White paper

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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.

he Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
, "white paper" is an informal name for a parliamentary paper enunciating government policy; in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
these are mostly issued as "Command paper

Command paper

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Encyclopedia

Government white papers

In the Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations

United Kingdom

Command paper

A command paper is a document issued by the United Kingdom government and presented to Parliament of the United Kingdom. White papers, green papers, treaty, reports from Royal Commissions and various government bodies can all be released as command papers, so-called because they are presented to Parliament formally 'By Elizabeth II of the Uni...
s". 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 paper

Green paper

In Britain, other similar Commonwealth jurisdictions , and the Republic of Ireland, a green paper is a tentative government report of a proposal without any commitment to action; the first step in changing the law....
s, 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

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Treaties of the European Union and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
are documents containing proposals for European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
action in a specific area. They sometimes follow a green paper

Green paper

Churchill White Paper, 1922
Churchill White Paper, 1922

The Churchill White Paper of 3 June 1922 clarified how Britain viewed the Balfour Declaration, 1917. That Declaration announced the United Kingdom intent to aid the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people", wording which became controversial....
, United Kingdom
White Paper of 1939
White Paper of 1939

The White Paper of 1939, also known as the MacDonald White Paper after Malcolm MacDonald, the United Kingdom Secretary of State for the Colonies who presided over it, was a White paper issued by the British government under Neville Chamberlain in which the idea of partitioning the Palestine , as recommended in the Peel Commission of 19...
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
White Paper on Defence

The White Paper on Defence is a white paper of the Canadian government which was table d on March 26, 1964. The white paper was responsible under Paul Theodore Hellyer and Louis-Joseph-Lucien Cardin....
, 1964, led to the unification/creation of the modern Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces." This singular institution consists of thre...
1966 Defence White Paper
1966 Defence White Paper

The 1966 Defence White Paper was a major review of the United Kingdom's defence policy brought about by the Labour Party government under the Prime Minister Harold Wilson....
, cancelled new British aircraft carriers and the BAC TSR-2
BAC TSR-2

The British Aircraft Corporation Tactical Strike/Reconnaissance 2 was an ill-fated Cold War strike aircraft developed by the British Aircraft Corporation for the Royal Air Force in the early 1960s....
aircraft
In Place of Strife
In Place of Strife

In Place of Strife was a UK Government white paper written in 1969. It was a proposed act to curb the power of trade unions in the United Kingdom, but was never passed into law....
, 1969
1969 White Paper
1969 White Paper

The 1969 White Paper was a Government of Canada policy document in which the then Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development , Jean Chr?tien, proposed the abolition of the Indian Act of Canada, the rejection of Aboriginal land claims, and the assimilation of First Nations people into the Canadian population with the status of other...
, 1969 (cancelled in 1971), to abolish the Indian Act in Canada and recognize First Nations
First Nations

First Nations is a term of ethnicity that refers to the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor M?tis people....
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

Technology

Technology is a broad concept that deals with an animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects an animal species' ability to control and adapt to its Natural environment....
and products

Product (business)

The noun product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce from the Latin produce, lead or bring forth....
.

These types of white papers are almost always marketing communications

Marketing communications

'Marketing Communications' are messages and related media used to communicate with a market. Those who practice advertising, branding, direct marketing, graphic design, marketing, packaging, promotion , publicity, sponsor , public relations, sales, sales promotion and online marketing are termed marketing communicators, marketing commun...
documents 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 favourable to the company authorizing or sponsoring the paper. Such white papers are often used to generate sales leads, establish thought leader

Thought leader

Thought leader is a buzzword or article of jargon used to describe a futurist or person who is recognized among their peers and mentors for innovation ideas and demonstrates the confidence to promote or share those ideas as actionable distilled insights ....
ship, 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

External links

EU glossary
Michael Stelzner.