Closely related to this factor was the role of the NLS personnel, who during the foundation building and development and demonstration years provided assistance in proposal development, acted as a resource of information, and interpreted policy guidelines for the partners. These personnel provided the stability in the NLS despite the number of changes in the administration of the department. They were committed to helping local communities identify models of workplace literacy that suited their regions and directed stakeholders into other innovative practices across the country through a vast web of connections. This role changed in the third period with more of a focus on accountability.

A final success factor was the actual structure of the individual projects developed by the partners. During the foundation building and development and demonstration years, smaller projects that focused on local needs were important. Business, labour and education partners were the actual drivers of how a project was conducted. Built into the project structure was an access to the NLS staff and a certain amount of leeway around deadlines as funding was provided in the form of a grant. During the third period, at the funder organizational level, additional layers of structure were added, such as proposal review committees, attention to internal project evaluation, and the introduction of more formal contribution agreements. These structures moved the focus to accountability and away from the issues surrounding the project content.