Draft a decision-ready internal policy briefing about [POLICY ISSUE]. The decision maker and intended readers are [AUDIENCE AND DECISION]. Relevant existing policies, facts, and source materials are [CURRENT POLICY AND SOURCES]. The affected populations and operational context are [AFFECTED GROUPS AND CONTEXT]. The feasible options or constraints are [OPTIONS AND CONSTRAINTS]. Write fairly and distinguish verified facts, stakeholder perspectives, assumptions, and recommendations. Do not invent legal requirements, employee data, survey results, policy language, or citations. This is not legal, HR, tax, or regulatory advice: flag areas requiring review by qualified counsel, HR, privacy, security, labor-relations, or compliance professionals. Produce a briefing of 900-1,200 words with these sections: 1. Executive summary: decision requested, why now, and recommended next action in 120 words or fewer.
2. Background and current state, citing supplied materials by their exact identifiers. 3. The policy question and decision criteria, including fairness, operational feasibility, consistency, cost, privacy, and legal or regulatory risk where relevant. 4. Two to four options, including maintaining the status quo. For each, state who is affected, benefits, tradeoffs, implementation needs, risks, and unresolved questions. 5. A comparison table scoring options qualitatively against the criteria, with a short rationale for every score. 6. Recommendation, implementation sequence, communications considerations, and a review date or trigger. 7. Questions for professional review and an evidence gap list. Use neutral language toward affected groups and avoid implying that a protected characteristic determines performance or eligibility. Before answering, check that each factual claim traces to my materials or is labeled as an assumption, and that the recommendation follows the stated criteria. Ask up to 3 clarifying questions only if a required input is missing.
Fill in
| Placeholder | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [POLICY ISSUE] | State the policy question, the change under consideration, and the reason it needs a decision. | Decide whether to replace the current three-days-in-office expectation with a team-based hybrid work policy. |
| [AUDIENCE AND DECISION] | Name the decision maker, readers, and the precise decision or approval needed. | Executive team and HR leadership; approve a pilot policy and communications plan for January. |
| [CURRENT POLICY AND SOURCES] | Paste or summarize current policy language, evidence, and source titles or links. | 2025 Flexible Work Policy v3; Q2 office utilization dashboard; employee listening-session notes; manager survey summary dated August 14. |
| [AFFECTED GROUPS AND CONTEXT] | Describe who is affected, relevant locations or teams, and operating conditions. | US employees across engineering, sales, support, and finance; customer-facing coverage and secure lab access differ by team. |
| [OPTIONS AND CONSTRAINTS] | List realistic options, non-negotiable requirements, budget limits, and timing constraints. | Keep current policy, set team anchor days, or allow manager-approved remote schedules; employment counsel review is required before rollout. |
How to use
- Collect the current policy and source titles before drafting so the briefing can distinguish evidence from assumptions.
- Paste the prompt and check that the decision request is explicit in the executive summary.
- Have the appropriate HR, legal, privacy, or compliance owner review the flagged issues before communicating a change.
- Follow up with: "Turn the approved option into a manager FAQ that does not add commitments beyond the briefing."
Variations
Board memo
Use this when senior governance needs a shorter, option-focused decision memo.
Write a 700-word board memo on [POLICY DECISION] for [BOARD OR COMMITTEE]. Use these verified materials: [SOURCES]. Affected groups and constraints are [CONTEXT]. Present the decision requested, current state, two or three options including status quo, risk and cost implications, and a recommendation. Use a compact comparison table and identify matters needing legal, regulatory, or fiduciary review. Do not invent data or cite sources not supplied. Check that every recommendation is tied to a stated decision criterion.
Employee FAQ
Use this after a policy is approved and employees need plain-language guidance.
Draft an employee FAQ for the approved policy: [APPROVED POLICY]. The intended employees are [AUDIENCE], effective date is [DATE], and existing source language is [SOURCE TEXT]. Write 10-15 questions covering eligibility, process, exceptions, privacy, manager responsibilities, and where to ask for help. Use plain language and do not promise exceptions or outcomes not authorized in the policy. Flag items requiring HR or legal confirmation. Check that each answer matches the supplied policy text.
Policy options paper
Use this early in the process when the organization has not selected a policy direction.
Prepare a neutral policy options paper on [ISSUE] for [DECISION MAKERS]. Evidence available is [SOURCES], affected groups are [GROUPS], and constraints are [CONSTRAINTS]. Give status quo plus three feasible options, then compare fairness, effectiveness, feasibility, cost, privacy, and legal or compliance risk. Separate facts from assumptions and list research gaps. Do not recommend an option; end with questions the decision makers must resolve and professional reviews needed. Check that no option is described more favorably without evidence.
Tips
- State the decision needed in one sentence near the top; a briefing can be informative yet unusable if the approver cannot tell what they are being asked to decide.
- Include the status quo as an option because it has costs, risks, and fairness effects that should be compared openly.
- Use source identifiers that reviewers can locate, such as a policy version, survey date, or report title, rather than vague references to "the data."
- Keep eligibility rules, exceptions, and manager discretion separate; combining them creates inconsistent application.
FAQ
Can AI write a policy briefing from meeting notes?
Yes, if you provide the notes and label them as stakeholder input rather than settled fact. Ask the model to surface disagreements and missing evidence.
Does a policy briefing need legal review?
It depends on the subject and jurisdiction, but employment, privacy, security, financial, and regulated matters commonly do. The briefing should identify those review points rather than make legal conclusions.
How many options should a briefing include?
Two to four options is usually enough, including the status quo. More options can hide the real tradeoffs unless each is genuinely feasible.