white paper

A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that often addresses problems and how to solve them. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions. They are often used in politics and business.

Government white papers

In the Commonwealth of Nations, "white paper" is an informal name for a parliamentary paper enunciating government policy; in the United Kingdom these are mostly issued as "Command papers". White papers are issued by the government and lay out policy, or proposed action, on a topic of current concern. Although a white paper may on occasion be a consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. By contrast, green papers, which are issued much more frequently, are more open ended. These green papers, also known as consultation documents, may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation or they may set out proposals on which the government wishes to obtain public views and opinion.

White papers published by the European Commission are documents containing proposals for European Union action in a specific area. They sometimes follow a green paper released to launch a public consultation process.

For examples see the following:

• Churchill White Paper, 1922, United Kingdom
• White Paper of 1939 calling for the creation of a unified Palestinian state and a limited Jewish immigration and ability to purchase land.
• White Paper on Full Employment, 1945, Commonwealth of Australia
• White Paper on Defence, 1964, led to the unification/creation of the modern Canadian Forces
• 1966 Defence White Paper, cancelled new British aircraft carriers and the BAC TSR-2 aircraft
• In Place of Strife, 1969
• 1969 White Paper, 1969 (later abandoned), to abolish the Indian Act in Canada and recognize First Nations as the same as other minorities in Canada, rather than distinct groups

Commercial white papers

Since the early 1990s, the term "white paper" has also come to refer to documents used by businesses as a marketing or sales tool. For example, many white papers today reveal the benefits of particular technologies and products.

These types of white papers are almost always marketing communications documents designed to promote a specific company's solutions or products. As a marketing tool, these papers will highlight information favourable to the company authorizing or sponsoring the paper. Such white papers are often used to generate sales leads, establish thought leadership, make a business case, or to educate customers.

There are three main types of commercial white papers:

• Business-benefits: Makes a business case for a certain technology or methodology
• Technical: Describes how a certain technology works
• Hybrid: Combines high-level business benefits with technical details in a single document

Additional reading

• Stelzner, Michael (2007). Writing White Papers: How to capture readers and keep them engaged. Poway, California: WhitePaperSource Publishing. pp. 214. ISBN 9780977716937. 
• Bly, Robert W. (2006). The White Paper Marketing Handbook. Florence, Kentucky: South-Western Educational Publishing. pp. 256. ISBN 9780324300826. 

References

• White paper EU glossary

See also

• Green paper
• Persuasive writing