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A 'white paper' is an authoritative report. White papers are used to educate customers, collect leads for a company or help people make decisions. They can also be a government report outlining policy.

Contents

Government papers

Commercial white papers

White paper production

Famous white papers

References

See also

Government 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.
As examples see the following:

★ ''Churchill White Paper, 1922'' [1] (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.

★ ''Advancing the National Interest'' (2003, Commonwealth of Australia)

Commercial white papers

More recently, the term white paper has also come to refer to documents that argue non-governmental positions as well. For example, many white papers today expose 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 it relates to the issue or topic examined. 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 while minimizing any negative aspects related to the company's involvement with the issue, product or technology. Today the commercial white paper is the most common type of white paper. Such white papers are often used to generate sales leads, establish thought leadership, or educate customers - this is quite different from the original use of white papers.
Examples of commercial white papers:

★ Windows 2000 Kerberos Authentication (9 July 1999, Microsoft)

★ Motorola Push-to-Talk (22 April 2004, Motorola)

White paper production

Because of their persuasive nature, white papers should be carefully crafted to avoid the perception of salesmanship. This can be easily accomplished by inserting key educational content that is relevant to the intended readers. White papers should begin by focusing 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 might include:

★ Market Drivers

★ Problem Development

★ Historical Overviews

★ A Generic Introduction to the Solution

★ Benefits

★ What to Look for in an Ideal Solution

Famous white papers

★ ''White Paper on Defence'' (1964) merged the Canadian military into one unified command structure

★ ''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)

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

★ 1966 Defence White Paper - cancelled new British aircraft carriers and the BAC TSR-2 aircraft

★ Cell Contamination by Roland Nardone

References

★ White paper EU glossary

★ Stelzner's White Paper on White Papers

See also

★ Green paper

★ Audio Whitepaper