A three-day orientation and work plan meeting for VDSA was held at ICRISAT-Patancheru from 6-8 August 2008. Village investigators and others were briefed about the village dynamics proposal that was under preparation for submission. Presentations were made by Drs MCS Bantilan, P Parthasarathy Rao, VR Kiresur, KPC Rao, PS Birthal, Naveen P Singh, R Padmaja, Ravi Chand and GV Anupama. The discussions centered around the initiative, motivation to embark on it, strategy for implementation and key players and partners. The role of the investigators in collecting quality data was emphasized throughout the meeting. Also discussed were the purpose of the initiative, feedback from the field, guidelines for collecting high quality data, critical issues in data collection and entry, essential instruments and modules, innovations in VDSA and the development of work plans.