The paper examines collaborative program development in participatory nonformal education, emphasizing the process of programming based on field experiences of the Center for International Education of the University of Massachusetts. The objective is to serve as an initial step in the development of collaborative programming theory and practice. It is presented in six chapters. Chapter I defines collaboration in nonformal participatory education and identifies its historical origins, emphasizing economic and social developments and the contradictions within them. Chapter II discusses collaboration as a process, examining reasons for emphasizing the process rather than the product, and identifying constraint areas and goals. Chapter III suggests elements characterizing environments, agencies, and personnel of successful collaborative programs, such as government attitudes, flexibility, responsiveness, interdependence, cooperation, and communication. Chapter IV defines training needs, stressing skills needed, possible training methods, and the importance of consciousness raising. Chapter V outlines five stages in the collaborative process (exploration, establishment of the program, evaluation, establishment of procedures, and implementation) and offers facilitating methods to use during each stage. Chapter VI recommends further examination of the stages of collaboration, critical analysis of the prescriptions offered and their attendant values, and further analysis of the economic and political forces which direct collaborative efforts. Charts and figures illustrating the collaborative process conclude the study. (CK)