Writing Policy Reports

Abstract

Despite the wide use of research reports as part of policy decision-making, for most scholars, academic publications (peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes or monographs) are the primary outlet for discussing evidence. Transposing evidence into specific policy reports therefore poses a challenge. This chapter specifically addresses the characteristics, advantages and difficulties involved in writing policy research reports. The chapter aims to fill a gap in policy analysis literature by combining insights into the logic and structure of policy research reports, as well as by providing specific guidelines for planning and writing them. The first part of the chapter contextualizes the increased use of policy research reports. The second part discusses the difficulties involved in translating academic research into comprehensible reports. The third and main part of the chapter deals with the actual structuring and writing of a policy report, presented in four different phases. Two cases of existing media research, a stakeholder consultation on impartiality of the Flemish public broadcaster, and a large-scale assessment of policy measures for audiovisual industries, are referred to as illustrative cases throughout the chapter.