← The Policy Reform Toolkit

Policy Resources

Free policy guides, frameworks and toolkits from governments and international organisations, organised by each stage of a policy reform. Each one is free to use. They're grouped by the stages of the Policy Reform Toolkit checklist.

These links go to other organisations' websites. We check them regularly, but we don't control their content. Know a resource that should be here? Email admin@policyreformtoolkit.com.

DOMAIN 1

Develop an organisation strategy

DOMAIN 2

Define the problem you are trying to solve

DOMAIN 3

Set the objectives

DOMAIN 4

Undertake policy analysis

  • Regulatory Impact Assessment: Best Practice Principles(opens in a new tab)

    OECD · Guide · International

    International good practice for assessing the likely effects of alternative options, including when not to intervene. Free to read online.

  • Top Ten Behavioral Biases in Project Management: An Overview(opens in a new tab)

    Bent Flyvbjerg, University of Oxford (Project Management Journal) · Research · International

    Ten biases that push projects over budget, over time and under benefits, from strategic misrepresentation and optimism to anchoring and escalation of commitment. Draws on data from over 2,000 projects and argues the best fix is to base estimates on how similar projects actually turned out. Written about infrastructure, but it applies just as well to policy reforms.

  • The Green Book(opens in a new tab)

    HM Treasury · Guide · United Kingdom

    The UK's central guidance on appraising options: setting objectives, long-listing and short-listing options, and valuing costs, benefits and risks. Updated in 2026.

  • Australian Government Impact Analysis Framework(opens in a new tab)

    Office of Impact Analysis (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet) · Framework · Australia

    The impact analysis process in force from July 2026: a step-by-step approach to weighing a policy's intended and unintended effects and trade-offs before a decision.

  • Economics tools and guidance(opens in a new tab)

    Ministry for Regulation (New Zealand) · Toolkit · New Zealand

    A collection of practical tools, guidance and case studies on problem definition, options analysis and cost-benefit analysis for policy advisers.

  • Policy on Cost-Benefit Analysis(opens in a new tab)

    Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat · Framework · Canada

    What Canada requires in a cost-benefit analysis of a regulatory proposal, including a baseline, alternative options and an outline of the analysis report.

  • The AQuA Book(opens in a new tab)

    UK Government Analysis Function · Guide · United Kingdom

    How to plan, check and quality-assure analysis and models in proportion to what's at stake, with clear roles for the people who do, check and approve the work. Updated July 2025.

DOMAIN 5

Develop your policy design

  • The BASIC Toolkit(opens in a new tab)

    OECD · Toolkit · International

    A five-step method for behavioural projects (behaviour, analysis, strategies, intervention, change) with ethical guidelines for using behavioural insights responsibly.

  • EAST: four simple ways to apply behavioural insights(opens in a new tab)

    Behavioural Insights Team · Framework · United Kingdom, International

    A short, widely used framework: make the behaviour you want Easy, Attractive, Social and Timely. A quick check on any design that relies on people changing what they do.

  • Policy Tools(opens in a new tab)

    The Policy Project (DPMC, New Zealand) · Toolkit · New Zealand

    A library of policy methods, including design thinking, behavioural insights, futures thinking and community engagement, with advice on when each method fits.

  • Service Standard(opens in a new tab)

    UK Government (Government Digital Service) · Framework · United Kingdom

    Fourteen points for designing public services around what users need, from understanding users to testing and iterating. Useful whenever a policy relies on people using a service.

  • BETA guides and learning(opens in a new tab)

    Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government · Toolkit · Australia

    Free tools and courses on applying behavioural insights, including the 4D Framework, a Behaviour Discovery Tool and a guide to designing better government forms.

DOMAIN 6

Develop an implementation strategy

DOMAIN 7

Develop a communications strategy

DOMAIN 8

Develop a consultation strategy

  • OECD Guidelines for Citizen Participation Processes(opens in a new tab)

    OECD · Guide · International

    Ten steps for designing, running and evaluating a participation process, comparing eight methods from public consultation to citizens' assemblies.

  • Consultation principles(opens in a new tab)

    Cabinet Office · Guide · United Kingdom

    The UK government's short set of principles for public consultation: when to consult, how long for, who to involve and how to report back.

  • Best practice consultation(opens in a new tab)

    Office of Impact Analysis (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet) · Guide · Australia

    Principles for genuine, timely consultation: start early, keep it continuous, use plain language and allow enough time. Its references to the pre-July 2026 impact analysis process are out of date; the principles still apply.

  • Community engagement(opens in a new tab)

    The Policy Project (DPMC, New Zealand) · Toolkit · New Zealand

    Guides and tools for involving communities in policy design, including a guide to inclusive engagement with groups that are often not heard.

  • Better regulation toolbox(opens in a new tab)

    European Commission · Toolkit · European Union

    The European Commission's practical tools for each stage of law-making. Its stakeholder consultation chapter covers planning a consultation strategy and using the results.

DOMAIN 9

Develop a stakeholder strategy

DOMAIN 10

Develop a political strategy

DOMAIN 11

Keep a watching brief on progress

  • Improving Governance with Policy Evaluation(opens in a new tab)

    OECD · Research · International

    How 42 countries organise policy evaluation, and lessons on making evaluation good quality and actually used. Published 2020.

  • The Magenta Book(opens in a new tab)

    HM Treasury and Evaluation Task Force · Guide · United Kingdom

    The UK's central guidance on evaluation: planning it early, choosing methods, theories of change, and using the findings. Updated May 2026.

  • Commonwealth Evaluation Toolkit(opens in a new tab)

    Australian Centre for Evaluation (Treasury) · Toolkit · Australia

    An introduction to evaluation for newcomers, with templates and tools: why, when and how to evaluate, including impact evaluation.

  • Policy on Results(opens in a new tab)

    Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat · Framework · Canada

    Canada's requirements for performance information and evaluation, and how results should feed into management and spending decisions.

  • Making policy stick(opens in a new tab)

    Institute for Government · Research · United Kingdom

    How governments have kept long-term reforms on track across changes of minister and government, with lessons for protecting the gains. Published 2016.