How Can Policy Briefs Help Our Research?

Author: Lucia Vidal 

A policy brief is an outline of a problem or topic being researched. Policy briefs are meant to condense information and are written in a format suitable for the general public, particularly those who influence policymaking. They are a way for readers with no background knowledge to easily understand what is being researched and how it can benefit the community. ​

During our previous lab meeting, we discussed the importance of policy briefs and how they can benefit our lab and our research populations. To begin, our lab discussed the general ways a policy brief could help convey information to the public. For example, we discussed startup programs wanting to receive help from the government. Oftentimes, these programs are trying to convince people in government who are not fully knowledgeable on the topic they are presenting, especially if it is part of a specific field not relevant to their line of work. Our lab analyzed how a policy brief could essentially become the “essay” one could write to better explain the information.  

Another example mentioned was wanting to place an intervention in a hospital. Although doctors and chiefs of the hospital may understand many of the terms and reasons for wanting to implement the intervention, the managers or business partners of the hospital might not. A policy brief could make the message clear and concise for the reader who may not fully understand the topic. 

Next, we discussed some ways to make a policy brief better suited for the general public. We expressed the importance of using simple and general terms, being organized (e.g., bullet points), and concisely stating the main goals. Policy briefs are meant to be organized into different sections including the issue, background, approach, and overall results. As discussed during our meeting, we believe these sections should be organized using vocabulary anyone can understand. We also mentioned the use of boldface for more important words or sentences within the policy brief. Using boldface will make the most important ideas stand out. 

Lastly, we discussed how creating a policy brief could help us better communicate the research our lab does to the public. We discussed how throughout the process of trying to persuade the community to sign up for a study, we often struggle to explain EEG and neurodevelopment research in a way the general population would understand. Through the discussion of policy briefs, we concluded that a policy brief would be a better way to explain what our lab is doing and why individuals would be a good fit for a study.