How to Write a Policy Memo (2022)

Learn how to write a policy memo - the currency of the policymaking world, and a critical tool for scientists to influence lawmakers!

Table of contents
0:00 - Introduction to PSPDG and our 2022 Policy Programming
1:30 - Overview of workshop content
2:40 - What can you, as a scientist, can do to promote societal action?
13:00 - Memo structure and the writing process
19:50 - Activity 1: Choose a topic and consider What is Happening, Working, and Should be done next? [15 minutes]
19:55 - Turning an idea into a memo
27:15 - Activity 2: Break down your broad issue into a specific, memo-appropriate subtopic [15 minutes]
27:44 - Researching your specific topic
32:36 - Coming up with your recommendation
41:59 - Activity 3: Fill out the PEST analysis for your topic [15 minutes]
42:05 - Finding your target audience
45:42 - Practical tips on writing an impactful memo
49:47 - Conclusion and next steps

Scientists are excellent at making judgement calls based on primary evidence. We do it every day when we read papers and incorporate new findings into our experiments or review a study and think "That experiment wasn't well controlled at all!". These skills are worth their weight in gold in the halls of Congress, the PA State Capitol, and at City Hall. What scientists need, though, is the ability to translate that into a form that policymakers can use when they're writing laws. That's where PSPDG's 2022 Science Policy programming comes in!

Prepared and presented by Lindsey Fernandez, Karen Perez Sarmiento, John Burns, Hersh Sanghvi, Stacey Bevan, and Mengdi Tao.