The main objective of the project is to strengthen the capacity of selected landlocked developing countries to develop Productive Capacity Indices (PCIs) and use them to support evidence based policy making. With this objective in mind, the project assists in defining the conceptual, methodological and statistical framework for identifying, selecting and validating indicators, which will be used in the construction of Productive capacity Indices. The project plans to work in 3 LLDCs: two from Africa, and another one from Asia. The tentative list includes: Botswana and Rwanda (from Africa) and Lao PDR (from the Asian Region). Main or direct beneficiaries of the project include: policymakers, advisors, experts, statistical offices, programme evaluation and monitoring agencies, R&D, science and technology centers, private sector and civil society actors, including academic and research institutions in beneficiary countries, regional organizations and relevant United Nations agencies. Country case studies will be undertaken in the three beneficiary countries with the view to assessing the state and condition of policy and institutional framework for building productive capacities. As key component of the project, series of national training and capacity building workshops - both at the expert level and policy level- will also be organized on conceptual and methodological and statistical issues as well as use of PCIs in the formulation and implementation of domestic development policies and strategies. As an additional important output, the project will have a web portal for online publication of the PCIs together with key indicators used in the construction of the indices. The project aims to assist beneficiary countries to put productive capacities at the center of their respective domestic development policies and strategies. The key lesson from the research and policy analysis work of UNCTAD is that placing the development of productive capacities at the heart of trade and development policies is essential for LLDCs to address their underdevelopment and to put them on the path of sustainable development. This calls for measuring and benchmarking productive capacities in LDCs through a careful identification of indicators. Therefore, the ultimate outcome of this project will be productive capacity indices (PCIs) constructed and validated for three beneficiary countries. In each beneficiary country, government officials responsible for statistical and development analysis will be trained in monitoring the PCIs, and in their use for generating and implementing development strategies. Through this process, institutions such as statistics divisions in target countries will have developed improved capacities to collect statistics and related information on productive capacities. In sum, the present project will strengthen the capacities of national institutions to make domestic policies centered on building productive capacities. It will improve the understanding of stakeholders as to how tools such as the productive capacities indices can be of crucial value in formulating and monitoring holistic development strategies. Building on its research and policy analysis work on productive capacities and its recent effort to benchmark such capacities, UNCTAD will be a lead agency for the implementation of the project. It will mobilize and sensitize relevant national institutions (stakeholders) such as ministries of economic development, planning, trade, national statistical offices, programme evaluation and monitoring agencies, R&D, science and technology centers private sector and civil society actors, including academic and research institutions in beneficiary countries. UNCTAD will also bring the expertise of cooperating institutions, including UN-Regional economic commissions to the fruition of the project.