As a UNESCO Category II Centre of excellence for the West African sub-region, the IEPA is to build capacity of the work force in the education sector in the in the areas of Educational Planning, Leadership and Administration as well as mobilize international and regional experts to provide technical assistance and policy advice to support sector-wide planning and policy development.  Four key thrusts have been identified in this Strategic direction in response to the Vision, Mission, Core Values and the outcomes of the institutional analysis. These are:

• Building and strengthening the capacity of educational planners, administrators and leaders in the West African sub-region.

• Supporting education ministries within the sub-region to undertake sector-wide planning, policy development and implementation.

• Undertaking cutting-edge research and consultancy, and promoting innovation in education service delivery.

• Creating a platform for, and mobilising education experts in the sub-region to interrogate educational issues and provide policy advice to Ministries of Education of Member States.

Through these thrusts, the IEPA will contribute to UNESCO’s Strategic Programme Objectives for the sub-region as contained in the Priority Africa Programme and the Medium-Term Strategy (2016 – 2021).  The IEPA has adopted a matrix approach with each of the thrusts broken down into specific objectives, success criteria, key targets, key tasks, responsibility, funding source, and monitoring and evaluation.

The implementation of these Thrusts identifies responsible persons for each key task to ensure accountability and stewardship. The IEPA is to measure progress towards achieving the strategic objectives of the Institute by focusing on achieving the strategic thrusts targets and to provide biannual report to UNESCO on progress.