- Complete a Policy Proposal Form and submit it for approval to the relevant Policy Approval Bodies. The Policy Proposal outlines what the policy is about and why UCD should have the policy. It also enables the approval body to consider the implications of policy at an early stage and to promote cooperation and consultation during the development.
- Complete and submit an Equality Impact Assessment Form together with your Policy Proposal. Guidelines for the EDI Impact Assessment are provided by the UCD EDI Group.
- Conduct a policy risk assessment based on the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The UCD Data Protection Officer provides guidelines for GDPR.
Step 1: Identify need and Submit Proposal
Step 1: Identify need and Submit Proposal
The first step in any policy development should be identifying whether a university policy is the best mechanism to address the issue at hand. Before you submit a proposal to develop a new policy read through the Policy Proposal Form and ask yourself the following questions:
- Does the Policy already exist? Is the issues already covered by existing (opens in a new window)University Statutes, Regulations or Policies?
- Would the Policy apply to the University as a whole?
- Could the issue be addressed in any other way, such as revising an existing policy?
- Could other document types work better for the issue at hand (document types outlined in the (opens in a new window)Policy Management Framework, page 2: list of policy instruments)?
If you need to review an existing policy, you should first establish whether the review requires committee approval. The policy processes outlined on the Policy Toolkit homepage will help you establish the required steps for your review.
- To help you draft the Policy Proposal:
- Look over the note on identifying and engaging Policy Stakeholders
- Consider existing (opens in a new window)University Policies to identify related policies and other documents.
- Read through Step 7 on implementation to ensure resource needs and implementation issues are adequately assessed.
The relevant policy approval body will consider the policy proposal and may:
- Approve the proposal to develop a new policy or review an existing policy; or
- Decline the proposal, giving a rationale for the decision.