Policy Case Competition

The UR POLIS Policy Case Competition will take place on March 28 at the College Avenue Campus (CB 139).

11:00 AM – Arrival and check-in
Participants must arrive on time with their team.

11:30 AM – Lunch and competition briefing
Rules and expectations will be explained.

11:45 AM – 3:45 PM – Case work period
Teams will be given a policy problem and will work together to develop a briefing note.

3:45 PM – 4:45 PM – Judging period
Judges will review submissions. Due to time constraints, not all teams may receive individual feedback.

During the judging period, teams have an hour of free time. Everyone will return to CB 139 for the announcement of the results. 

4:45 PM – Awards announcement
Winning teams will be announced and prizes awarded.

What to bring

• A fully charged laptop

• A charger

Participants are expected to stay for the full duration of the competition.

Students are given a problem and are tasked with presenting a set of policy solutions and a single recommendation to a panel of judges through the format of a briefing note. 

Prizes will be given in cash:

• 1st: $800

• 2nd: $400

• 3rd: $200

A well-written briefing note includes the following sections:

Title:

A short, descriptive phrase that tells the reader what the topic of the note is.

Issue:

One to two sentences that tell the reader: what the topic of the note is (the particular issue or policy being discussed) and what the conclusion of the note will be.

Background:

Several short paragraphs (1-3 sentences each) that tell the reader:

• What the policy/issue is, including: 

• A definition of terms, if necessary

• Whose jurisdiction the policy/issue falls under (federal/provincial/municipal, what ministry, etc.)

• Who is impacted by the policy/issue

• The history of the policy/issue, including:

• An overview of past legislation or policy action

• What brought about the past action/inaction surrounding this policy/issue

• What impacts the policy/issue has caused

• The current status of the policy/issue, including: 

• What is currently being done to address the issue

• What policies are currently in effect or being developed

• What are the current outcomes or issues associated with the issue or policy

• Public opinion surrounding the policy or issue

• Why action is needed

Aim to cover as many of these points as possible in your briefing note, without exceeding the page length. As a best practice, your background should make up approximately one page worth of writing. 

Analysis:

Two short paragraphs that identify:

• What can be done to address the issue:

• Offer two suggestions for how to address this issue

• One solution can be maintaining the status quo

• What steps must be taken to implement these options:

• Note what needs to be done to implement these suggestions

• Note the associated costs and the legislative steps that must be addressed to bring these options to fruition

• If these are unclear, attempt to approximate these steps/costs

• What are the pros and cons of each option: 

• These can be financial, administrative, political, ethical, environmental, etc.

Conclusion:

One sentence that explains what the best course of action is, based on your analysis. This must be one of the two options you outlined in the analysis section, specifically the option with the most pros and/or the least cons.

Briefing Note Formatting:

Titles and subtitles are written in bold (centre the title and left-align the subtitles).

Paragraphs should be short and contain only information about one point (2-4 sentences maximum).

Your writing should be in complete sentences.

Your team’s name should be included at the top right corner of your first page and a page number needs to be included at the top right corner of your second page.

Everything should be single-spaced, with a blank line between each paragraph.

The briefing note is not to exceed two pages. 

You do NOT need to cite your sources, but be conscious of the factual merit of the sites you are taking your information from.

Here is a formatting example for you to reference: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ti9f3l4jA58hTePhzf0GLdM273wAz8ALD5NB1gDE7zw/edit?usp=sharing 

We have also made a video outlining how to write a briefing note, which you can watch below.