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Value: 15% of course grade
Due Date: Monday, December 5
Background to the Assignment
For this assignment, your group will prepare a formal policy recommendation for submission to the Vision 20/20 Commission. The commission, as you will recall, has invited British Columbians to submit recommendations on how government can ensure that B.C. continues to be "the best place on earth." Submissions must address issues related to the government's policy priorities: education and literacy; healthy living; jobs and the economy; environmental management; homelessness and affordable housing; or arts and culture.
Your Task
As a team, prepare a policy recommendation document, four to six pages in length (maximum of 1500 words) plus letter of transmittal and appendices (if required), following the guidelines below. Before you begin, read How to Write a Policy Recommendation.
Parts of Your Policy Recommendation
Submissions of this type usually follow a prescribed format, which varies from government to government. However, most use a direct structure (that is, the most important information is placed first and is followed by the details) and include the following parts. Although you may want to look at guidelines from provincial governments or the federal government, the model we're using for this assignment is the one described below. Make sure your policy recommendation has the following parts, uses these headings, and follows this order.
- Title: A short, simple, descriptive statement of the subject (e.g., "Regulation of Domestic Pesticide Use")
- Issue: A one- or two-sentence statement of the question addressed in the submission. The issue statement links the title to the recommendation.
- Recommendation: The proposed course of action, based on the analysis of the options that follows. This is the policy your team is recommending to the Vision 20/20 Commission.
- Rationale: A summary of the principal arguments for the recommended course of action. Here you must briefly compare the options you considered and show why the option you are recommending is superior to the others. After reading the title, issue statement, recommendation, and rationale, readers should understand what you are recommending and why. They rest of your submission lays out your supporting analysis.
- Background: A concise review of the key details and developments that are behind the need for a policy decision. This section answers the questions: What is this about? and Why does government need to make a decision? Make sure you limit the background to details that are essential to understanding the issue.
- Options: A thorough and balanced exploration of all possible alternatives. This section traditionally presents three options; if you are describing more than three, divide the section into Option 1, Option 2, and Other Alternatives. For each option
- give a brief description
- list the advantages and disadvantages (each option must have at least one pro and one con, otherwise it's not really an option)
- do not evaluate the option, just state the facts
Some Things to Keep in MInd
- A policy recommendation when it's prepared for the federal government is called a Memorandum to Cabinet; a policy recommendation prepared for a provincial cabinet is called a Cabinet Submission. Both terms refer to the document's destination rather than its function. Whatever they are called, they do the same thing: provide written policy advice to government.
- Actual federal and provincial cabinet submissions include sections on financial implications, recommended communications strategies, implications for other government policy, and related details that Cabinet has to consider. None of these is required for this assignment, but keep in mind their importance in real government submissions.
- The best way to approach a document of this type is to write the background and analysis first, then the recommendation and rationale.
Checklist for Writing a Policy Recommendation
When you have prepared your policy recommendation, go through the following criteria to make sure you've met all the expectations of the assignment.
- Does the document conform to the required format (structure and length)?
- Is the issue in question clearly stated?
- Is the recommendation sound (that is, does it appear logical, given the analysis)?
- Does the rationale present a coherent argument?
- Does the background concisely cover the necessary history and context of the issue?
- Is the analysis of the options thorough and balanced?
- Overall, is the document concise?
- Is the writing clear?
- Is the document well-designed for readability, using headings, white space and an appropriate font?
- Has the document been edited for errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling and mechanics
Editing Workshop: December 2
Bring a draft of your document to class. You will have the chance to discuss any problems you're having with the assignment and to exchange drafts with another group for peer editing. Don't miss the workshop; if you do (without a legitimate excuse), you will lose 30% from your grade for the assignment.
Submitting Your Document
For those groups that want a last chance to review their document or do an editing exchange with another group, we have A108 booked for Monday, December 5, from 11:30 to 1:00. Whether you attend that session or not, your policy document is due by midnight on December 5. Please send it to me as an email attachment.
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