LMP UK is a registered charity (Charity No. 1095443) and consists of five trustees and a part time UK coordinator who is employed principally to raise funds from charitable trusts. Communication to the field is through email, and via a mobile phone network which was introduced to Likoma District in September 2005. In this way LMP in the UK receives monthly report up dates, monthly financial summaries, and is able to participate in key organisational decisions. Collaboration on fund raising proposals and new project initiatives between both the UK and Malawian sides of LMP is also a fundamental aspect of the LMP method. The UK Chair spends on average four months each year in the project region.

LMP's Malawian Executive Committee contains six people: two retired Malawian health proffesionals that have both lived and worked in the UK; a retired headteacher, an ex-local councellor, an educationalist, and the LMP UK chair when in country. In January 2004 LMP Malawi was registered as an NGO in Malawi (Certificate No. 01/206) with a bank account at the National Bank of Malawi in Mzuzu (Northern Region of Malawi). The five person operations board of Malawi's Executive meets monthly to discuss - among other things - departmental’ progress reports and plans and future project activities. The LMP Malawi Executive meets quarterly. Individual Committee members are also assigned to departments and community projects to monitor office staff and project progress. One Executive member is attached to the LMP Manager and spends two days a week assisting in the management of field activities. LMP in the UK is kept informed of all activities by the Malawi Executive Committee.

The core of LMP’s field work is undertaken by its eight office staff: the LMP Office Manager, three department heads (Vocational Training and Education, Agriculture, and Aids With Us), the accountant & Information Manager, two agricultural workers and two office assistants. Each staff member, aside from departmental responsibilites, has responsibility for specific community projects, and for LMP administration. Department heads, together with the Office Manager, are responsible for drawing up three month plans for their sectors which are then monitored by the Office Manager, Information Manager, and the LMP Malawi Executive. All workers compile their own monthly work plans which are passed on in advance to the Operations Committee for approval. Monthly budgets for the organisation are made two months ahead of expenditure and need to be cleared by both the LMP Executive and LMP UK before they are approved.

Office staff at LMP Malawi also work out project plans with Individual Project Committees for each community based project, whilst the department heads manage LMP's district wide programmes in HIV Aids, agriculture, and vocational training and education. Regular on the spot monitoring of all the projects by Office staff and Executive members of LMP Malawi is a fundamental aspect of LMP's approach.

Community Projects in Villages

Each village’s five-year plan (comprising various projects) is overseen by a ten-person Central Committee for the Village with finance, reporting and project sub-committees. The Central Committee is required to report to the whole village on project progress and the disbursement of finances on a regular basis. The key point of contact for the Central Committee with LMP is through the designated office worker, with regular meetings held and monthly project accounts submitted to LMP Malawi staff. The work of the Central Committees is guided by a constitution agreed upon by the whole village. Each Central Committee also has an attached LMP Malawi Executive Committee member. The Central Committee can contact LMP UK directly if they feel a situation warrants this.

The Village Finance Committee consists of two people (out of the ten Central Committee members and is responsible for the accounts of all the projects in one village.

The Report Committee for Village consists of two people (out of the ten Central Committee members). and submits regular reports about all project activities in one village.

The Project Committee for Village consists of four people (out of the ten Central Committee members) and is responsible for taking the projects forward.

Every single project in the village has an Individual Project Committee composed of four people from the village to undertake day to day implementation of activities. The Individual Project Committees are closely connected to the Central Committee for Village and to the development workers LMP (Malawi). Individual Project Committees have a set of policies to govern activities specific to each project.