Main operational responsibilities rest with the Member organisations. By pooling their resources for CESES programmes and projects, the Member Organisations agree to apply common standards and conditions for projects contracted under the CESES umbrella, thus combining CESES-wide standardisation with their individual skills.

CESES is the contract partner for the clients, usually on the basis of agreed-upon general contract conditions and procedures. To this end, CESES has established a central Project Management function to contract for Members and, consequently, allocate projects within the CESES system. This function also supervises financing, reporting and quality control. CESES personnel, however, are not involved in project implementation.