Students are required to prepare a ‘policy brief’ on a specific area of international policy of your choosing
(look through the unit guide for ideas, or speak to your lecturer). The policy brief is to be 1500 words
(between two (2) and three (3) pages of analysis, with up to one (1) page of appendixes of additional,
supporting information if required. Feel free to use headings, bullet points, tables, and/or graphics as you
see fit).
The setting:
You are an expert analyst who has been asked to brief the newly appointed director of your unit on a
specific policy issue that you feel warrants his/her earliest attention.
This director has not had any previous interactions with you. Whilst they command significant knowledge
of your general area of policy, in general, you know that directors do not appreciate the complexities of
specific issues as deeply as might a policy analyst.
In particular, directors might be missing the current ‘facts’, or the latest ‘thinking’ on how the current
situation might be addressed.
What the director is expecting
Based on a conversation with one of the director’s former colleagues, you know that the director is
expecting his/her expert analysts to both:
i) Identify and interpret the major elements of a specific area of public policy in international relations
(e.g. governance reforms to address the financial crisis); and
ii) Consider the relationships between the major actors, institutions and processes of public policy by one
country toward its neighbours (e.g. the Iran nuclear dispute) or within the international community (e.g.
climate change negotiations).
This former colleague also suggests you precisely identify the issue at hand, provide any relevant
background information up front, and close with two or three recommendations/observations so that the
director may take it forward.
Remember, you choose the policy setting, and you brief the director.
Final Policy Brief: Week 8 (for the final, written briefing report via
Turnitin)
Length and/or format: Final Policy Brief: 1,500 words (approximately two (2) to three (3)
A4 pages, with up to one (1) page of appendixes of additional,
supporting information if required
Purpose:
1. To test the student’s ability to locate relevant information and
data;
2. To test the student’s capacity to critically assess and
analyse/synthesis that information
3. To test the student’s ability to clearly and systematically
communicate that information in writing
Learning outcomes assessed:
i. demonstrate an understanding of different events and forces
that shape the international system (GA2, GA4, GA5, GA6,
GA8)
ii. compare and explain how key theories of international relations
relate to and differ from each other (GA4, GA5,GA8)
iv. describe the role that individuals can play in world affairs (GA1,
GA2, GA4, GA5, GA8)
Assessment criteria:
Students will be assessed for how well they:
(1) Identify and interpret the major elements of a specific area of public policy in an international
setting (e.g. the problem of global poverty);
(2) Consider the relationships between the major actors, institutions and processes of public policy
by one country toward its neighbours (e.g. the Iran nuclear dispute) or within the international
community (e.g. climate change negotiations); and
(3) Present that information and the ideas that they have developed in a clear and convincing
manner