GARTEUR is organised at three main levels:
The highest level is the Council composed of representatives of each member country who constitute the national delegations. These representatives come from all relevant Ministries and Research Establishments. An Executive Committee (XC) and a GARTEUR Secretary assists the Council. This XC is composed of one member from each national delegation.
The second highest level is formed by the Groups of Responsables (GoR) that act as scientific management bodies. They also represent the think-tank of GARTEUR. The GoRs are composed of representatives from national research establishments, industry and academia. Currently, five GoRs manage GARTEUR research activities in the fields of Aerodynamics (AD), Aviation Security (AS, since March 2014), Flight Mechanics, Systems and Integration (FM), Rotorcraft (RC), and Structures and Materials (SM).
Action Groups (AGs) form the third level of GARTEUR. AGs are the technical expert bodies that formulate the GARTEUR research programme and execute the research work. Potential research areas and subjects are identified by the Groups of Responsables and investigated for collaboration feasibility by Exploratory Groups (EGs). If an Exploratory Group establishes an agreed proposal, an Action group is launched. A GARTEUR AG needs participation from at least three GARTEUR countries.