Continuous Improvement and Innovation (CI&I) is both a management process and a management strategy. In this paper we describe how CI&I principles have been used in a strategic planning context by the research economists’ group in the NSW Department of Primary Industries. We provide some background on the development of CI&I as a management concept and describe the steps involved in implementing the CI&I process in this context. We conclude with some observations about the usefulness of this approach for planning in a government department.