Policy Brief and Analysis of Canadian Indigenous Policy

Section I – Identify the Policy Problem
This section describes the symptoms, magnitude, and consequences of the policy problem you are analyzing, and identifies one or more plausible goals for government intervention (i.e. goals for a policy or program).

Your analysis should convince a thoughtful, analytic reader of the existence and importance of the policy problem, and inform the reader about alternative goals for public intervention. You should not approach this as an advocate (watch out for exaggerated claims, etc.) and you should not begin by identifying the lack of a policy or program as the problem.

Your analysis in this section should address the following questions:

  • What is the policy issue?
  • What was the event or series of events that was a catalyst for action?
  • Is it a problem or crisis that demands immediate attention?
  • What interests are at stake for the Actor (e.g. the government) overall?

Section II – What are the Potential Solutions?
This section describes and evaluates the policy alternatives designed to help meet the policy goals. You are expected to identify alternatives and to identify and logically support criteria by which these alternatives can be compared. The alternatives can draw on both existing policies and programs, or propose new ones.

This section should address the following questions:

  • What alternatives were considered to address the policy problem?
  • Why were the other alternatives rejected? Were they rejected for political or rational reasons?
  • Describe the trade-offs policy makers must accept based on your selection.

Section III – What Action do you recommend?
Now that you know the problem, the goals, the alternatives, and advantages of each, your job in this section is to think critically about the implementation realities.

You will want to consider the political interests and how they are organized, along with the ability to enact policy alternatives. It is important to remember that new policies create new politics. Based on your analysis, make a recommendation for action or, if there is no single “best” solution, compare the relative benefits of the top two alternatives.

Questions to be addressed in this section include:

  • Who are the primary stakeholders? What are their interests?
  • What is the extent of agreement on goals? What are the potential conflicts?
  • What is the possibility for implementing various alternatives?