To make progress in education, countries must have a clear vision of their priorities and how to achieve them. Many ministries therefore prepare strategic plans, which reflect this vision and help mobilize people and resources. Planning in most countries is influenced by local history, organization of the state, and available resources, as well as specific challenges such as natural disasters or armed conflict. Regardless of the particular circumstances, educational authorities need to carry out essential tasks such as analysing the education system, formulating relevant policies, then implementing these and monitoring their implementation, often jointly with their national and international partners. Since its inception in 1963, IIEP has been supporting countries in their sector planning efforts, whether through training, research programmes, or technical collaboration. The 'Education Sector Planning Working Papers' series is based on nearly five decades of experience, gathered from numerous country partnerships. Working Paper 2, Strategic Planning: Organizational arrangements, provides guidelines for the preparation process of an education sector strategic plan. It outlines the need for such plans, and the way to organize the planners, policy-makers and the technical staff in the ministries - defining their roles and responsibilities and the mobilization of necessary resources. The Paper also highlights the importance of adopting a participatory approach so as to involve the different stakeholders in the planning process. Other Working Papers already available in this series include: Strategic Planning: Concept and rationale (Working Paper 1) Strategic Planning: Techniques and methods (Working Paper 3)