S TRATEGIC P LAN 2016 – 2020

The Strategic Plan (SP) 2016-2020 sets out how for the period 2016-2020 the MRC will deliver the role established by the 1995 Mekong Agreement: to promote and coordinate sustainable development and management of the Mekong’s water and related natural resources.


I-Analysis of interest groups
Coming up with the Mission and the Vision of organisations is based on the ability to focus on interest groups and to address and prioritise their needs and expectations in a balanced way.
Hence, the first step towards creating the Strategic Plan has involved studying the Eustat interest groups.The analysis, which involved participants responding to questionnaires, has defined 34 interest groups, and these participants were classified using the following matrices: Power-Interest, Power-Influence, Impact-Influence and the Prominence Matrix.The matrix is established according to three factors: power, legitimacy and urgency.Of the four options proposed, the Power-Interest Matrix and the Prominence Matrix have been selected as the matrices that best reflect the priorities for planning and applying the Eustat strategies.
The needs and expectations of these groups can be found in the Basque Statistics Plan, which describes how they can be met by Eustat's activity.
The results obtained from the Power-Interest Matrix, which classifies the interest groups according to the power they possess and the degree of interest they show towards the strategies of the organisation, are summarised in the following chart:

INTEREST POWER
Power is defined as the capacity of the interest group to persuade, prompt or exert pressure on the organisation to take certain actions.
The matrix helps to ascertain the type of relationship needed with each kind of group, and it indicates how easy or difficult it will be to develop different policies.
The conclusions lead to a scenario which requires managing the satisfaction of the 4 interest groups (high power, low interest) and the 18 priority interest groups we have to work with very closely.The other groups can be managed with information policies (high interest, low power) or actions that require minimum effort from the organisation.
The other model for analysing interest groups -Power, Legitimacy and Urgency -is described by Mitchell, Agle andWood (1997, 1999), and this model enables us to identify up to six ways the interest groups behave, and it is based on the combination of these three characteristics.
The results of this Prominence Matrix are shown in the chart below: 13 groups have been identified that define the strategy of the Institute.In other words, they demonstrate the three characteristics of the matrix, and we must point out the fact no dormant interest groups have been detected.This classification of interest groups allows us to fix priorities in the analysis in terms of possible strategies, understand the potential of these groups to have an influence on the organisation as a whole and to rank what needs to be done in chronological order.

II-Internal Analysis
The internal analysis focuses on analysing the trends in the performance of the organisation.In turn, these trends allow us to understand current and potential capacities, and capacities that could potentially be improved.
To perform the internal analysis, an information collection matrix has been used that is based on the analysis of the existence and recurrence of management problems within the organisation, which is then contrasted with the strengths.
60 recurrent problems were identified during this process, and of these, 18 were prioritised according to their frequency.These were then analysed in order to: 1. Reach an agreement on them 2. Identify the possible origin of the recurrent problem in question 3. Identify the nature of its origin and the nature of its effect After analysing these problems, they were then assessed according to their origins and their effects.

Strategic in origin
Operative in origin 72% 11% 11% 5% In the origin/effect matrix, the high percentage of operative problems with a strategic effect is particularly noteworthy.We then use this information to consider the internal performance of Eustat and the resources needed to carry out the operations listed in the Basque Statistics Plan.

III-Situational Assessment
We have used M.E.Porter's 5 forces model as an analysis tool that revolves around 4 areas: "Threat of new entrants, Bargaining Power of Buyers, Bargaining Power of Suppliers and Threat of Substitutes", which combine to influence the strategic development of Eustat.
This tool was used to look for balances between the forces and to find out which of their characteristics have an influence on Eustat's current situation.
The findings and conclusions regarding Eustat were: 1.It has a brand identity 2. It operates in a sector with large entry obstacles 3.There are growing needs for statistical information 4.There are constant technological changes that require permanent attention 5.There is a relative concentration of respondents that is institutional in nature 6.There is a complex category of users with very specific demands 7. Unpredictable information demands 8.The need to prioritise institutional alliances 9. "Big data" opportunities as a source of statistical information 10.The need to adapt to new ways of disseminating information

IV-Mission, Vision and Values
Once the information has been analysed, we then progress towards developing the strategy and its policies of support.To do this, we proceed to update the Mission, Vision and Values statements so that they are in keeping with the conclusions reached.
The Mission identifies and integrates the key results to obtain as well as the key skills that are the basis for creating worthwhile services for each of the interest groups.

Eustat is the autonomous body of the Basque Country that develops, produces and distributes quality, objective and scientifically verified official statistical information for the Basque public administrations, social agents and society. Furthermore, it leads and coordinates the statistical activity of the Basque Country and cooperates within the Spanish and international sphere of statistics.
The Vision sets the goal that Eustat needs to move towards in the long term based on the strategies, policies and key results.It is the guide that allows you to select the current direction as well as future adjustments.It is also the basic criterion for the ongoing evaluation of the progress made throughout the strategic cycle.

Eustat's goal:
• To reinforce its leadership in the provision of statistical information oriented at the statistical needs of its users with high levels of satisfaction.
• To be an excellent and innovative body in the production and dissemination of statistics and in the methods it uses.
• To be an accessible, reliable, professional, independent and socially responsible organisation.
• To ensure its professionals feel part of the organisation, and to raise their level of satisfaction as well.
• To improve collaboration between the respondents, primarily with institutional respondents, in order to guarantee the quality of statistical operations.
Values are defined as the principles or philosophies that will guide the internal conduct of the organisation and its external relations.They set expectations when faced with dilemmas, and they set out what is desirable and what is not.They must have a direct effect on the conduct of members of the organisation.

VALUES
• Professional independence • Technical accuracy • Confidentiality • Ethics and integrity • Commitment to quality • Client orientation • Teamwork • Continuous improvement • Development of people

• Transparency of results
• Social responsibility