research evidence for policy Published by NCCR North South since 2009 www.north-south.unibe.ch/ content.php/page/id/250 www.north-south.unibe.ch/ content.php/page/id/250

3. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com 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.”

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

5. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com Elements of written communication Structure  How the information is organized Design  How it is presented Content  What it says

6. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com Title Masthead Lead Policy message Publisher Main text Structure Photo

7. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com Photo Graphic Policy implications Caption Main text

8. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com Boxes Text 2-3 paragraphs per heading 60-120 words per paragraph 1900 words total Headings One level of headings 3-6 words each

9. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com Publisher info Further reading 2-3 vital items Keywords Cases 70-100 words each Authors: Photos, names, positions, emails Series info

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

11. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com 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

12. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com 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

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

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

15. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com 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

16. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com 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

17. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com 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

18. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com 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

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

20. Paul Mundy www.mamud.com 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, email This issue  Academic adviser, policy adviser, editors, design