It describes the framework for National Technical Assistance Projects, conceived within the framework of the Jodhpur Initiatives, a long-term inter-agency programme for the promotion of cultural industries in the Asia-Pacific region, as a strategy for poverty reduction and community regeneration.

The document is intended to inform the formulation of projects and activities for the collection and analysis of statistical data on cultural industries at the national level. It has been developed through contributions and repeated review by the UN Inter-agency Technical Working Group on Cultural Industries Statistics, composed of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Institute of Statistics (UIS), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).