Factsheet

A short document (typically 1–2 pages) that concisely and simply conveys the facts of a situation, decision or outcome. Often, factsheets have a visual element to complement the message being communicated. This helps the comprehension of information, especially where the target audience may have varying levels of literacy or English capability.

Factsheets can be useful when trying to quickly convey facts in order to garner support, request input, or communicate after a decision has been made. They can be particularly useful in cases where a policy or service is controversial, represents a significant change, or will have a big impact on a group.

Immediate

• Increased visibility of changes or proposed solutions.
• Doesn’t require any time or effort from the public.
• Can be low-cost yet high-reach, especially if distributed digitally.

Long term

• Improved reception of the final output.

• Often goes unread unless supported by a good promotional strategy and/or a clear audience need.
• There is a lack of, or limited opportunities for, feedback, and what feedback there is will require the reader to take additional steps.

• Keep the most important information at the top of the factsheet or otherwise prioritise.
• Spend some time considering the best flow of information with which to tell your story.
• Put sources in footnotes to avoid cluttering up your precious space.
• Try to limit each factsheet to the communication of just one message. If there’s too much information, consider breaking it up into a series of factsheets or using another format entirely.
• Make sure your sources are reputable and verify/cross-check as much as possible.
• Where appropriate, fractions can often be more meaningful/understandable to audiences than percentages; for example, one-third versus 32%.