Strategy Management for Saudi Government Entities: A Practical Guide from Vision 2030 to the Annual Plan

Most government entities in Saudi Arabia have a strategy document. Fewer have a strategy that runs: one where national priorities, the entity's objectives, the annual plan, the project portfolio and the KPIs stay connected as conditions change. Strategy management is the discipline that keeps those parts connected.

This guide sets out a practical strategy management cycle for public entities, from understanding the strategic context to reviewing and adapting the plan. It draws on the official framing published by Saudi Vision 2030 and by the National Center for Performance Measurement (Adaa), and links to those sources so your team can check the detail. It is written for strategy offices, planning and performance teams, and the leaders who sponsor them.

What strategy management covers in a government entity

Strategic planning produces the plan. Strategy management is everything that happens after: cascading objectives to units, turning them into operational plans and initiatives, measuring progress, deciding what to change, and documenting those decisions.

In the public sector, strategy management has some distinctive features:

• The mandate sets the boundaries. An entity's strategy starts from its legal mandate, not from a market opportunity.
• National priorities shape the objectives. Entities are expected to show how their objectives contribute to national direction.
• Many stakeholders, many reviewers. Leadership, sector bodies, oversight and performance bodies, partners and beneficiaries all have a stake in the plan.
• Accountability is formal. Decisions to change objectives, targets or initiatives need a clear approval trail.

The national context: Vision 2030, VRPs and three levels of indicators

Vision 2030 is organised around three pillars: a Vibrant Society, a Thriving Economy and an Ambitious Nation. According to the official Vision 2030 site, the Vision was cascaded into overarching, branch and strategic objectives to enable implementation through Vision Realization Programs (VRPs). The same site describes the VRPs as having roadmaps with approved delivery plans, focused on specific objectives and KPIs within five years.

The Ambitious Nation pillar is particularly relevant to strategy and performance teams: its published objectives include "Improve performance of government apparatus" and "Enhance performance of government entities".

The Vision is designed to unfold in five-year phases. The Vision 2030 Annual Report 2025 notes that the Vision enters its third phase in 2026, and that its performance indicators are defined across three levels: the first and second measure progress toward strategic objectives, and the third tracks the implementation of initiatives under the VRPs and national strategies.

For an entity's strategy team, the practical implication is straightforward. Each strategic objective in your plan should be able to show where it contributes to national, sector or programme objectives, where that applies to your mandate, and the KPIs you use should be consistent with that line of sight. Use the official objective wording on vision2030.gov.sa as the reference, not paraphrases.

A six-stage strategy management cycle

The stages below are a practical structure. Where Adaa's published performance measurement framework covers the same ground, we say so and link to it.

1. Understand the strategic context

Adaa's framework begins with understanding the strategic context: determining the entity's strategic priorities based on an analysis of its internal and external environment, so the current situation is understood and the need for change is supported.

In practice, this stage covers:

• the entity's mandate and any changes to it
• relevant national, sector and programme objectives
• an honest review of the previous plan's results
• stakeholder expectations, gathered through structured consultation
• internal capabilities, constraints and dependencies on other entities

Structured workshops and a stakeholder map help capture this input consistently. Masarkum's Stakeholder Management and Workshop Management modules are built for this kind of work.

2. Set direction: objectives and the strategy map

Translate the context into a small number of strategic objectives, each stated as an outcome. A strategy map, which arranges objectives by perspective and shows cause-and-effect links between them, helps leadership see the logic of the plan on one page. Frameworks such as the Balanced Scorecard and OKRs are both used in the public sector; choose one deliberately and apply it consistently.

For each objective, record:

• the outcome it targets and why it matters to the mandate
• its contribution to national or sector objectives, where applicable
• one or more outcome KPIs, with an owner
• the initiatives expected to move it

3. Align vertically and horizontally

Adaa's framework includes horizontal and vertical alignment, which it describes as transferring the ministry's strategy to public entities in order to unify goals, indicators and targets.

Inside an entity, the same logic applies at every level:

• Vertical alignment cascades entity objectives to sectors, departments and units, so every unit can see which objectives it serves.
• Horizontal alignment makes sure units that share an objective agree on the KPI definitions, targets and handovers, rather than each reporting its own version.

Alignment is where most strategy documents break down. A cascade that lives in slides cannot be checked; a cascade held as linked data can.

4. Translate strategy into operational plans, portfolios and projects

Objectives are delivered through two channels:

• Annual operational plans: recurring activities, each with an owner, a timeline and an operational KPI that traces back to a strategic objective.
• Initiatives, portfolios and projects: time-bound change efforts, prioritised against the objectives they serve and governed through stage approvals.

The test is traceability in both directions. From any objective you should be able to see the activities and projects delivering it; from any project you should be able to see which objective justifies it. Masarkum's Operational Plan Management, Portfolio Management and Project Management modules are designed around that link.

5. Measure, monitor and report

Adaa's framework describes dashboard development, in which the dashboard includes strategic objectives directed at actual results and KPIs developed in line with the entity's mandate, strategy and Vision 2030. It also describes monitoring and reporting, which it frames as knowing when the strategy, or one of its elements, is not working properly, or when internal or external conditions change.

That framing is useful: the purpose of monitoring is not to fill in a template but to notice when the strategy needs attention. For the detail of KPI design, measurement and reporting, see our pillar on KPI management for government entities and the step-by-step KPI guide for Saudi government entities.

6. Review, adapt and govern change

Adaa's framework closes with evaluation and improvement, including quarterly KPI updates and an annual strategy review. A workable internal rhythm:

• Monthly: operational plan and project status, handled by the units.
• Quarterly: objective-level performance review with leadership, with decisions recorded.
• Annually: a structured review of the strategy, the KPI set and the initiative portfolio, informed by the year's results and any change in the mandate or national priorities.

Changes to objectives, KPIs, targets or initiatives should go through a documented request and approval. This keeps the plan honest and lets anyone see why it changed.

Linking strategy to risk

Strategy and risk are often managed by different teams, in different tools. They should not be. A risk is, by definition, something that could stop an objective being achieved, so the risk register should reference the objectives it threatens, and objective reviews should look at the related risks.

For many entities, part of that risk picture is regulatory. For example, the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) publishes the Essential Cybersecurity Controls (ECC-2:2024), and the Digital Government Authority (DGA) publishes Digital Transformation Basic Standards and runs the Digital Transformation Measurement (Qiyas) for government entities. Read the current versions on nca.gov.sa and dga.gov.sa.

Masarkum's GRC Management module keeps risks alongside objectives and projects, and references frameworks such as NCA ECC and ISO 31000. Referencing a framework is not the same as meeting it; that assessment remains with your entity and the relevant authority.

Roles: who does what

Many entities house the cycle in a dedicated strategy management office or a combined strategy and performance unit. The name matters less than the mandate: the office needs the authority to run reviews, hold the methodology, and challenge objectives, KPIs and initiatives that no longer earn their place in the plan. It also needs a direct line to leadership, because its most useful output is a decision request, not a report.

Common pitfalls

• A plan with too many objectives. If leadership cannot recall them, units cannot prioritise them.
• Cascade by copy-paste. Units repeat entity objectives word for word instead of defining their own contribution.
• Initiatives with no objective. Projects survive on momentum long after their strategic case has gone.
• Reviews that only report. A quarterly review should end with decisions, owners and dates.
• Silent changes. Targets that move without a recorded decision undermine trust in the whole plan.
• Strategy and risk in separate worlds. Off-track objectives and rising risks are often the same story told twice.

A strategy management health check

Use these questions once a year, or whenever leadership changes, to test whether your strategy is being managed or only documented:

1. Line of sight. Can every unit name the strategic objectives it serves, and can each objective show its contribution to national, sector or programme objectives where applicable?
2. Focus. Is the number of objectives small enough for leadership to recall and prioritise?
3. Measurement. Does every objective have at least one outcome KPI with an approved definition, a baseline, a target and an owner?
4. Delivery link. Does every initiative, project and operational activity trace to an objective, and is there a reason recorded for any that do not?
5. Rhythm. Did quarterly reviews take place on schedule, and did each one end with recorded decisions?
6. Change control. Can you show who approved each change to an objective, KPI, target or initiative this year, and why?
7. Risk. Are the main risks linked to the objectives they threaten, and were they discussed in the same reviews?
8. Learning. Did the last annual review change anything: an objective retired, a KPI redefined, an initiative stopped?

A "no" to any of these is not a failure; it is the next improvement to make. Most entities find that the weakest answers are in delivery links and change control, because those depend on information that sits with many teams at once.

Where a platform fits

Masarkum is a Saudi-built, AI-native integrated management platform that connects strategy, performance, delivery and governance. For the cycle in this guide, the core modules are Strategy Management for building and cascading the plan, Strategy Performance for KPIs and reporting, and Operational Plan Management for the annual plan. Delivery and governance work sits in Portfolio Management, Project Management, Task Management, GRC Management, Stakeholder Management, Workshop Management and Workflow Management, on the same data.

AI features support the people running the cycle: Strategy Chat answers questions about your own objectives and KPIs; the Strategy Simulator runs what-if scenarios before a commitment is made; and AI Insight surfaces recommendations against objectives and KPI trends. Generated outputs are designed to go through human review before approval.

A platform does not write your strategy. It keeps the strategy connected, current and auditable once you have written it. To see that on your own plan, request a demo.

Related guides

• KPI Management for Government Entities: Design, Measurement and Reporting