The project will be implemented following the norms, rules and procedures agreed in the PIOM. The implementation process, fund flow and coordination arrangements of the ongoing NEIAP have been found conducive to implement the project satisfactorily. The same implementation arrangements would be used for NEIAP II with minor adjustments and additional staff/skill support to improve implementation efficiency and effectiveness. The implementation process will rely upon community involvement in the selection, planning, implementation and monitoring of all subprojects. Relevant provincial, district, and local government line agencies, and partner organizations, such as NGOs and the private sector, will provide technical assistance to communities to plan and implement the subprojects. The implementation responsibility at district level will be anchored with the leadership and guidance of Government Agents (GAs)/District Secretaries (DSs) who will oversee the district programs with the management support of District Project Offices (DPOs) in each district. These implementation arrangements would be further modified later depending on the nature of the successor administrative entity and its implementation arrangements at district and divisional levels.

The existing Project Management Unit (PMU) with a full-time Project Director and full-time core staff will continue to oversee and facilitate the project implementation. The PMU will be the management arm of the CS and will be responsible for achieving the project development objectives, implementation outputs and targets and disbursement milestones. It will provide project management support to CS, monitor and facilitate project implementation at district levels, and play a facilitating, regulating and guiding role, coordinating the overall program with GAs/DSs and DPOs. The PMU is responsible for overall project-wide budget control and financial management, quality assurance and control, monitoring of project’s inputs, outputs, outcomes, processes and impacts, and providing timely and quality resources and technical assistance to DPOs. It will also be responsible for the preparation of project-wide training curricula and manuals; management of training; preparation and dissemination of project information and progress reports to the general public, the government and the World Bank; and hiring of staff and consultancy services, procuring goods and major civil works that exceed the financial authority limits of the DPOs. At the provincial level, the PMU will obtain, coordinate and facilitate the support of provincial-level line ministries and line departments to reinforce their inputs and support to the DPOs at district and village levels. It will also coordinate all project-related matters and issues with the MRRR, External Resources Department (ERD), Treasury, World Bank and concerned donors, and with all other national-level and provincial-level stakeholders. If necessary, the PMU will obtain the services of external professionals from governmental and nongovernmental sectors to periodically review project implementation independently and advise the PMU on improving the project’s implementation strategies, outputs and impacts. The Internal Audit Department of the NEPC will carry out on-the-spot and periodic financial and technical auditing of the project and assist the PMU in complying with financial and technical norms and standards.

GAs/DSs will be responsible for the management of the program in their respective districts supported by DPOs. District funds will be established and allocation of these funds for district activities will be based on actual needs of the districts, demands of the communities and intentional targeting on vulnerable groups and villages. Some selected progressive focal villages and CBOs of the NEIAP too will be further supported. GAs/DSs will be delegated full authority for decision making, planning, use and allocation of funds, and monitoring in their respective districts subject to common project-wide implementation principles, and focal village and subproject selection and investment criteria. The DPDs will be responsible for the implementation of district programs and achievement of physical and financial milestones and targets and for diligent financial management, quality control and assurance, and working closely with communities of the selected focal villages to achieve the project’s development objectives. Each DPO will function as a technical support unit for the district manned by part-time or full-time Deputy Project Directors (DPDs) assisted by a team of full-time experts and support staff (engineering, community mobilization, micro-finance and agriculture, etc). The private sector and NGOs will partner with the technical support unit and district- and local-government-level implementing agencies as well as district-level agencies of the central government to provide technical and implementation support to the DPOs. The front-line staff of these agencies will be grouped into divisional-level Community Support Teams (CSTs) to interact with communities to facilitate community mobilization and provide technical guidance to the communities in the implementation of subprojects at the village level.

The project will continue to operate focusing on village communities and using CDD principles. The CBOs at village level such as farmers organizations (FOs), Rural Development Societies (RDSs) and Women Rural Development Societies (WRDSs) will be responsible for planning and implementing all village level activities. A Village Rehabilitation Committee, consisting of selected executive Committee members of all major CBOs in the village will be responsible for monitoring the activities. The primary instruments for village institutional development and rehabilitation are Village Rehabilitation Plan (VRP) and Village Agriculture Development Plan (VADP). VRP is primarily a document that reflects needs, priorities and action plans for village institutional development, capacity and skill building, and subprojects that emerge from intensive participatory interactions among the community. It includes the Village Socioeconomic profile (VSEP), strategy and action plan for forming and strengthening CBOs, cost estimates and action plans for subprojects chosen and prioritized by communities, and implementation of agricultural development, livelihood support activities and O&M plans. VRP will be developed by community members, with technical assistance from CST, and be ratified by the Village Rehabilitation Committee (VRC) through a participatory and demand-responsive process.

The Provincial Coordination Committee (PCC) will be responsible for overseeing, steering, guiding and supervising the project. Bringing the project under the oversight of PCC will facilitate the adoption of provincial-wide common principles and norms and synergy with other complementary and parallel programs to maximize development effectiveness of the project. The Committee will be chaired by the CS of the NEPC (or Head of any later administrative entity in the NE). It will comprise all Government Agents of the project districts, Secretaries of provincial ministries and Heads of provincial agencies. Nominated representative(s) of the participating ministries and agencies, Field Area Commanders of the Sri Lanka Army; and all other concerned stakeholders will be invited to attend PCC meetings that review the project.

A National Project Steering Committee (NPSC) will oversee the project implementation at national level. The purpose of the NPSC will be to ensure that: a) project strategies and outcomes are consistent with national development goals, the project addresses and supports the regional development and resettlement, reconstruction and rehabilitation program for the North and East; b) project outcomes and impacts are sustainable; and c) project funds are diligently and efficiently utilized. The mandate and role of the NPSC would be reviewed in the event that alternative administrative arrangements are established in the NE as a result of peace discussions. This committee will be chaired by the Secretary of the MRRR and comprise representatives of participating ministries, ERD, CS of the NEPC and GAs/DSs of all project districts. This committee will meet once every 6 months.