Guidelines+for+IP+practice+briefs

Topics

 * Gender
 * Scaling

Key messages
Decide what key messages you want to convey. Base the draft around these messages.

Possible structure

 * 1600 words total (3 A4 pages)
 * Please check the existing briefs in the innovation platforms series for ideas on structure, content and style: []
 * **7 words** maximum
 * See the [|existing practice briefs] for examples of the type of thing we are aiming for.

Title
Example: Innovation platforms and national policymaking

Summary

 * 50 words. If appropriate, include any recommendations here.
 * 100 words. This is a one-paragraph introduction to the topic of the brief, written in a way that grabs the reader’s attention and invites him or her to read on. It may include a human-interest story like this:

Lead
Example: At the end of the rainy season, thousands of cattle move towards the river floodplain. The cattle spend the next few months grazing on the stubble of rice fields there, fertilizing the soil with their dung. It is a win–win situation for both farmers and herders. But there’s a lot of potential for conflict too...

Focus
Example: Policymaking inevitably means finding compromises among groups with different – and often conflicting – interests. It can be difficult to find a compromise that is acceptable to everyone, especially if some groups are more powerful than others. That is where innovation platforms can come in. This brief explains how they can contribute to policymaking…
 * 100 words. One or two paragraphs to explain what the brief is all about, or what the problem or opportunity is.

Importance
Example: It is necessary to coordinate among stakeholders in many different situations. Various groups compete for the use of natural resources: upstream and downstream farmers of irrigation water; herders, farmers, tourism operators and wildlife conservation organizations for land…
 * 100 words. One or two paragraphs to explain why this topic is important. They put the topic in context and link it to a current debate or a particular event.

Body
Example: Innovation platforms can help policymaking in three ways: X…Y…Z…
 * 800 words, including 3–4 subheadings. This is the “meat” of the brief. It shows how the problem or opportunity can be dealt with. It gives detailed arguments based on research or experience. It should give general principles and guidelines; put information about what happened in a specific time or place into case boxes (see below). Refer to these, and to graphs and tables as appropriate.

Case box(es)
Example: An innovation platform in Benin has persuaded the government to change its policy on growing and distributing oil palm seedlings. The group has 21 members from several districts in southern Benin. It includes large- and small-scale oilpalm growers, as well as researchers, extension managers and local government officials. The group meets once a month to discuss…
 * 200 words total. Brief descriptions of how innovation platforms have helped solve a problem or opened an opportunity. These (along with graphs and tables) provide the real-world evidence to support the arguments in the Body. Give names, places and years to put the information into context. Provide key data to support your assertions. Make sure that the box stands alone – that it can be understood independently of the rest of the text (many people skip the text and just read the boxes). Give each case a title. Make sure you show how the case is relevant to the topic of the brief.
 * Do not use text boxes or frames (desktop publishing programs don’t understand them). Instead put the text into a single-cell table (one row, one column).

Definitions box
Example: Power dynamics: The relationships between individuals in a group who have different amounts of power.
 * 100 words total. This will include a brief definition of innovation platforms (common to all briefs in the series). If you need to explain any other terms, put them in this box too. Keep them simple and jargon-free.

Illustrations
Bring ideas for illustrations – flow diagrams, labelled diagrams, or drawings. We can make sketches during the writeshop and commission an artist to draw them later. Each brief will have one or perhaps two illustrations.

Photos
We can include photos to illustrate the text, so bring them with you. Requirements: excellent quality, stunning composition, superb lighting. JPG format, at least 1 megabyte in size. Make sure you know who the photo should be attributed to, and that you have permission to use it. Write a caption describing what the photo shows and how it relates to the topic of the brief. Bring other photos with you for the artists to refer to when they are drawing the illustrations.

Authors
Names and contact information (organization, email address) of the authors or others who can provide more information.