October 17, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Big Idea: a Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Effective Policy Reports, by Suri Duitch, Kathleen McGowan, and Carl Vogel, walks through the process of creating an attention-grabbing policy report, describing each step: conducting the research, writing it, and releasing the report, or “selling,” the report. Creating policy reports that capture the imagination of the press and policy makers requires strong political skills, powerful writing and editing abilities, and the willingness to be self-critical, writes Suri Duitch, a senior fellow at the Center for an Urban Future, in New York. Among the publication’s suggestions: gather a large amount of information on the topic and listen to all sides of the issue; get information from groups with diverse points of view and goals; point out new solutions to a problem that most others have given up on; and write succinctly and make ideas easy to grasp. Topics such as gathering data, designing the report, and publicizing the work through press releases or press conferences are also covered.
Publisher: City Limits Community Information Service, Center for an Urban Future, 120 Wall Street, 20th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10005; (212) 479-3344; citylimits@citylimits.org; http://www.nycfuture.org; 127 pages; $14.
