Short description
Policymakers, editors and business leaders tend to be pressed for time and receive too much information. Researchers who want their arguments to influence policy must learn how to communicate key messages clearly. The seminar will cover how to write concise and accessible texts.
Target group
PhD researchers with little or no experience in writing policy briefs or op-eds.
Goals
You will learn how to structure an argument and formulate recommendations. You will gain an understanding of different publication formats and develop publication strategies to maximise impact and reach the right audiences.
Contents
This is a hands-on class. You will practice writing clearly, you will learn how to structure policy briefs and devise publication strategies and you will draft your own policy briefs in an in-class writing workshop. You will write your own op-eds and learn how to pitch to a news outlet. Throughout the class, you will gain a better understanding of the cultural gap between policymakers and researchers, as well as the challenges facing researchers who strive for both impact and integrity
Day 1
- What is impact and who has impact?
- Writing for policymakers
- The purpose and structure of a policy brief
- Writing publication strategies (including a social media campaign)
- In-class writing workshop: Policy brief
Day 2
- Purpose and structure of an op-ed
- Good and bad op-eds
- Pitching op-eds
Day 3
- In-class writing workshop: Op-eds and pitches
Instructors
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Sophia Besch is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Reform’s (CER) Berlin office, where she leads the CER’s research on European defence policy, publishing extensively on European defence industrial cooperation, CSDP, German foreign policy, the effects of Brexit on defence co-operation, and EU-NATO relations. In addition to her role at the CER, she is also a Non Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. She comments frequently on the broadcast and print media and has provided analyses for The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Die Welt, New Statesman, TAZ, Politico, War On The Rocks and Project Syndicate, among others. She served as an expert witness for the UK House of Commons Defence Select Committee, the European Parliament Subcommittee for Security and Defence and the German Bundestag EU Committee. Prior to joining the CER, she was a Carlo Schmid Fellow at the Policy Planning Unit at NATO HQ and worked as a researcher for the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. She served as Co-President of Women in International Security (WIIS) UK 2017-2018. Sophia holds degrees in International Security and International Relations from Sciences Po Paris and the London School of Economics.
