Policymaking too often happens among small groups of people, behind closed doors, which can lead to poorer design, worse outcomes, and a sense that government is a force to be reckoned with rather than a partner in problem solving. The New Practice Lab has long championed for participatory planning--bringing impacted people directly into policymaking and decision-making conversations and empowering them to shape the outcomes. This brief explores the benefits to participatory planning and why policymakers in early childhood education might pursue it. These lessons learned come from the Early Care and Education (ECE) Implementation Working Group. Other briefs created from the working group's findings include "Family Outreach for Early Education Enrollment: A Powerful Programmatic and Political Tool," which explores the role of family outreach in enrollment, and "Connecting More Families to Early Care and Education Programs through Streamlined Enrollment," which explores how to make enrollment as seamless as possible once families understand their early childhood opportunities