Expand your mind
A curated list of readings that Frank collects to stretch your policy thinking.
Visuals in policy making: ‘See what I’m saying’, from Evidence-based policy making in the social sciences
This single-page resource offers tips for developing a visual metaphor, by choosing the type of metaphor you want to create, identifying key words, and then brainstorming and sketching your idea.
Visual metaphor
This single-page resource offers tips for developing a visual metaphor, by choosing the type of metaphor you want to create, identifying key words, and then brainstorming and sketching your idea.
Off the charts: The best of our data journalism
Part of The Economist’s ‘Graphic detail’ blog, this article offers tips for using colour effectively in graphs.
The most important thing is to write for everyone and to tell the story in a way that your readers understand
Written by a data presentation specialist, this article gives a number of tips for presenting data. These include: keep it simple, use annotations, aim for accessibility to promote inclusivity, and…
Data visualization checklist
This checklist describes what good looks like for the different aspects of a data visualization. Aspects covered are text, lines, arrangement, colour, and overall considerations.
Demonstrating the complexities of being poor; an empathy tool
This 2014 research report came out of the Families 100 project, which involved extensive research with 100 families experiencing poverty in Auckland. The report uses ‘composite characters’ to…
Speaking for ourselves: The truth about what keeps people in poverty from those who live it
This 2014 research report came out of the Families 100 project, which looked into the lives of 100 families who use foodbanks, to understand what prevents them from moving out of poverty. Eight key…
Report writing guidance
This guidance is aimed at any local government officer involved in the report writing process: writers, reviewers, managers and governance professionals. It supports officers to provide robust,…
‘Narrative and storytelling’, from Evidence-based policy making in the social sciences
Storytelling is important, including to the creation of policy or legislation, because it helps deal with the ‘why’ of a policy, not just the ‘how’. Although evidence-based policy is a popular…
Consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity: Problems with using long words needlessly
Advice on writing well emphasises keeping it simple, but writers often feel they should use complex language to appear more intelligent. However, this strategy does not work, and can leave readers…
