Like all institutions in the Swiss higher education sector, the PSI is subject to a four-year planning cycle. The Federal Council's dispatch on the promotion of education, research and innovation (ERI dispatch) is the Confederation’s key planning instrument in the field of education and also includes the Federal Council's strategic objectives for the ETH Domain. The ETH Board addresses these objectives into its strategic planning and formulates the corresponding priorities for teaching, research, knowledge transfer and prioritised large-scale projects for the whole ETH Domain. Taking these overarching processes into account, PSI sets its strategic priorities for research and investment for the coming four-year period and, with the participation of all organisational units, draws up its development plan, which is then submitted to the ETH Board for approval. The PSI's priorities for the 2025–2028 planning period are summarised in the document «Strategic Outlook».