AGSL operates in the 5 administrative districts of the two provinces: Galle, Matara, and Hambantota in the Southern Province and Badulla and Monragola in the Uva Province. There are 47 Divisional Secretariat Divisions (DSD) and 49 Local Government institutions, i.e. Municipal Councils, Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas (PSs) in the SP and 26 Divisional Secretary Divisions (DSD) in Uva: Badulla District - 15 Divisions, Monaragala District - 11 Divisions. District Administration and Divisional Administration are de-concentrated structures and directly managed by the Central Government represented by the District Secretary. The Divisional Secretaries function under the District Secretary.

Under the devolved structure the local authorities are expected to be the development arm of the Provincial Council. Thus the PSs are local level institutions directly linked to rural development. The PS system was developed for the purpose of facilitating people’s participation in administration and development.

AGSL is working in both provinces with District Working Groups (DWG) established in all five districts. These DWGs function under the Assistant Commissioners for Local Government and count on a wide network of local government officers and civil society stakeholders that are concerned with initiatives facilitated by AGSL. They are integrated within the local government structures and additionally count on civil society and private sector representation. There are several thematic and territorial working groups established within a district that do occupy itself with very specific development agendas within a specific local territory or for a specific thematic topic.

The DWGs and LWGs are the strength of any ART programme. They guarantee that the development processes facilitated by UNDP AGSL and its decentralized and bilateral partners are in line with the development plans of the local authorities and vetted by the other relevant actors of the territory.