Deliberative Policymaking

“Grant thoughtfully lays out why current education policy has always been at risk of poor outcomes. Her introduction of deliberative policymaking opens the door for those in the position of creating and improving education policy to start with a new paradigm for more successful policy implementation.” - Denise Forte, president and CEO, The Education Trust“Elizabeth Grant draws on a long career in education policymaking. Her book melds this on-the-ground experience with deep insights drawn from many theoretical and practical perspectives to create a new approach to policymaking, built on far more open deliberation, turning policymaking into a learning exercise with lots of opportunities for testing approaches to improve the fit between what is needed and policies. She also puts implementation center stage—where it belongs—but is all too often neglected in today’s policy process.” - Mark Schneider, former director, Institute of Education Sciences, US Department of Education“At a time when Americans feel increasingly alienated from each other, and when consensus on key issues seems all but impossible, Elizabeth Grant has written a book that doubles down on the democratic process. Grant leverages decades of academic and practical experience to chart a course for education policymaking that is inclusive, humble, and grounded in collective learning. Deliberative Policymaking shows that the best policies are those that draw on diverse experiences, foster debate, and embed opportunities to test and revise our assumptions. Most importantly, Grant reminds us that politics need not be a dirty word, but a process by which we negotiate differences in a world that is increasingly interdependent.” - Joshua L. Glazer, associate professor of education policy, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, George Washington University