Deciding on a Briefing Note

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A decision request can help small non-profits (SNPs) make better decisions. The briefing note is discussed and the basis for a well-crafted decision.

Which direction a SNP should go can be helped with a well crafted decision request.
Which direction a SNP should go can be helped with a well-crafted decision request.

The briefing note (BN) is a main stay of governments. Designed to be read by a harried Minister in the few moments between one interminable meeting and the next. A good BN distills a complex issue down to a few salient bullets – and likely a decision.

Answer ME: Yes or No!

If there is a question for the Minister, it is phrased as a closed ended question – a Yes/No response. If it is to keep the Minister appraised of what is going on, then ‘For Information Only’ is the last word.

Bureaucracy or Decision Tool?

Art and Politics. BN’s are both an art form and the quintessential instrument of bureaucracy. Nevertheless, it is something more organizations should adopt, including small non-profits (SNP). A BN can help organizations make a decision, remember that it made the decision, and readily recall the information available at the time that led to that conclusion.

Looking for the Question. Too often managers and leaders are presented with ‘muddled’ verbiage and conflicting signals and are expected to make a silk-purse-decision. Worse, the decision, let alone a clear question must be divined from this mess of pigs ears [1].

Not a Blog on How to Write a BN

Five BN Parts for a Good Decision. Beyond using its general format, I am not going to dive into the intricacies of a BN. Besides, the internet has lots of sites to inform or confuse you. I have listed a few in the further reading and reference sections below. Suffice to say a BN has five general sections and features:

  1. Purpose: A clear sentence of the issue or decision at hand.
  2. Analysis: Relevant details written in a neutral and factual tone.
  3. Background: Sufficient information for the reader to place the BN in context.
  4. Risks/Questions: An optional section but one that I like to use, a series of questions the decision maker will probably ask and responses thereto.
  5. Length: the clue is in the name – BRIEFing – Note, 1 page is ideal, 2 maximum. Annexes that need not be read to answer the question are okay.

Consistency is Key. The above description is not meant to be an exhaustive study of public policy devices. BN’s come in all shapes and formats. More importantly, if an organization has adopted its methodology, it probably also has a format. Returning to the harassed Minister. They may read upwards of 50 of these a day. As a result, consistency is critical for rapid ingestion of the information and an informed response.

How to Write a Decision

The BN format can help organizations make better decisions by taking the salient points from the BN world. The following is a template I have used. Not so much a gold standard but what seems to work the best.

Medium

Format: Email, Word, Other. You can download the template I have used for project Decision Requests [2]. In the Annex below, I have also included a summarized version which can be used in an email for a less critical decision. As a trick, I have created a signature file with the Decision format, so it is ready for me to whip up a question. For more on this, see: Email Signature – More than Just your Address.

General Format

As noted above, consistency is key. Ideally the organization has standardized the format but likely not. If they have standardized it, often every possible bell or whistle has been included ‘just-in-case’. Less is more, minimalists have it all, and other cliches apply here.

The Question

All the analysis and background are for naught without the question. Interestingly, this is easiest and most challenging element to write. It is easy because it is a closed ended question. The challenge is that there is a tendency to stuff the question with last minute ‘Oh, By the Way….’ elements.

The question is simply, Do(es) the Decision Maker(s) agree, Yes/No, with the proposed course of action? There are only three possible responses to this:

  1. Yes, proceed,
  2. No, do not proceed, or
  3. Reserve Decision, need more information or time.

Other Thoughts and Heuristics

Requiring the rigor of a BN format makes people think and focuses on the questions: ‘So WHAT is the Problem‘ and ‘How do we KNOW if we have a solution to IT?‘.

Intimidating and Useful. To the uninitiated, the BN or Decision format is intimidating. Also, there are folks in your world who like decisions to be muddled so that they can fit the uncertainty to their personal objectives. In the former’s case, take it slow and easy and bring folks along. In the latter’s case, you must include their perspectives – but not let them over-ride other viewpoints.

Doubt → Leave Out. Use simple language in the document and remember the maximum: when in doubt, leave it out. If you are not sure of a fact, it is better to not include it rather than call into question the validity of the entire document.

Your Thoughts and Experiences

So, what do you think? Does your small (or not so small) non-profit use a BN format? Could your organization improve its decision making with this template? Is it too much bureaucracy and not enough value? Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts.

References

  1. For my non-native English speaking readers, the idiom is: you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. You cannot fashion something beautiful or valuable out of poor materials; Idioms by The Free Dictionary.
  2. Download Project Decision Template.
  3. Sample email-signature
  • DECISION: What is being asked of who?
  • BACKGROUND: how did we get here and why a decision is needed?
  • ANALYSIS: how we arrived at the decision?
  • RECOMMENDATION: What is proposal based on the background and analysis?

Further Reading

The following is not meant to be an exhaustive BN resource list. There are entire courses taught on how best to craft public policy documents. Instead, these are samples of information available on the briefing note subject.

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