A conceptual approach was described and used to identify priorities for the cooperating centres of the All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture (AICRPDA). The approach was based on AICRPDA centre information, soil available water, runoff estimates, and rainfall at each centre. Lines of equal runoff were derived from the runoff-rainfall curves of the major dryland soils. Two scenarios were described, one where vertisols are cropped during the rainy season and the second where they are left under fallowed conditions during the rainy season. Three water management zones were identified for each scenario: less than 100 mm of runoff, 100 to 260 mm of runoff and greater than 260 mm of runoff. Depending on the scenario, each AICRPDA centre was incorporated into one of the three water management zones. Research orientation and priorites were set for each zone. Research efforts in the low rainfall zone can be based on small areas and in-situ water conservation. In the medium runoff zone, research can be based on areas ranging in size from 10 to 100 ha and water harvesting techniques. For the high runoff zone, greater efforts have to be put on runoff and erosion control and also on drainage response alleviating the problems created by waterlogging over large areas of 100 to 10 000 ha. Secondary priorities were also identified for each zone.