ACADEMIC SECRETARIAT
Policy Development / Review Plan

The Policy Development/Review Plan is a tool to be used by Policy Officers and Working Groups to plan, guide
and track progress. Policy Officers will keep the plan up-to-date and completion of sections should be agreed in
consultation with the Working Group. This is intended to be a live document for ongoing use by the working group
and Academic Secretariat. The Policy Officer should ensure that at the end of the process the plan is an accurate
record of consultation and communication actions as plans may be revisited during policy review.
1. Policy Management
Document Type
Policy Title / Area
Policy Development
Policy Review Plan
Policy Officer
(name & contact)
Policy sponsor
Working group Members
2. Policy Summary
Policy Issue (briefly outline why the policy/policy review is required)
Purpose of Policy (briefly outline what are the intended outcomes of the development of the policy/policy
review)
Policy Scope (detail the parameters of the policy; what will be included in the policy? It is also sometimes useful
to state what will not be included in the policy; it is helpful to identify here if the new policy will replace any existing
policy, build on existing regulation or informal guidelines – such documents may require revision to align to the new
policy)
3. Development Plan
Identification of stakeholders (identify individuals or stakeholder groups that may provide expertise in the
development of the policy, major groups that will be affected by the policy; those responsible for implementation.
The Working Group may wish to formally consult with these group during policy development and review)
Approval Route and Timeline
Committees (committees with formal
responsibility for policy area)
Date of Academic Council for Final Approval
(intended date – may be subject to revision; aim for
the penultimate meeting of any given academic
session at the latest)
Issues log (to be used to record issues arising during policy development/review. This acts as a useful record of
issues that should be kept under review to either ensure that the issues are appropriately addressed by the policy or
in its implementation. This can also be a useful record of issues that are related but are not in the scope of the
policy, for referral and resolution elsewhere).
Issue
Planned action for resolution
Dates
Benchmarking and examples of international good practice (state institutions and web links)
4. Consultation & Communication Plan
There are four linked stages to the policy review and development process, each with specific communications
requirements and objectives. Details of communications can be recorded here to ensure that all appropriate
stakeholders have received the relevant messages through the appropriate channels.
Stage 1 – Initiation phase of policy development or review
Delivery
date
Audience
Objective / Key
message
Channel
Responsible
Status
Stage 2 – Development phase of policy development or review
Delivery
date
Audience
Action / Objective
Channel
Responsible
Status
Stage 3 – Approval phase of policy development or review
Delivery
date
Audience
Action / Objective
Channel
Responsible
Status
Responsible
Status
Stage 4 – Dissemination phase of policy development or review
Delivery
date
Audience
Action / Objective
Channel