NSET's key strategy is mobilising the community to be aware of their vulnerabilities to earthquakes, and to develop and implement organised approaches to manage and minimise earthquake risks within the buildings in which they live, learn, and work. Community participation is at the forefront: "Throughout the whole process, we insist on involving the communities, as it is our belief that genuine and long term improvement can only take place if the local communities take ownership of the problems and solutions."

Examples of specific NSET activities and projects include:

• School Earthquake Safety Programme (SESP) - Held concurrently with work to retrofit or reconstruct school buildings, earthquake awareness seminars and workshops are designed to educate district education officials, school committees, principals and teachers, parents and students, and the local community at large. Local masons receive on-the-job training on earthquake-resistant construction from NSET's engineers and masons.
  
  
• Shake Table Demonstration - This low-tech tool is designed to raise awareness and disseminate information on earthquake-resistant construction. In order to demonstrate traditional building models with and without seismic safety elements, NSET hosts a public forum in which two 1/10th scaled model buildings made of non-standard material such as stone, wood, brick, and block are placed on a tabletop of an improvised shake-table, operated manually. The models look alike and are made of the same material, but one is constructed in a conventional method (without using earthquake-resistant elements) while the other uses simple quake-resistant technology. The models are subjected to incremental virtual shaking on the table, with the aim of demonstrating the weaknesses of the conventional construction model while showing the mechanism of resistance and the effectiveness of the earthquake-resistant features in the other model. The idea is that, by comparing the damage, community members, local craftsman, and engineers can learn about the effectiveness of the simple techniques of safer construction.
  
  
• Earthquake Safety Day (ESD) - January 15 - Every year, in coordination with the ESD National Committee, NSET organises a variety of activities that extend for many days. ESD's centrepiece is the Earthquake Safety Exhibition and Symposium, which involves presentations and discussions about how to enhance the role of communities, academic institutions, and contractors in increasing awareness about earthquake risk reduction. Among other events are a public broadcast of earthquake safety message by the Prime Minister; an awareness rally through the streets of Kathmandu; a national meeting with the government ministers; a children's essay/painting competition; and a street drama on earthquake safety. As part of ESD in 2004, NSET organised The National Workshop on Role of Mass Media in Disaster Management in partnership with the National News Agency and Action Aid Nepal. Over 50 journalists working in the print, electronic and TV media in Nepal participated in the workshop, which led to the creation of a set of recommendations for an enhanced and effective role of the media in disaster management in Nepal.
  
  
• Environmental Mapping Programme - In 3 municipalities, NSET gathered data and information about demography, land usage, housing, sewage and transport infrastructures, air and water quality, and noise level. Potential problems were identified, such as possibility of landslide. These findings were presented at a workshop to local officials and community leaders and technical professionals from government and non-government agencies; together, personnel identified priority areas for development.
  
  
• Dissemination of information - Channels of communicating non-structural hazards and ways of mitigating them include printed materials, radio broadcasts, and the Internet. First, NSET has created publications - in both English and Nepali - that address different groups. These materials include brochures, posters, calendars, stickers, manuals, handbooks, and booklets. Second, NSET carries out a weekly half-hour radio broadcast on Sagarmatha Radio. Third, the NSET website provides information on upcoming trainings and exchange programmes, as well as information on earthquakes in Nepal (including steps to take to prepare for an earthquake).

Emergency.

According to NSET, results of the School Vulnerability Survey on 695 school buildings within the Kathmandu Valley showed that 66% of buildings surveyed would collapse if subjected to Intensity IX shaking on the Medvedev-Sponheuer Karnik Intensity Scale. This translates to more than 400 school buildings.

In 2004, NSET was selected as a Laureate for the Tech Museum Awards 2004 for Shake Table. The technology has been demonstrated in Iran, India, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Japan; NSET plans to share it at the Tech Museum (USA).