AbstractThe effective formulation of S&T policies requires a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the national infrastructure upon which development capabilities are to be built. Although many developing countries claim to have initiated action to meet this needy current efforts appear to focus their attention mainly on the allocation patterns of R&D expenditure and the distribution and deployment patterns of S&T personnel. While such information is certainly useful, it is imperative that policy-makers and planners are also provided with additional information on critical issues related to the technological attributes of national production systems and the S&T climate.This paper outlines a preliminary framework that can be used to provide more comprehensive information to S&T policy-makers and planners on the national science and technology base. An indicative case study based on the Sri Lankan situation is used to illustrate this framework.