In order to achieve significant results, crucial criteria for stabilizing a network's capacity for dialog are high levels of commitment to offer high quality knowledge, two-way translation from research knowledge to practitioners and from practice to researchers, a maximum size, face-to-face communication, infrastructure, and funds for long-distance communication. The Literacy Exchange Network established at the Unesco Institute for Education with the support of Unesco Headquarters is structured in a noncompetitive, decentralized manner. It relies on existing or planned resource centers and networks in attempting to channel the international information flow among all individuals and organizations from grassroots to research and policy making concerned with any aspect of adult literacy. The network's knowledge pool has three components: collection of publications, database containing network members' profiles, and network members' expertise. Approximately 1,000 institutions/individuals/networks have been approached so far. The geographical distribution of countries approached goes beyond Europe to include all industrialized countries. To date, some 650 institutions/networks/individuals from 31 countries have joined the network. (The publication includes instruments developed for data collection.) (YLB)