In October 2007, Literacy Link Niagara was funded to conduct research into the nature and best practices of partnerships between organizations in Niagara that support adult learning. Funding for the Niagara Pathways Project came from the Adult Education Policy Unit of the Ministry of Education, a unit dedicated to increasing access for adult students in Ontario. The Unit reports to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, and also working closely with the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. The Niagara Pathways Project is one of 3 pilot projects, funded to understand the unique characteristics of adult learning partnerships in their distinct communities.  The other communities funded to do partnership research were Toronto and Timmins.

Completion date for these pilot projects was June 30, 2008.Literacy Link Niagara is a not-for-profit charitable organization founded in 1992. Our values are Connection, Communication and Collaboration. Our core funder is the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities. As a network organization with the mandate of planning and coordination of adult literacy programs in Niagara, Literacy Link was in a strong position to manage the project.