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In the spring of 1974 CIE received a five-year, $750,000 grant from USAID under a program (211d) which awarded funds to universities to develop institutional centers which could become a source of expertise for USAID-financed development projects. CIE was financed to create a Nonformal Education Center that would increase the capability of UMass to assist developing countries in creating collaborative NFE programs, particularly in rural areas. The NFE Center was expected to become a recognized center of excellence for expertise, training, evaluation and information about the instructional and pedagogical techniques of NFE
The initial grant also required CIE to create a field site where it could implement and test NFE materials. The first site was in Ghana where CIE partnered with the Peoples Education Association. Subsequently, CIE received an additional three-year grant to develop two more field sites, one in Thailand and one in Guatemala. In Thailand, CIE formed a working relationship with the Adult Education Division of the Ministry of Education. In Guatemala, CIE worked with the Ministry of Public Health in the Department of Chimaltenango. In all of these sites CIE staff worked collaboratively with local participants to develop and test various NFE methods and materials.