Technology Needs Assessments

The primary purpose of the Technology Needs Assessments (TNAs) is to identify the technologies and technical know-how that the LDCs need to address key development challenges and, in the long term, assist them to develop the technological and innovative capabilities required to achieve growth, promote structural transformation, and attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The TNAs are policy tools designed to serve the following purposes:

1. Identify the specific sectors or economic activities in LDCs that require technological inputs or solutions.
2. Ensure that the technological solutions identified are appropriate and compatible with LDCs’ level of development and are aligned with their national development strategies.
3. Appraise the absorptive capacities of LDCs by reviewing the STI ecosystem in the LDCs, particularly the skills-base, technology policy, and the institutional and regulatory environment governing the national innovation system. The rationale for appraising the local absorptive capacities is to gauge the ability of the country to utilize and learn from transferred technologies and absorb and assimilate the technology locally through adaptation and upgrading.
4. Consult with key national stakeholders, particularly the private sector, to determine the technological needs of LDCs from a wider perspective.
5. Recommend technological solutions and the specific areas where STI-related capacity building is needed and could enable LDCs to address immediate development challenges and narrow the technological gap with more developed economies.

The TNAs are demand-driven, requested by the LDCs and conducted in close collaboration with the Ministries responsible for science, technology, and innovation and involve in-country relevant stakeholders, implemented in the past in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Commonwealth Secretariat and others.

Access the technology needs assessment brochure in English and in French.

If you have any inquiries, please contact Ms. Federica Irene Falomi, Head of Programme, at federica.falomi@un.org