Tips for Preparing the Policy Proposal

(compiled with the input and advice of the leadership of the Truman Scholarship Foundation)

Choosing Your Topic

Select a topic that is:

	In your field. It should be a topic in the professional field you hope to enter. It should relate to the problem or need of society you identified in your response to Item 9 of the Nominee Information Form.
	Controversial. Substantial debate exists on what to do and there is some legitimacy to the opposite side of the position which you are taking.
	Important. The proposal focuses on a problem that has significance to the US Government, to a substantial segment of US population, to your state, or to the environment.
	Not overwhelming. It is "small" enough to be presented on one page. If it is too large to handle well, break off a small piece. For example: While the health care problem is too large, various elements such as AIDS risk reduction, dealing with a specific disease, or prenatal care for economically disadvantaged women could be discussed.
	Interesting to you. You care about the topic and would like to learn more about it.
	Intellectually approachable for you. You should be able to get a good understanding of the problem including a reasonable grasp of why the problem exists and has not been solved . . . and of the difficulties in implementing the solution you recommend.
	For which the nature of the problem has been well-documented and statistical data and current references are available. You can find current substantive references -- books, scholarly journals, NY Times / Wall Street Journal / Atlantic / etc. -- as well as regular press or weekly news magazines to help you make the case.
	Tractable. You can come up with a specific plan to present and to defend at a Truman interview. You might even be able to pose a fresh approach.

Writing the Policy Proposal

Be sure to:

	Address it to the federal or state governmental official who has the most authority to deal with this issue. If you write to the chair of a legislative committee, verify that his or her committee has the jurisdiction to do what you propose. Be careful about addressing it to the President. Generally, a cabinet officer or a chair of a Congressional committee will have more authority than the President.
	Use statistical data to define the problem. Be sure to use data from reliable sources.
	Make your recommendations specific, clear, and understandable. You wouldn't want the intended recipient to say, "So what exactly am I supposed to do?"
	Handle obstacles fairly. Don't just say not enough money or votes but capture briefly the legitimacy of the opposition.

Sample Policy Proposal

The Truman Foundation identifies the following sample policy proposal as exemplary.

Sample Policy Proposal – Page 1
Sample Policy Proposal – Page 2

Note: The above links are PDF files and require Adobe Reader software. If you do not have this software, a free download may be obtained here: Adobe Reader.

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