Policy Memo
Overview
This Hackathon window is to illustrate how to write a policy memo on biodiversity that matters - by leveraging biodiversity data, analytics, and visualization to make your points!
Biodiversity enthusiasts are usually brimming with suggestions on how the world around them can be improved – it's time to help make your point on how you can help change one little part of the policy world when it comes to biodiversity – whether it be on a particular species, its habitat, an ecosystem, or the entire planet! Help your team convince a relevant policy maker with your data-driven memo!
Suggestions to keep in mind in developing the policy memo
There is no template! Use your creativity and organize your thoughts to convey your perspective in a clear and data-driven manner keeping in mind the following suggestions:
- Who is this Policy Memo addressed to? You can choose an existing position (the head of a country, province, district, organization, university, or local community) or imagined position (head of Global Biodiversity) responsible for making or facilitating policy related to biodiversity.
- What is the Policy? Start by stating ONE key policy change that you are requesting in this memo. It could range from making data more accessible to protecting valuable biodiversity to improving biodiversity awareness. This has to be focused on "something broken" that is important and that you are trying to advocate fixing with a new or amended policy.
- How can Data help? Find innovative ways to include a few key data visualizations that are critical to the policy perspective (context, argument, improvement) you are addressing. Avoid a data deluge - just the important visuals that will help make your points in an easy-to-understand manner.
- Keep it Short and Lucid. Ensure that you keep to the point and get the message across quickly as policy makers will need to understand your point quickly without reading tomes! Also avoid technical jargon and make your points so that the intended policy maker team can quickly grasp the key points.
- Package it Innovatively. Make it both fun and informative by combining text and graphics in a manner that conveys the policy imperative. Be creative - your team can aim for the final memo to be a pdf, or interactive storymap or website.
Resources:
