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FutureLearn

Compelling Narratives for Complex Decisions: Policy Analyst Fundamentals

Frank Capability via FutureLearn

This course may be unavailable.

Overview

Build your reputation in public policy as you learn to give quality advice

Quality advice is advice that supports ministers and/or senior leaders to make a decision. For policy analysts, providing quality advice is the most important part of the role.

On this three-week course, you’ll learn how to provide quality advice, every time. You’ll improve your writing skills as you discover how to write a compelling narrative that clearly supports your senior leaders to make a decision.

With this ability, you can build a reputation for writing powerful papers for decision-making.

Discover the process for creating an effective narrative structure

You’ll delve into the five-step narrative process and learn how to use the components of an effective narrative in your writing.

With this knowledge, you’ll explore the importance of these techniques in aiding better decision-making.

Explore signposting words and other language techniques

Using your knowledge of narrative structure, you’ll learn how to apply your narrative to a paper template to support a decision.

Next, you’ll learn how to use the right language, style, and tone for your audience. You’ll also explore techniques such as signposting words to help ensure your audience receives the intended message.

Unpack the importance of narrative for decision-making in government policy

We live in a world where we’re faced with increasingly complex challenges to solve in increasingly short timeframes. This means that the need to make great decisions is more crucial than ever.

As a policy analyst, and with the help of this course, you can have a direct impact on the quality of decisions, and the speed at which they are made, by learning how to create a compelling narrative for the purpose of a decision.

This course is designed for policy analysts with between one and four years’ experience in government policy who want to develop their writing skills.

It will also be useful for anyone who communicates with the intention to influence.

Syllabus

  • Narrative fundamentals
    • Introduction
    • What is a narrative?
    • The shape of a narrative
    • Two important considerations
    • Wrapping up the week
  • The five-step narrative process
    • Welcome to Week Two
    • The narrative process
    • Step one
    • Step two
    • Step three
    • Wrapping up the week
  • Bringing it all together to write a paper
    • Welcome to Week Three
    • Step four
    • Styling the substance
    • Step five
    • Wrapping up the course

Taught by

Emily Mason

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