The project was founded on a Memorandum of Understanding that the Tata Group of companies had entered into with the Government of India, and more specifically the National Culture Fund with the Archeological Survey of India in 2000—one of the first private-public partnership projects related to architectural conservation.  In July 2001, RMA Architects established the Taj Mahal Conservation Collaborative (TMCC), which brought together a group of multidisciplinary conservation professionals from across the world to develop the project. In September 2001, the first meeting of this international group was convened, and through a series of workshops, a strategy was outlined for the entire site that included the restoration of select, and often more damaged, buildings in the complex—such as the main gate, Mehman Khana, restoration of the gardens, water systems and central walkways, and the creation of a Visitor Centre for the interpretation of the site and provision of basic amenities for tourists.