On 19 March, the Institute of Science, Technology and Society held a training seminar on Policy Oriented Post-disaster Needs Assessments (POPNA) in Meeting Room 502. The training seminar, which is an important part of the CASTED survey project on the post-disaster development in the areas affected by the Wenchuan earthquake, is jointly organized by CASTED, the Norwegian Research Foundation Fafo and the Representative Office of the United Nations Development Programme in China. A presentation on the design philosophy and operation method of the POPNA tool jointly developed by three institutions was given at the meeting, and suggestions on the improvement of POPNA were collected from the participants through practical training, exchange and discussion. There were nine participants in the training seminar, including local government staff from Yunnan, Guangxi and Gansu, as well as project officers from World Vision Conference and One Foundation. At the meeting, the participants also shared their experience in emergency relief, post-disaster reconstruction, poverty alleviation and new countryside construction. Ms. Marte Torskenas, Development Counsellor of the Norwegian Embassy in China, was invited to attend the meeting and delivered a speech. During the meeting, Liang Yingda, Party Secretary of CASTED, met with Ms. Torskenas, and Mr. Jon Pendersen and Ms. Mona Christophersen from Fafo, and expressed the willingness to further strengthen research cooperation with the Norwegian side.