Kuala lumpur: The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) handed over the Institutional Capability Development Plan for the National Productivity Centre of Cambodia to the Royal Government of Cambodia in an official ceremony in Phnom Penh on July 22.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the report was formally handed over by APO Secretary-General, Dr. Indra Pradana Singawinata, to the Cambodian Minister of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, Hem Vanndy. Developed with APO support, the Institutional Capability Development Plan (ICDP) provides a structured pathway for strengthening the institutional capability of the National Productivity Centre of Cambodia (NPCC), building on the APO-supported National Productivity Master Plan introduced in 2018.
The handover comes at a crucial time for Cambodia as the country prepares to graduate from least developed country status in 2029 and seeks to sustain competitiveness via productivity, innovation, digital transformation, green growth, industrial upgrading, and economic resilience. In this context, a stronger NPCC will be essential to translate national productivity priorities into practical services, measurable results, and sustained improvements for enterprises, public institutions, and other stakeholders.
The development plan sets out three mutually reinforcing reform categories: strengthening institutional and governance foundations; enhancing organizational systems and human capabilities; and improving service effectiveness, stakeholder engagement, and results-based management. These categories are supported by 10 reform actions and a three-year capability pathway designed to support the NPCC's evolution into a more capable, trusted, evidence-driven, and future-ready national productivity institution.
The report emphasized that productivity improvement cannot be achieved through activity expansion alone, calling for a clearer institutional purpose, stronger governance and management systems, a more demand-responsive service model, deeper technical capabilities, stronger strategic partnerships, and a shift from measuring activities to demonstrating productivity results. Through the ICDP, the NPCC is expected to strengthen its ability to support firms and public institutions in identifying productivity constraints, adopting practical solutions, improving service quality, and using evidence to guide continuous improvement.