Policy PresentationJust as procedur

Policy Presentation
Just as procedures for conducting policy analysis are different from procedures for developing policy-relevant documents, so are procedures for developing these documents different from procedures for their communication. A common medium of communication is the mailed document, an impersonal means of reaching clients and other policy stakeholders by physically transmitting the original version and copies of a policy-relevant document. The major limitation of this medium is the probability that a document will reach intended beneficiaries but then sit on the shelf. The probability of utilization is enhanced when the substance of policy documents is communicated through policy presentations. Policy presentation conversations, conferences, briefings, meeting, hearings constitute an interactive mode of communication that is positively associated with the utilization of policy-relevant knowledge.
There is no codified body of rules for making oral presentations. Nevertheless, experience has shown that a number of general guidelines are important for effective policy communication (see Appendix 5). These guidelines offer multiple communications strategies appropriate for the various contingencies encountered in complex practice setting. Among these contingencies are the size of the group, the number of specialists in the problem area addressed, the familiarity of group members with methods employed in the analysis, the credibility of the analyst to the group, and the extent to which the presentation is critical to policies under active consideration. In such contexts, multiple communications strategies are essential: There is no “universal policymaker” who applies the same standards of assessment (“reality tests”) for evaluating the plausibility, relevance, and usability of policy analysis. Effective policy communication is contingent on matching communications strategies to characteristics of the audience for policy analysis (Box 1-6)