lay the groundwork

1.
InternationalAmerican EnglishBritish Englishneutralformal
- To perform the preliminary work or preparations necessary to enable or facilitate a subsequent project, action, or development.
- To create the foundational conditions or arrangements on which future activities or decisions can be built.
2.
Internationalneutralformal
- To establish a legal, evidentiary, or institutional basis that makes a later action, claim, or process possible or more likely to succeed.

Examples: