This document presents the Institutional Strategic Plan (ISP) defined by the National Institute of Agricultural Research Uruguay (INIA) for 2016- 2020, which is based on a medium-term vision to 2030. Each instance of the ISP development is in itself a performance review, an opportunity to reflect on the future and a formal commitment that the institution makes before its stakeholders to redesign and adjust the institutional strategy. However, planning itself is a permanent and dynamic process that constitutes a critical tool to face uncertainties and adapt to constant changes in the global and national context.