Influencing Education Policy: New Philanthropy, Network Governance and Fast-Policy

This review essay brings Megan E. Tompkins-Stange's 2016 book "Policy Patrons: Philanthropy, Education Reform, and the Politics of Influence" into conversation with contemporary scholarship on philanthropic engagement in education policy. Rino Wiseman Adhikary writes in this review "Policy Patrons" presents an in-depth sociological account of how old and new philanthropic foundations in the US have been significantly shaping agendas and pursuing reforms in and through education policy, both at the federal and the state levels. While the roots of philanthropic involvement in education policy through donations, grantee management, and grassroots community engagement can be traced historically back to the post-World War II period, Tompkins-Stange reveals that the way these philanthropic actors now establish and instrumentalize their 'philanthropic foundations' to influence (education) policy has significant impact in the US context. Adhikary, describes this book as eloquently straight forward in language and analysis, and describes "Policy Patrons" as having provided a significant analysis of completely anonymized interview data, from which the theoretical framing, chapter titles, thematic headings and subheadings have emerged. Adhikary concludes the essay by saying the book offers original, productive, and significant contributions to the field of sociology. [This article reviews Megan E. Tompkins-Stange's "Policy Patrons: Philanthropy, Education Reform, and the Politics of Influence" (ED568742).]