Policy memo – Comparative Administrative Systems

Policy memo

Scenario: Imagine your first job out of university. You are the junior policy assistant for a director-general. She storms into your office, complaining about her boss, the Minister. The Minister just returned from Singapore, where he attended an international conference. On that day he participated in a panel with government officials from other countries, discussing different approaches to a common problem (This may include housing, clean water, education, health, youth employment. He was especially inspired by the story of the US colleague. The minister sent your boss an e-mail saying that he wants to radically change the current policy on this issue, and implement the other US’s policy instead. Your job in all of this? Write a three (3) page policy memo to the Minister, laying out why this is a good, bad, or mixed idea.

A policy memo places a premium on succinctness and clarity. Every word should contribute directly to making a point. Do not bother reeling off facts if they do not contribute to the overall progression of your analytical narrative. Keep your transitions short and sharp: They should tie your arguments together and ensure a coherent flow through the paper without wasting space. Be forthright and direct, even when you are expressing uncertainty: for example, “Researchers remain unsure about whether a single individual can be infected with the COVID-19 virus multiple times.”

A policy memo is not a traditional essay. It consists of a summary of a problem, written for a specific audience, with a proposed solution. More importantly, it needs to be brief: your bosses do not have time to read long discussions and elaborate overviews of the literature. Their time is precious.

In this case, the solution should relate to the transfer of a policy or initiative from elsewhere. It is possible to argue both in favor of and against a transfer. The point is to get your message across quickly and persuasively. This is an important skill in whatever job you are going to have.

Example: The university system in Country A delivers low quality education. This is shown, for instance, by global education rankings. Country B does much better in the rankings. Could we transfer their success formula to Country A? We examine the conditions for successful transfer. Country A fulfills some of these, but others would be problematic. The recommendation is not to do a full transfer, or only to transfer one specific element of Country B’s system.

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Formatting

o 11 or 12 pt. font, any style

o Any normal, reasonable margins

o Single or 1.5 line spacing

o Insert page numbers

o No more than 3 pages

Delivery

o An outline of this policy memo paper

o 3 pages policy memo paper

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Step 1, read description box carefully.

Step 2, please skimming the two readings of memo writing direction from attached files before you start writing.

Step 3, check outline worksheet and you can start working.