STAGE 4 DETAILS – COMPLETE ADVOCACY BRIEF DOCUMENT

Weight: 15%

Due date: Week 12, Day 7 at 11:59pm into the DropBox- Stage 4

In this final stage, you will be submitting a comprehensive, polished policy brief. Think big! Once completed, there is no reason you couldn’t present this to a local organization or your city council. If you have a portfolio, you can include this polished brief as an example of your work. In previous terms, student policy briefs were entered into a research poster competition!

Most of the grades for this Stage are for presentation and for your One Health section. This new One Health section should draw on course concepts and key ideas from throughout the term.

INCLUDE ONE HEALTH

Along with creating a polished, organized, and visually appealing document, there will be an additional step in this stage. You will include a full-page “box” somewhere in your document addressing the “One Health” approach. In this box, you will provide clear links to One Health that are relevant to your policy brief. If you need to, you can go back and review Week 1 and the explicit One Health course content. This box will be approximately 300 – 500 words + any graphics, charts, or other visuals you may want to use, using no more than 1 page of your final brief.

This will be an exciting contribution as One Health is still a growing field, and your brief could provide very interesting and important insights. See rubric for more details.

In this final stage, you will need to address all the feedback given in previous weeks and put your text into a policy brief template of your choice. As a reminder, additional sections in a policy brief are used to emphasize key points and create an attractive and eye-catching finished document. Your final submissions may include some or all of the following:

Sidebars: something to ‘hook’ the reader, these are short, descriptive notes that may ask questions or focus on something actionable.

Call-Out Boxes: Similar to the call-out boxes in your modules, these could be quotations or images that support the main premise.

Bullet points: lists to emphasize and support the main premise.

Graphics: photos, charts, diagrams.

In summary, your comprehensive, polished, policy brief should:

• Include the text from Stage 3, addressing feedback from your instructor
• Include attractive additional sections for visual appeal and to break-up monotonous text. Your advocacy brief should interest and entice your readers.

As you are preparing your brief, consider the following:

• Is your brief clear, focused and concise?
• Is your brief focused on one particular problem or issue?
• Is your brief based on solid evidence, drawn from various reputable sources?
• Is your brief visually appealing?
• Does your brief include a one-page, One Health “box” of approximately 300-500 words?

There are many policy brief templates online, or you can create your own. Many are very plain, others are quite involved with visuals and unique formatting. It is completely up to you what you would like your final brief to look like, with the following exceptions:

• You will include a title page which is not included in word or page count, followed by
• Page 1 which will be your Executive Summary (Office 365 has a template for this, or you can create your own).
• On your final page you will need to include your references.

For this final stage you will be submitting a comprehensive, polished, advocacy brief on your topic of choice.

Checklist:

• Title: A title that quickly communicates the purpose and contents of the brief.
• Executive Summary: For busy people who want a quick synopsis without reading the entire document. Up to one page in length including a topic overview and proposed policy/actions. What is the essence of the brief? You want to entice readers to read further.
  PRO TIP: Because it is a summary, you will write your executive summary at the end, after you have completed your policy brief.
• Include all of the text (introduction, existing policies or activities, your 2 recommendations/Call To Action.
• One Health page: provide clear links to One Health that are relevant to your policy brief.
• References: Provide a list of reliable and reputable resources that were used to help guide your policy brief.

Additional sections in a policy brief are used to emphasize key points and create an attractive and eye-catching finished document. Your final submissions will include additional sections, including some or all of the following:

• Sidebars: something to ‘hook’ the reader, these are short, descriptive notes that may ask questions or focus on something actionable.
• Call-Out Boxes: Similar to the call-out boxes in your modules, these could be quotations or images that support the main premise.
• Bullet points: lists to emphasize and support the main premise.
• Graphics: photos, charts, diagrams.

STAGE 4 – GRADING RUBRIC

ItemGradeDescriptionTitle page1Includes student name, student number, course name and number, Term, and the title “Policy Brief”. (Your unique title can follow on the top of your Executive Summary). The title page should not be numbered.Executive Summary2This will be Page 1 of your brief. For the format, use the Office 365 template, or create your own. This is a summary of your brief and so should be the last thing you write.Additional elements (visual features such as sidebars, text boxes, images and graphics)4Are your added additional elements organized and visually appealing? Have you been creative and thoughtful with your layout? Notice this section and the One Health section are where most of the marks come from for this stage, so plan your time and writing accordingly.One Health page8This full page “box” will include the following:

• Introduction & conclusion (2 mark)
• Define and describe One Health for your readers (2 marks)
• Explanation of how a One Health approach is relevant to your topic (4 marks)