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This paper looks into the orientation and purposes of a Lifelong Learning Law that was sanctioned in the Basque Country in 2013, and whose formation process entailed a year-long consultation with different local stakeholders. Although the consideration of diverse agents - other than political players - in policy making is a very valuable element for the democratisation of public policy, grounded on examination of the Basque experience, the paper poses serious questions as to the extent to which non-state actors may take part in the policy and decision making processes, and underscores the differences in the scope and influence of their actions, perspectives and proposals. From a social construction framework, it is argued that the incorporation of experts to policy making belongs to a certain way of crafting policy, one that is top-down, while the idea of democratic policy making requires an inverse design; a bottom-up method that may enable the practitioners who implement programmes and strategies, and those receiving the educational services, to be co-participants and to share responsibility in the ideation and effectuation of education policy.

This paper looks into the orientation and purposes of a Lifelong Learning Law that was sanctioned in the Basque Country in 2013, and whose formation process entailed a year-long consultation with different local stakeholders. Although the consideration of diverse agents - other than political players - in policy making is a very valuable element for the democratisation of public policy, grounded on examination of the Basque experience, the paper poses serious questions as to the extent to which non-state actors may take part in the policy and decision making processes, and underscores the differences in the scope and influence of their actions, perspectives and proposals. From a social construction framework, it is argued that the incorporation of experts to policy making belongs to a certain way of crafting policy, one that is top-down, while the idea of democratic policy making requires an inverse design; a bottom-up method that may enable the practitioners who implement programmes and strategies, and those receiving the educational services, to be co-participants and to share responsibility in the ideation and effectuation of education policy.

Sustainable growth and development are intrinsically linked with the ways societal problems are thought of and addressed in public and private policy. However, at times when social and economic crises have shown the fragility of existing institutions and policies, it is important to debate how sustainability is – and could be – integrated into educational policy studies. We therefore begin by summarising the conditions under which the concept entered political debate and how it has influenced educational research. We then argue for a rethinking of its ontology: this, we suggest, can shed new light on its relationships with adult education policy and social justice.