What to put in an Issue Update

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A lot of time in Brussels is spent on writing issue updates for clients and members.
Most of those updates are never read.
Here are some suggestions.
  • Keep them short. Use a 10 cm x 15 cm  (4-6 inches) note card as inspiration. It can hold around 100-150 words. Issue updates are not policy memos!
  • Try and focus on what is unseen rather than seen. Give the reader some insight that they are unlikely to get somewhere else. Most of the critical decision steps in any file are not public. That’s where you can help your client/member.
  • In your subject line, add a header that catches the reader’s eye. It needs to tell them why they should read this amongst their  200 other emails.
  • Be clear and specific. Get to the main point in the first sentence. Make it interesting.
  • Have no more than 3 points in an update. Your client/member is not interested in a policy wonk geek out.
  • Write for the reader. Highlight something that is of use to them. The reader does not need to know everything that happened in a Parliamentary debate. They need to know if their issue came up and who spoke about it.
  • Use these words: What, where, who, why, which, how, if, could, and should. What happened, who said it, how much support is there, what happens next, you should phone X.
  • If they need to do something, call them up.
  • Use a standard template. You don’t want to reinvent the structure every time you send an issue.
  • Check that the reader wants the updates and that they are helpful to them.
  • Add hyperlinks to documents and people’s contacts.
  • A simple timeline of the following steps can be helpful. Make it actionable. Mentioning something happening a year out is not much use. Instead, highlight what is happening in the next month.
  • Add links to your lobby plan and online issue management system. If you have voting predictions based on the voting list, add them as an Annex.
  • If there is relevant legislative text, stick it in the annexe.

Here is my note card to remind me not to stray into policy wonk heaven.

 

The most time-consuming activity is internal meetings.