The Adult Numeracy Initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), will provide the field with a thorough understanding of adult numeracy and the state of the discipline. Project activities include a literature review on critical issues in numeracy; an environmental scan of numeracy professional development programs and practices implemented at the state and local level; and in conjunction with a technical work group, the development of a research agenda in adult numeracy. The project will produce a series of commissioned papers on teaching and learning in adult numeracy.