A policy is a general statement of how an organisation will act in certain circumstances. Writing a policy establishes a new governance arrangement: what is required, of whom, in which circumstances, under what authority, and for what purpose.
Readers should be able to understand what the policy provides for and what it means for their decisions and actions.
Identify the policy or proposed policy being assessed and the question being asked about it. Decide whether the subject requires a new policy, an amendment to an existing instrument, or another form of guidance.
Review the draft against the organisation’s authority, other instruments, and practical circumstances.
State what the policy concerns, why it is needed, and what it is intended to achieve. Establish whether the policy is needed and its provisions serve its purpose.
Examine how it fits with the organisation’s roles, authority, systems, and existing documents. Establish whether responsibilities are assigned and the necessary authority is identified.
A policy may contain commitments, principles, requirements, permissions, responsibilities, and explanations. The wording should make clear what each provision does.
What the organisation undertakes to provide, maintain, or pursue.
What should guide decisions or conduct, including the considerations to be taken into account.
Who must do or ensure what, and in which circumstances.
Who may act or exercise judgement, on what matters, and subject to which conditions.
What is assigned to a person, role, or body.
What a person or body is authorised to do and the source and limits of that authority.
Who must answer to whom, and for what.
What helps readers understand the arrangement, including the reasons for a requirement or design choice.
Use wording consistently. Where must, may, and should express different requirements, permissions, or expectations, preserve those differences. Identify whose action is required and connect it to the relevant matter, circumstances, and conditions.
Examine four relationships:
- Organisation and policy: Which organisational purposes and activities does the policy serve? How does it fit with the organisation’s roles, authority, and systems?
- Document and policy: Where are the policy’s provisions expressed? Does the document establish provisions, record them, or explain arrangements established elsewhere?
- Policy and policy: How does the policy relate to other policies? Identify provisions that depend on, supplement, duplicate, or conflict with one another.
- Requirements and responsibilities: Who is responsible for meeting each requirement? Specify what they must do or ensure and identify the authority needed.
Check that requirements, permissions, and areas of judgement are distinguishable. Check that references are accurate and related documents work together without contradiction or unnecessary repetition.
Identify the policy’s readers and the people, activities, and circumstances to which it applies.
Establish whether the people responsible for implementing the policy consider the arrangements workable, with the necessary resources and systems.
Test the arrangements and the wording together through ordinary applications, uncertain cases, and possible failures. Ask intended readers to identify what applies to them and explain what they would do in relevant situations.
Differences in readers’ understanding can reveal a problem in the wording, an unresolved governance choice, or an inconsistency between arrangements. Each requires attention at the appropriate level.
Give reasons for material requirements and design choices. Include explanations where they help readers understand or apply the policy; fuller analysis can accompany the proposal for approval.
Put the most useful information first and use informative titles. Group provisions according to the matters readers need to understand or the sequence in which they encounter them.
Use the structure below as a starting point. You should adapt the headings and order to the policy’s purpose.
Explain why the policy exists and its intended outcomes.
Identify the people, matters, and circumstances covered, including relevant limits or exclusions.
Set out the organisation’s position, principles, requirements, and permissions under informative subject headings.
Allow each reader to establish what is assigned to them. Connect these assignments to the substantive provisions.
Identify who may make the decisions required by the policy, including any applicable conditions or delegation references. This information may sit alongside the relevant provision.
Explain terms whose particular meaning is needed to understand the arrangements.
Identify ownership, approval, commencement, review, and version information. Present the most recent history first.
Connect intended outcomes, mandatory requirements, and the requirements applying to each role. The structure may follow the relevant activity, lifecycle, or framework.
Place detailed operational steps in procedures or instructions where that helps readers use them. Keep regulatory mappings and assurance evidence in supporting documents. Include legal references and compliance instructions in the policy where readers need them to understand or apply its provisions.
Plain Governance, developed by Dr Julien Maréchal. © 2026 The Governance Practice.
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