In the case of these elements, association to the historic Underground Railroad or the more broad definition of resistance to enslavement through flight is what will distinguish them as members of the Network. Facilities and programs in the Network can have an educational, research, or interpretive scope, as long as they are directly related to, and verifiably associated with, the Underground Railroad. Facilities can include, but not be limited to, archives and libraries, research centers, museums and museum collections, and cultural or commemorative centers.
Programs can be even more diverse in nature.
They can include, but not be limited to, tours, interpretive talks, travelling exhibits, theater productions, living history groups, and educational programs. Finally, there are a multitude of Underground Railroad-related sites around the United States that have suffered the impacts of prolonged negligence or developments inconsistent with the historical character of the site. For whatever reasons, these past activities may have left the site ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Nonetheless, these sites are often integral parts of the Underground Railroad story. Their significance should not be lost, so the Network to Freedom is designed to include these impacted sites, with the provision that they must be associated with some type of interpretation.