INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
All international activities carried out in the framework of AGSL are guided by and closely coordinated with the national and local coordination mechanisms of the programme (NCC, SPWG, UPWG, LWGs). The UNDP Hub for Innovative Partnerships in Geneva and the ART Scientific Committee coordinates and manages all initiatives in the international sector. Coordination offices in Spain (Sevilla) and Italy (Rom, Florence) facilitate the cooperation with national and decentralised partners at the respective country level.
ART International offers a range of international-level services to the framework programmes in countries, using networks of centres of excellence and universities of the United Nations and various countries. Through its specialized services, ART International identifies relevant innovations for human development and disseminates them in countries where the programmes are operating, in collaboration with national scientific institutions; it mobilizes the technical assistance of innovators to help transfer their ideas to interested countries via mechanisms for South–South and North–South co-operation. It promotes links between universities in the North and South and supports their involvement in innovative practices of international co-operation for human development.
NATIONAL LEVEL
Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils
The Government of Sri Lanka through the Ministry for Provincial Councils and Local Government, is institutionally responsible for coordinating the Programme through the National Coordinating Committee/Project Board (NCC) and orient international cooperation towards participating in the Programme. With the support of the Ministry for Provincial Councils and Local Government AGSL will seek the support of other relevant ministries/institutions and gradually include them in the NCC.
National Coordinating Committee/Project Board (NCC)
The NCC forms an integral part of the AGSL Project Board. It is chaired by the Ministry for Provincial Councils and Local Government in coordination with UNDP. The NCC provides institutional support, facilitates international activities of the programme and reaches out to other relevant stakeholders at the national level. Representatives from relevant line ministries and national institutions, UNDP and other UN agencies and donor representatives comprise the NCC. It guarantees that all Programme activities are carried out within the Government’s framework of policies and strategies put in place to promote local governance, decentralization and development. The NCC facilitates articulation among local, national and international activities and among the different actors involved. It advocates with and mobilizes the support of relevant national institutions in support of the local development activities carried out in the framework of the programme, fosters synergies among the different sectors (e.g. health, education, agriculture, etc.) and support the translation of specific programme activities/achievements into national policies and guidelines. It facilitates the coordination with other line ministries and help to achieve complementarities of programme activities with sector interventions from other ministries and/or agencies.
The NCC works on a consensus basis and final decision making on project activities and accountability rests with UNDP in accordance with its applicable regulations, rules, policies and procedures.
PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL LEVEL
At local level the Provincial Working Groups (PWGs) are the governing bodies of AGSL. PWGs are working groups established by and through the local authorities, building upon existing governmental structures but emphasizing their cross sectoral and integrative nature. They include representative from various technical sectors and allow participation from the civil society and the private sector. PWGs are the basis for real territorial development where needs are analysed and respective government development plans are complemented by civil society and private sector contributions. It is also the forum through which local authorities do interact with international development possibilities, initiate partnerships and receive complementary funding to address the most pressing developing needs in their territory. In the Uva PWG all Provincial Ministries and Departments, crucial civil society and private sector actors are represented. The Head of the provincial administration, the Chief Secretary, heads the PWG. The PWGs select, plan and guide all activities and interventions and assures the needed coordination with the technical members of the different Technical Working Groups. At the local level, AGSL works closely with the District Working Groups comprising of the main actors in the districts.
In the Southern Province, the Provincial Council convened the Southern Province Working Group (SPWG) and in Uva the Uva Province Working Group (UPWG) is established. All main Provincial Departments and Commissions and of selected local government representatives, the civil society and other interested public and private actors are represented in the SPWG and UPWG. Representatives of decentralized offices of sector-specific national institutions also participate in order to ensure that local development plans are in line with national policies and complementary to state funded development. The Chief Secretary, in consultation with the Province Chief Minister, heads the respective PWGs in both provinces.
The PWGs select, plan and guide all activities and interventions and assures the needed coordination with the technical members of the different Local/Technical Working Groups (LWG). They promote partnerships between international decentralized cooperation partners and the relevant provincial entities and promote the sustainability of such partnerships by creating an enabling and supportive environment. Activities for planning and management of local development and the implementation of complex services take place at the intermediate level (Province), while the more capillary and participatory processes as well as service delivery takes place at the basic level (local governments).
Local/Technical Working Groups represent all main areas of intervention of the Programme. They are comprised by the main stakeholders in a thematic field and or territory and provide the necessary local level technical and policy guidance for all AGSL interventions.
Government officers working full time with ART GOLD comprise the Technical Secretariat of the Provincial Working Groups (Provincial Development Officers) and the Local/Thematic Working Groups (District Development Officers). The Southern Province committed 13 Officers to work with ART GOLD; the UVA province provides 5 officers during the preparatory phase until end 2008. These Secretariats are responsible for the day to day management of the AGSL interventions and support the Working Groups in all their responsibilities and tasks. The District and Provincial Development Officers implement programme activities at local level, mobilize relevant economic and social actors (individuals and institutions) in the respective territory.
Programme support is provided through the AGSL Area Offices established in each Province. An Area Manager (AM) heads each AGSL Area office. He/she work under the overall guidance of the CTA and will be responsible for the provision of technical, coordination and managerial support to all activities of the Program at provincial level. The AM will be supported by the Area Programme Team, comprised of local experts in the fields of community development, local economic development, and communications, and by an administrative support structure comprised of an Administration/Finance Officer, a Secretary and Drivers.
