EOIR’s Approach to Strategic Planning

The EOIR FY 2024-2028 Strategic Plan provides an approach to determine “where we are,” “where we want to go,” “how will we get there,” and “how will we measure and track progress.” Each step involved collaborative work both internal and external to EOIR.

To determine “where we are,” EOIR established a strategic context through situational analysis. The strategic context helps explain, at a high level, the reason for EOIR’s existence (i.e., the reason for our creation), what it exists to achieve (i.e., our mission and vision, including our goals and objectives), and the powers and functions it may exercise to help achieve its goals. The situational analysis is the process of collecting, evaluating, and organizing information regarding EOIR’s internal and external environments. The situational analysis involves identifying EOIR’s mandates, assessing its current operating environment, conducting an enterprise risk assessment, conducting an evaluative capacity assessment, working to implement the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-435, 132 Stat. 5529 (Evidence Act) evaluative criteria (see Glossary), and aligning to the DOJ Strategic Plan. Details of EOIR’s situational assessment are found in the “EOIR’s Strategic Context” section of the Plan.

Based upon this strategic context, EOIR worked to determine “where do we want to go,” “how will we get there,” and “how will we measure and track progress.” First, EOIR set a strategic direction by identifying its mission, vision, and core values and by developing high‑level goals and objectives to accomplish its mission and vision while aligning to the DOJ Strategic Plan.

EOIR next began prioritizing processes, talent, and technology to address “how will we get there.” EOIR Leadership and subject matter experts brainstormed to develop the best strategies for achieving the desired outcomes. The developed strategies are intended to enable EOIR to deliver on its mission and meet the challenges inherent to the immigration landscape. 

Finally, to measure and track progress, EOIR has a suite of performance measures (e.g., agency priority goals (APG), key performance indicators (KPI), EOIR-mandated metrics, and other mission-centric performance metrics). Using these measures, EOIR’s future budget requests and annual operating plans will continue to reflect the themes and goals established in this plan.

Details of EOIR’s approach to setting strategic direction and performance can be found in the “Strategy and Performance” section of the Plan.