ICMA's involvement in the country goes back to 2002. As Uganda began to undergo the process of decentralization, governments at both the district and municipal levels had to take increasing responsibility for such areas as financial and municipal management.  In response to this trend, USAID asked ICMA to design and implement a "Districts Matter" course through the Resource Cities Cooperative Agreement. 

The course, "Districts Matter: From Plan to Action—Tools for Strategic Plan Implementation," was held in Entebbe, Uganda, in June 2002. Representatives from eight districts throughout the country attended the course. Those districts had previously developed thorough strategic plans, yet implementation had proven difficult. Therefore, ICMA identified the following key objectives to provide the district officials with the necessary tools to successfully implement their strategic plans:

• Budget management: the need to balance revenues and expenditures and to monitor both throughout the budget year
• Performance measurement
• Identification of implementation resources
• Leadership.

Most recently, ICMA participated in Strengthening Urban Local Governments in Uganda to Achieve the Goals of the TSUPU Project. In 2010, ICMA entered into a partnership with the Urban Authorities Association of Uganda (UAAU) and the Municipal Development Partnership (MDP) to assist the government of Uganda in their desire to proactively manage rapid urbanization and improve living conditions for the urban poor. With funding from the Cities Alliance, ICMA and its partners will help five municipalities (Arua, Jinja, Kabale, Mbale, and Mbarara) improve their urban management and planning systems and help strengthen UAAU as a sustainable municipal organization representing the interests of urban local governments in the country.

The aim of the program is to help Ugandan local governments carry out their part in implementing a national program: Transforming the Settlements of the Urban Poor in Uganda (TSUPU).