INSTRUCTIONS
Minor Project 1: Issue Brief
Introduction: Issue Briefs are short, well-researched, neutral summaries of what is known about a key external issue or problem. The purpose of the Issue Brief is to convey evidence-based research about the issue when no organizational and/or policy solutions are known to exist, and the issue is still in the problem identification domain of the process.
Research: Draw from the readings and search the web to explore the key issues likely to affect a client’s industry or business sector (You can pick this; just make sure it is US based). Narrow your search to the most pressing or serious issues arising within the past 90 days, and select only one issue to prepare the Issue Brief. All evidence-based research related to the issue must be published within the past 90 days. This is not a “how to” document, so all research included in the brief must be directly related to the issue. If an issue has been emerging for some time, limit your scope of the issue to developments within the past 90 days.
Directions: Follow the explanation in Ashley & Morrison, (pp. 111-120) to prepare an Issue Brief for an organization of your choosing. Exemplary projects will include:
- Issue: State the issue for consideration. Briefly state what is important in the context of a current public policy or business sector issue and the relevance of the issue to your intended audience.
- Background: Provide a synopsis of the areas of importance relative to the emergence of the issue and why the issue is of importance to the organization.
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- List any organizational policy that supports or is relevant to the issue;
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- List the current evidence-based research that supports the importance of the issue (published within the past 90 days)
- Driving Forces: Discuss the trends and events that are influencing the issue and when they began to surface. Describe th driving forces that may push back on the issue.
- Future Prospects: Extrapolate trends and discuss sound forecasts relative to the issue and the shifts that are likely to take place based on the trends. Divide this discussion into 3 time horizons:
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- The immediate changes and implications
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- Changes likely to occur within the next 5 years; and
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- Changes likely to take place over the next decade to 2030.
- Implications: Provide supporting information relevant to the issue and the strategic implications relative to the client organization.
- References/Resources: List the appropriate citations for the evidence-based research (published with in the past 90 days) you provide within the issue brief. In the Reference List at the end of the document, provide any additional resources that you deem important to support your analysis of the issue. (The list of references does not count in the page count of the Issue Brief.)
- Bio & Contact Information: Provide a one paragraph summary of your Bio with your contact information. Create the template and I will fill out
Format: Write the Issue Brief using a white-paper or briefing type format in Word, single-spaced using APA style in-text citations. Write in a neutral voice and avoid personal or organizational bias to define the issue.
NOTE: the Reference List and your Bio do not count in the page count.