A white paper is a 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 used in politics and in business. The white papers published by corporations are usually available from their websites.

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 http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/brwh1922.htm (10 June 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)
• The White Paper to abolish the Indian Act in Canada and recognize First Nations as the same as other minorities in Canada, rather than a distinct group (1969, cancelled in 1971)
• The White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue, adopted by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers in May 2008

Commercial white papers

Since the mid 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 and are designed to promote a specific company's solutions or products. As a marketing tool, it is important to note that these papers will always highlight information favorable to the company authoring 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. White papers, when written objectively, are often regarded as a credible source of information. However, in practice, they are rarely written objectively, rather they are used to disguise marketing propaganda as academic research.

For examples see the following:

• If Japan can... Why can't we? (1980), introducing the methods of W. Edwards Deming to American managers.

Production

Because of their persuasive nature, white papers should be carefully crafted to avoid the perception of selling something. This can be easily accomplished by inserting key educational content that is relevant to the intended readers. White papers should focus on the needs of readers, rather than the specific solution suggested by the paper's sponsor.

The book Writing White Papers explains, "leading with problems or needs early in your white paper is a very powerful method to gain the interest of your readers."

Typical content for a white paper includes sections on:

• Market drivers
• Problem development
• Historical overviews
• Generic introduction to the solution
• Benefits
• Examples
• What to look for in an ideal solution
• Ideal solution

References

• White paper EU glossary
• Stelzner's White Paper on White Papers

See also

• Green paper
• White book
• Persuasive writing

bs:Bijela knjiga da:Hvidbog de:Weißbuch fr:Livre blanc ko:?? hr:Bijela knjiga id:Buku putih it:White paper nl:White paper ja:?? nl:White paper pl:Bia?a ksi?ga ru:White paper sh:Bijela knjiga fi:White paper tr:Beyaz kitap zh:???