Example: Rhode Island’s Strategic Plan for Education

Overview

Rhode Island was one of the first states in the country to officially announce its commitment to blended learning. To develop a 5-year statewide plan for public education (including blended learning), the Rhode Island Department of Education turned strategic planning on its head: they put the decision-making authority for the plan in the hands of a 26-member community team. Their process engaged nearly 15,000 Rhode Islanders, produced five plan prototypes, and in the end, one of the nation’s first examples of using the power of design thinking to develop state-level public policy. The Rhode Island Department of Education was eager to share this successful process with other states, and developed an open website that offers the narrative, process, and key materials Rhode Island used for this design-based strategic planning effort.