This paper describes the development of the Information Infrastructure Project, an initiative to increase and sustain communities' capacity to access and use information. This paper documents the activities involved in taking the project from conceptual development through a period of pilot implementation. It also describes the lessons drawn from this experience. A particular focus of the lessons learned is the differences in mission and orientation between researchers and communities and the implications of these differences for collaborative work between the two. These lessons are then related to the project's aim. From these lessons the research team recommended that a new vehicle for meeting the information needs of communities efficiently and effectively--specifically, an information intermediary for communities--should be explored.