Regarded as the key tool for the successful implementation of the EUROSAI Strategic Plan (ESP) 2017-2023, the Operational Plan (OP) was approved and brought into force by the 49^th EUROSAI Governing Board (GB) Meeting held in Gdansk/Poland, 14-15 March 2018. The ESP approved in May 2017 has been developed through this project-based and result oriented OP, which is now in effect and strives to remain a simple, precise and to the point document.

In order to ensure an integrated approach regarding the operationalisation of the ESP, the OP is designed to be composed of 7 main parts; 2 of which are based on the projects related to the Strategic Goal 1 (SG 1) and Strategic Goal 2 (SG 2) and the other 5 parts depict the projects of the GB Governance Portfolios. Those projects included in the work programmes of the WGs and TFs and with a direct linkage to the SG 1 & SG 2  in terms of their desired outcomes, have also been included in the OP. This consolidated structure will hopefully allow us to see better the big picture of the achievement of the goals and, ultimately, the success referring to the implementation of the ESP.

With its new integrated structure, the OP paves the way for a true division of responsibility as well as the exchange of expertise and networks, especially among the GB members. Via the Co-leadership of SGs and the ownership of governance portfolios, it facilitates the leadership role and engagement of individual Governing Board members for the operationalisation and implementation of the strategic plan and for strategic decision-making.

At present, the Co-leaders of SG 1 “Professional cooperation” are the SAIs of Czech Republic and Germany while the Co-leaders of SG 2 “Institutional Capacity Development” are the SAIs of Poland and Sweden.

Regarding the governance portfolios, they have been distributed as follows among the Governing Board members:

• The Turkish Court of Account- Overall Governance and Culture Portfolio
• State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia- Communication Portfolio
• The Netherlands Court of Audit- Relations with Non-SAI External Stakeholders Portfolio
• The Spanish Court of Audit- Relations with other INTOSAI Regional Organizations Portfolio
• National Audit Office of Finland- Emerging Issues and Forward Thinking  Portfolio

Due to the fact that the new structure has a project-driven nature, the OP consists of many projects, some of which have already been started up or are just about to be initiated. Along with these projects, the OP also reveals some ‘possible projects’ which are still at the phase of development and are in need of either leaders or participants. In this sense, the publishing of the OP is deemed to be an important marketing tool as it will provide all members the opportunity to get involved in them, contributing to the participatory environment of EUROSAI.

It is beyond doubt that the OP, as one of the main working documents of the EUROSAI, will have a key role in the accomplishment of the ESP strategic goals and governance objectives. In this regard, all members are encouraged to consult the document in order to find out about the planned projects and, furthermore, to explore their SAIs’ interest and opportunities for active participation and further cooperation in this framework.