Review of the strategic planning function in the United Nations system (JIU/REP/2026/4)

The Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) has released its report on the strategic planning function in the United Nations system (JIU/REP/2026/4), prepared by Inspectors Mohanad Al-Musawi and Tesfa Alem Seyoum. The review examines the policies, procedures and practices that support corporate-level strategic planning across all 28 JIU participating organizations.  

The review finds that strategic planning has become a central management function across the United Nations system. It plays an increasingly important role in linking mandates, resources, performance management, reform initiatives and institutional transformation. At the same time, strategic planning has not evolved at the same pace across all organizations, resulting in significant differences in maturity, capacity and effectiveness throughout the system. 

A major finding is that the institutional foundations of strategic planning remain uneven. While most participating organizations have established formal mandates for strategic planning, some continue to operate without explicit legislative guidance. Fewer than half have adopted stand-alone strategic planning policies, relying instead on dispersed procedures and informal guidance. The review also found that the strategic planning function is generally more influential when it is positioned close to executive leadership, where it can more effectively coordinate and influence organization-wide priorities., 

The review highlights persistent challenges in aligning strategic ambitions with available resources. Across the system, organizations face growing pressures from expanding mandates and finite budgets. In many cases, planning and budgeting functions remain insufficiently integrated, limiting the ability of strategic plans to influence resource allocation and operational priorities. The widespread use of earmarked funding further reduces flexibility and makes it more difficult for organizations to direct resources towards collectively agreed strategic objectives. 

These challenges are compounded by uneven investment in the planning function itself. Staffing levels and financial support for strategic planning vary considerably across organizations, ranging from well-developed planning structures to entities with little or no dedicated capacity. Inconsistent accounting practices and limited transparency regarding the actual costs of planning functions make cross-organizational comparisons challenging. Many organizations further report shortages of qualified personnel, hiring restrictions and reliance on temporary staff. 

The review identifies significant capacity gaps in several areas that are becoming increasingly important for modern strategic planning, including data analytics, digital literacy and risk-sensitive planning. Existing training programmes often focus primarily on results-based management and do not consistently provide the broader competencies required for forward-looking, evidence-based planning. Staff turnover and the loss of institutional knowledge further exacerbate these challenges. 

The review also finds that many organizations have yet to fully modernize their planning methodologies and supporting systems. Results frameworks frequently lack annual milestones, making it more difficult to monitor progress and adjust implementation in a timely manner. Fragmented and non-interoperable digital systems continue to create inefficiencies, requiring extensive manual reconciliation of planning, monitoring and enterprise resource planning data. Although risk management practices are widely established, they are often implemented separately from strategic decision-making and resource allocation processes. 

At the same time, the review identifies encouraging examples of innovation. A growing number of organizations are incorporating strategic foresight, horizon scanning, theory of change approaches, scenario analysis and artificial intelligence-enabled analytics into their planning processes. However, adoption remains uneven, and many organizations have yet to systematically integrate these emerging methodologies into their strategic planning frameworks. 

The review further finds that most organizations struggle to assess the effectiveness of strategic planning as a management function. While organizational performance is routinely monitored through broader results frameworks, few entities have developed dedicated methodologies to evaluate how strategic planning contributes to institutional performance, long-term outcomes and organizational transformation. As a result, the direct value and impact of the planning function often remain difficult to demonstrate. 

To address these issues, the JIU makes nine formal recommendations: one addressed to the legislative organs and governing bodies and eight to the executive heads of participating organizations. These are complemented by 36 informal recommendations. Together, they seek to strengthen the legal foundations, governance arrangements, resource alignment, results management, transparency and long-term impact assessment of strategic planning across the United Nations system. 

The review produced two complementary outputs. The first is a concise report presenting the key findings, conclusions and recommendations, available in the six official languages of the United Nations. The second is an expanded report that provides detailed analysis, supporting evidence and annexes, available in English only.   

Read more:

Click here to access the report

Click here to access the expanded report

Click here to access the review highlights