Three organizations comprise the core organizations of the DEAN, NIEFO, NLS and FECOFUN. NIEFO, the youngest organization, was registered in 2002 and began operations in 2006. It is comprised of members who have been involved in numerous international election monitoring events as experts with the UN, including as regional coordinators in the international observation exercise coordinated by UNDP Nepal for the Nepal 1999 elections. The NLS is an independent Non-Governmental Organisation committed to the rule of law, human rights, women empowerment, local self-governance and decentralization, and has national election experience having served as the secretariat to GEOC since 1991. Comprised of lawyers, jurists and law academicians, it has focal points in all 75 districts and has been implementing its activities through research, training, workshop, seminar and conferences. Finally, FECOFUN, formed in 1995, is a national federation of forest users which advocates for community forestry user group rights, locally, nationally, and regionally, and comprises rural-based farmers – men, women, old and young – from almost all the Nepal's 75 districts. FECOFUN has been instrumental in representing concerns of community forestry user group in deliberations about policy formulations and forest futures. FECOFUN is an autonomous, non-partisan, socially inclusive, non-profit organization, has the largest grassroots network in the country

As agreed by all three groups, the DEAN will be governed by an Executive Committee consisting of seven members. The chairperson will be selected from among the seven executives and have a term of six months, rotating among alliance partners; the first chairperson will be from NIEFO. The chief of DEAN will be Member Secretary in the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is the apex body for policy and the development of strategies. The executive Committee will meet every two weeks, or more if necessary.