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The objective of planning is to develop strategic guidance documents that reflect the priorities of agency which will enable it to align its direction with that of the Administration. Agency should examine current operation environment, considering legislation and mission requirement changes, and the need for efficient management of agency resources. Supporting the planning process is a series of strategic planning documents.

The focus should be on:

• 1. Defining/updating the agency’s strategy necessary to help achieve statutory missions.
• 2. Planning the integrated and balanced resources and manpower necessary to accomplish that strategy.

Planning process is a meticulous process that can begin as early as three years in advance of the budget year, and it can last sixteen months. The performance plan may be used to structure the budget submission, or at minimum, be part of the agency’s budget submission to OMB and to Congress. Changes in the plan should reflect changes to the program activities in the budget request. A performance plan establishes both near-term (1 year) and longer-term (3-5 years) goals for each program included in the Agency's budget request. The budget planning process should enable agency to focus on the performance and deliverables, and align the budget from the input and functions of the agency to the performance results.

The outputs of the planning process should demonstrate a clear connection between the budget requested for the upcoming fiscal year and the achievement of goals set forth in the strategic plan. Formal guidance helps to document this process and establishes a starting point from which the agency will formulate the budget. It should:

• 1. Depict a combined long-term view of the operation environment;
• 2. Help shape the investment blueprint for the future years;
• 3. Provide concise programming priorities and requirements in support of the strategic documents.

Agency strategic plan, performance plan and report can be found at performance.gov, and more detail information can be found on agency’s public website.

• The GPRA in 1993 had established strategic planning, performance planning, and reporting as a framework for agencies to communicate progress in achieving their missions.
• The GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 updates the Federal Government's performance management framework, helps agencies to focus on highest priorities and creating a culture where data and empirical evidence play a greater role in policy, budget, and management decisions, requires performance planning and reporting on a central website.

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