Michelle Parker 

Center for Technology and National Security Policy 

National Defense University 

September 2008 

Programming Development 

Funds to Support a 

Counterinsurgency 

Nangarhar, Afghanistan 2006 
 ii

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or 

position of the National Defense University, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. 

All information and sources for this paper were drawn from unclassified materials. 

Michelle Parker is a USAID Foreign Service Officer on sabbatical as a Council on Foreign 

Relations International Affairs Fellow at the RAND Corporation. She spent two and one-half 

years in Afghanistan as the first development advisor to NATO's International Security 

Assistance Force (ISAF). She was responsible for the United States Agency for International 

Development (USAID)/Afghanistan portfolio, strategizing and operationalizing development in a 

counterinsurgency, Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), and providing an overall view of 

the development sector in Afghanistan (2006). She also managed the USAID Jalalabad Field 

Office, where she served as the USAID representative in Nangarhar and Laghman provinces, and 

as the development lead in the Jalalabad PRT (2004–06). Ms. Parker has consulted with the 

International Republican Institute in Wuhan, China (2004); the National Taurida Vernadsky 

University in Crimea, Ukraine (2002–03); and USAID in Kathmandu, Nepal (2002). She also was 

a management analyst with the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland (2001–

04). Ms Parker has a B.A. in International Relations from Georgia State University and a M.S. in 

Conflict Analysis and Resolution from the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at 

George Mason University. 
 1

Introduction 

This paper describes one method of programming development funds at a sub-national level to 

positively affect a counterinsurgency, in this case, in Eastern Afghanistan. It is presented as a 

practical model for both students in the classroom and operators in the field to understand the 

complexity of a type of mission that the United States has not attempted since Vietnam. The 

paper explores how one interagency group, the Jalalabad Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), 

developed and implemented a strategy for increasing stability in its area of operations by 

maximizing the resources each agency brought to the table and creating “unity of effort.”1

In 2006, when the activities described in this study took place, no process or doctrine of any 

kind existed to aid PRTs in programming funds to influence an active insurgency—and to the 

author’s knowledge, none exists as of the writing of this paper. The aim of this study is to provide 

readers with an eight-step process of strategic program development, culminating in the execution 

of a series of projects, highlighting lessons learned throughout the experience. The eight steps 

were developed by the command group (CG) of the PRT, which consisted of one representative 

each from USAID, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Army 

Civil Affairs. 

The CG decided to create this process because of the limited funding of the PRT. There was no 

way to fund every project brought to the PRT by the local government, the people, or other actors 

in the area. Because the PRT was the largest source of accessible funds in the province, it was 

often pulled in multiple directions. The CG feared losing focus on the primary and critical task of 

establishing stability by getting caught up in basic development projects that were outside its 

mandate. The tipping point of holding the meeting that established this process occurred when 

USAID allocated $1 million to its Jalalabad Field Office at the PRT for stability projects.2

The eight steps of strategic program development are: 

• Understanding the Strategic Framework 

• Operationalizing the Strategy 

• Determining Geographic Focus through Tribal Analysis 

• Defining Project Parameters 

• Conducting the Project Identification Process 

• Gaining Government Approval 

• Holding the PRT Project Nomination Board 

• Implementation 

The target audience for this study is the CG of a PRT operating in Afghanistan, but the 

lessons can be extrapolated to other interagency models around the world 

 

1

 Nick Marinacci, “Provincial Reconstruction Teams–Towards Unity of Effort,” May 2004. USAID 

Discussion Paper. 

2

 Having a clear understanding of budgets is helpful, but not necessary until further into the process, when 

the team goes into the community to talk to potential stakeholders. It is useful to have everything in place 

so when money does become available it easily fits into the strategic framework the PRT sets up for its 

province.
 2

Background 

Provincial Reconstruction Teams 

PRTs were created in late 2002 by the U.S. military to expand its civil-military operations in 

the provinces of Afghanistan with the goal of creating stability. A PRT is a team of interagency 

partners with representatives from each of the “3Ds:” defense, development, and diplomacy.3

When the U.S. military designed the concept, it was also important for the PRTs to be 

international. Since 2002, 14 countries established or took over PRTs, with many more countries 

augmenting the mission.4

 Figure 1 outlines the task organization chart of the Jalalabad PRT in 

2006: 

Figure 1. PRT Jalalabad Task Organization 2006 

The PRT is led as a team by the CG (highlighted in yellow), with each agency having its own 

responsibilities outside the team. No single agency or department has authority over any other in 

the Afghanistan model.5

 The military commander manages all military functions including the 

provision of basic life support (food, shelter, health, communications, transportation) as well as 

specific skills that are utilized by the team (planning, intelligence collection and analysis, 

reporting, patrolling, cordon and search, combat operations, and others). The development officer 

manages, monitors, and develops projects and programs for her/his country and works with the 

 

3

 The “3D” concept came out of the 2002 U.S. National Security Strategy, which stated that the United 

States needed to maximize each component of its foreign services to achieve national security. 

4 Australia/Netherlands (joint PRT), Canada, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, 

Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States. 5 PRTs in Afghanistan are not led by the U.S. Military, as is often reported. The military provides basic life 

support and transportation, but has no authority over the activities or programs of the other interagency 

partners.
 3

military to develop sound projects to affect stability in the area. The diplomat analyzes the 

political situation in the area and reports back to both her/his home country’s embassy and 

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters in Kabul in addition to 

shaping the strategy of the PRT.6

Every PRT is different based on a number of factors, including the needs of the province, the 

PRT host-country requirements, national and international development programs in the area, and 

security. 

According to the ISAF PRT Handbook:7

The PRT should not act as an alternative to the Government of Afghanistan (GoA), but 

rather seek to improve the capacity of the GoA to govern itself. PRTs perform a vital role 

in occupying the vacuum caused by a weak government presence and are hence deterring 

agents of instability. PRTs seek to establish an environment that is stable enough for 

international agencies, the local authorities and civil society to engage in reconstruction, 

political transition and social and economic development. 

The PRT’s mandate is to extend the reach of the central government, develop security sector 

reform, and conduct reconstruction and development activities. Together, these three objectives 

are designed to bring stability to the province(s) in which the PRT operates.8

PRT Mission: Stability 

Stability is defined as government monopoly of the use of force over its people.9 As illustrated 

by figure 2, stability can be measured along two axes: legitimacy of government and 

effectiveness of government.10 Increasing the effectiveness and legitimacy of government are 

considered “friendly” lines of operation (LOO) in military terms.11 The PRT can also focus on 

weakening the enemy LOO, which includes decreasing government effectiveness and legitimacy. 

When programming development funds, it is best to focus on the former because the nature of 

development is to improve the government’s ability to monopolize the use of force and deliver 

benefits enabled by that monopoly of force, such as public works, education, and public health. 

 

6 This is true of PRTs in Afghanistan and may not be applicable to PRTs in other engagements. 

7

 “ISAF PRT Handbook,” Edition 3, February 3, 2007. 

8

 Taken from the Terms of Reference for CFC and ISAF PRTs in Afghanistan, which were adopted by the 

Executive Steering Committee on 27 Jan 05. 9

 “ISAF PRT Handbook,” Edition 2, August 21, 2006. 

10 This concept and the associated graphics were created in 2006 by Nick Marinacci and John Schweiger, 

the Director and Deputy Director respectively of USAID/Kabul’s Civil-Military Program from 2003–2006. 11 The DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms defines a line of operation as, 1. A logical line 

that connects actions on nodes and/or decisive points related in time and purpose with an objective(s) or, 2. 

A physical line that defines the interior or exterior orientation of the force in relation to the enemy or that 

connects actions on nodes and/or decisive points related in time and space to an objective(s).
 4

Figure 2. Stability Lines of Operation (USAID/Kabul Civil-Military Program, 2006) 

Nangarhar Province 

Nangarhar is an extremely important province in Afghanistan because it provides the primary 

licit trade route with Pakistan at the Torkem border crossing. It is the economic center of the east 

for business and development, has one of the most educated populations in the country, and is 

considered one of the “breadbaskets” of the country because of the land’s fertility.12 It is also 

known as one of the leading producers and processors of poppy in the country.13 The Nangarhar 

population has a history of supporting insurgents, ranging from the Ghulzais, who attacked the 

British as they retreated from Kabul after the first Anglo-Afghan war, to the anti-Soviet 

mujahideen forces—and now the Taliban. The first use of Stinger missiles in warfare occurred at 

the airport on the outskirts of its capital, taking down three Soviet helicopters.14 Nangarhar’s 

strongmen welcomed Osama Bin Laden when he was forced to leave Sudan in 1996 and provided 

sanctuary for Al Qaeda training camps. Some of the most intense fighting early on in Operation 

Enduring Freedom took place in the Tora Bora section of the Spin Ghar Mountains, a range that 

lines the southern part of the province. As of 2006, Nangarhar was a staging ground for the 

insurgency raging in the eastern part of the country. 

The province is home to two ethnic groups, the Pashtun and the Pashai. There are four Pashtun 

tribes (Khogiani, Shinwari, Mohmend, and Ahmadzai), and each tribe has additional subtribes. 

For the purposes of this study, the most important subtribes to distinguish are those of the 

Khogiani tribe: the Waziri, Sherzad, and Kharbone. Each ethnic group, tribe, subtribe, village, 

and family has a complex network of relationships that extend back generations. For foreigners 

 

12 USAID focused on five areas of the country for its Rehabilitating Agricultural Markets Program 

(RAMP), one of which was Nangarhar due to its production potential (RAMP quarterly reports). 

13 This was not the case in 2005 and 2006 due to counter-narcotics programming by the GoA and the 

international community (UNODC 2005 and 2006). 

14 Crile, George, Charlie Wilson’s War (New York: Grove Press, 2003), 436–439.
 5

who don’t speak the language and live in a secure compound to fully comprehend, these 

relationships are incomprehensible. Despite the challenges, the members of the PRT’s CG had to 

learn as much as they could about the province, its power brokers, its history, and its current 

challenges before the team could complete the following process. 

The next sections will discuss an eight-step process of strategic program development, 

highlighting lessons learned throughout the experience. The eight steps were developed by the 

CG of the Jalalabad PRT in Afghanistan in 2006. Situational awareness is a prerequisite to 

developing a program; the first step helps the team develop that awareness. 

Step 1: Understanding the Strategic Framework 

PRTs are one component of a full-spectrum operation, as the guide illustrated in figure 3, 

demonstrates. The CG, therefore, met every week with other stakeholders in the area (maneuver 

units, other foreign governmental actors, and the GoA) to deconflict the PRT strategic planning 

with ongoing combat operations. At the same time, the development and political officers also 

met with their development agencies and embassies in Kabul to ensure the strategic plan of the 

PRT was in line with the current policies. The importance of the non-kinetic and kinetic elements 

working in unison cannot be emphasized enough. 

Figure 3. Spectrum of Intervention (USAID/Kabul Civil-Military Program, 2005) 

The purpose of a PRT is to enhance stability in the provinces of Afghanistan. By the definition 

used in the PRT handbook, the population’s willingness to be governed is the “legitimacy” axis 

upon which stability is measured. In the case of Afghanistan, stabilization is the first step in a 
 6

democratic process that includes the population’s willing participation, so securing the 

population’s support is a key component of Afghanistan’s stabilization process. PRTs can help 

the government monopolize force while securing the population’s support in many ways, ranging 

from training and mentoring the government to constructing government facilities—district 

centers, courthouses, schools—that provide a clear platform from which government can operate. 

The construction of basic public works such as bridges, roads, and micro power that serve the 

population the government needs to affect is another option for PRT support.15 Gains made 

towards securing the population’s support can easily be undone with kinetic operations either 

targeting or resulting in civilian casualties. If the population’s support recedes for the group the 

United States is helping vie for the monopoly of power, the challenge of securing force becomes 

increasingly more difficult. 

Step 2: Operationalizing the Strategy 

Figure 4 was developed by the USAID/Kabul Civil-Military Program to better assist the Field 

Officers, who are responsible for programming millions of dollars, how to understand the 

environment in which they are operating and tie programming to specific stages or phases of the 

counterinsurgency (COIN) operation. The mission of the PRT will differ based on the reality on 

the ground; this chart helps the team identify the stages that the province’s various population 

groups are in during the assessment period. 

Figure 4. Criteria for Mission Determination (USAID/Kabul Civil-Military 

Program, 2005) 

 

15 Baltazar, Thomas and Kvitashvili, Elizabeth, “The Role of USAID and Development Assistance in 

Combating Terrorism,” Military Review, Vol. 87, Issue 2, March 2007. 
 7

In Nangarhar, the CG used this graph to discuss where they thought the five main tribes in the 

province fell on the spectrum of intervention. In a COIN campaign, the population is the center of 

gravity, so analysis must be conducted at the community level. The CG chose to use subtribes as 

a point of analysis rather than an arbitrary district or provincial boundary, and was thus better 

able to target communities that were having a negative impact on stability in the province.16 The 

CG looked at indicators including: NGO activity, violent acts against the military coalition, 

violent acts against the GoA, poppy growth, the numbers of schools and clinics (government 

service in action), and population centers. The CG did not develop a complex methodology for 

measuring each of these criteria; they simply discussed the tribes and indicators using personal 

knowledge and intuition. The CG determined that most of the province was either “in transition” 

or “secure and stable.” The subtribes that the CG identified as creating an insecure and unstable 

environment had a primary geographic commonality—they border Pakistan. 

As a team, the CG had to decide where to focus along the spectrum. The tribes considered 

“green” were off-limits, because those areas were stable and outside the PRT mandate. The 

question the CG explored was “how far into the red should the PRT go?” The CG quickly 

realized that was not a question that could be answered intuitively, it needed more complex 

analysis. 

 

16,In Nangarhar, a subtribe is a mostly homogeneous group in regards to making and execution decisions. 

The subtribe as a whole would decide whether to give sanctuary to the enemy. Because many subtribes 

spanned multiple districts, district lines were irrelevant to analysis and to working with subtribes. 

Lessons Learned 

1. The PRT command group needed to analyze their environment—in military terms “define the 

battlespace”—immediately upon arriving in theater. Keeping in mind the three mandates of the PRT, and 

nesting the discussion in the strategic framework outlined above, the interagency representatives should 

work together to determine how to best achieve their mission in the next 6–9 months. It is important to 

keep the timeframe short in highly insecure environments because the PRT strategy will often have to be 

revisited based on the shifting realities on the ground. 

2. It is important to note that the PRT developed the mission determination, tribal analysis, and project 

parameters without GoA involvement. They did this because they wanted to get their national agenda 

lined up clearly before going to the GoA. They debated bringing in key provincial leaders early in the 

process, but decided against it due to this priority. In retrospect, it could be argued that this was a 

mistake. The sooner a PRT can bring the GoA into the process at the provincial level, the better. 

Government involvement has many benefits, including building the capacity of the GoA to think 

strategically, to bring an Afghan “reality check” to PRT assumptions, and to create the sense of 

ownership of these projects that is needed to achieve the stated goals. 

Regardless of what a team decides, the issue of local government involvement should be a discussion 

point within the PRT in the early stages so they can decide at what point government involvement is 

appropriate. If the governor and line directors are corrupt and may impede the process, a team will want 

to avoid them as long as possible. The team may discover that the GoA stakeholders needed are rarely 

in the province; if the projects need to be nominated quickly, time restricts GoA involvement. It must be 

decided if the benefits outweigh the negatives so the CG can move forward with a clear understanding of 

when GoA involvement is needed and why.
 8

Step 3: Determining the Geographic Focus through Tribal 

Analysis 

After determining generally which communities created or allowed an insecure and unstable 

environment to develop, the CG had to narrow the targeted areas even more because USAID’s 

budget was only 1 million dollars, and not every community in need could be reached. At this 

point, the USAID Field Program Officer (FPO) asked the commander of the military component 

of the PRT, LTC Lynda Granfield, to provide the USAID office with a soldier to research the 

tribes and conduct a conflict analysis. A senior Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) who had 

shown great interest in this subject was assigned to the project.17

The NCO, Sgt Steve Kling, was tasked with mapping each subtribe and sub-subtribe and 

placing them in the stability matrix illustrated in figure 5, based on the geographic area the CG 

had agreed upon in the operationalizing meeting. Sgt Kling developed a picture of tribal 

instability in the province, but argued that, although certain sub-subtribes were quite stable, the 

CG had to target those villages with projects or risk creating conflict between the sub-subtribes. 

Figure 5. The Stability Matrix (USAID/Kabul Civil-Military Program, 2006) 

 

17 This is a prime example of the “unity of effort” that can happen at a PRT. The author was far too busy 

managing a $19 million Alternative Livelihood Program to spend the time needed to analyze the tribal 

situation well. The NCO who helped with this project was being underutilized by his team, and was able to 

support USAID in designing the intervention for the PRT. In the end, everyone benefited from this 

unconventional approach to program development. Low Medium High EFFECTIVENESS

LEGITIMACY

Low Medium High

Medium Stability

•Authoritarian regime

•Population does not 

support authorities

•Susceptible t o ideological 

and political spoilers

Low Stability

•Authorities are weak

•Population does not 

support authorities

•Susceptible to ideological, 

politi cal & economic 

spoilers 

High Stability

•Authorities are strong

•Population supports 

authorities

•Resistant to ideological, 

political, and economic 

spoilers

Medium Stability

•Authorit ies are weak

•Population supports 

authorities 

•Susceptible to economic 

spoilers 
 9

Figure 6. Map of target villages for USAID Quick Impact Projects (QIP) program in 

Nangarhar, Afghanistan (USAID/Jalalabad PRT, 2006)18

Once the communities were analyzed down to the smallest tribal division possible, the NCO 

began to target specific villages. The CG criteria included: 

1. Communities must be politically fence-sitting and generally located near “problem 

village clusters.”19 The populations were not in support of the GoA, but they did not 

support anti-government elements, either.20

 

18 The red lines are key smuggling routes. The black dots are specific villages. The red circles show a 

village cluster area for targeting purposes. 

19 The term village clusters was coined by a USAID implementing partner who discovered the subsubtribes in Nangarhar existed on a hub-and-spoke model, where the hub is a village headed by a male 

elder, and nearby villages (the spokes) are headed by the children of that male elder. The village clusters 

were the entire hub-and-spoke model for a family, or sub-subtribe. 
 10

2. The communities had to lie along key smuggling routes, a primary cause of insecurity in 

these districts. 

3. There was little or no international or GoA involvement via projects in the community. 

Over the next month, Sgt Kling researched possible village candidates using military 

intelligence databases, GoA, local DOD maneuver units, Special Forces, Other Coalition Forces, 

USAID implementing partners, and PRT interpreters. After collecting and analyzing the data, he 

developed a map (figure 6) of the village cluster areas that were to be the focus. 

Step 4: Defining Project Parameters 

In the beginning stages of program design, as in all normal development programs, it is 

fundamental to establish clear project parameters, or the program can quickly loose focus. In the 

case of Nangarhar, the first parameter set was infrastructure projects only for two important 

reasons. First, the CG wanted to create physical reminders of the GoA in these areas. Second, 

USAID’s implementing partner (IP)21 was a construction organization with no capacity to 

manage “soft development” projects—that is, projects that build skills and improve human 

capacity. This limitation was frustrating, but USAID had to work with the available IP so 

construction factored heavily into the project parameters.22

The next step was to establish exclusion criteria so that everyone involved understood what 

could or could not be funded. Policy and legal restrictions make it difficult for USAID to fund 

either religious or security-related infrastructure, so structures such as mosques and police 

stations were excluded. The CG also excluded clinics, because the Ministry of Public Health 

(MoPH) hires NGOs to operate clinics around the country. Clinics sit empty if NGOs do not have 

donors to provide the clinic’s operating expenses. The CG could have met with local healthcare 

providers to try to coordinate a joint project, but that would have been time-consuming, and no 

member of the CG had the extra time to dedicate to that coordination. Constraints such as a 

program manager’s limited time will also factor into parameters. 

 20 The CG’s rationale for targeting fence-sitting villages was that it was still possible to win their support 

for the GoA through increasing the legitimacy or effectiveness of the government. The CG reasoned that 

the villages supporting the insurgency were already decided and would be harder to win over. 

21 USAID does not directly implement projects it designs. It outsources project implementation to a partner 

organization. The degree to which USAID is involved with managing the partner is determined by the type 

of aid provided—grant, cooperative agreement, or contract. 22 As of 2006, USAID changed the program managed from the PRT Office from QIP to Local Governance 

and Community Development (LGCD), which expanded the scope of work to include capacity building 

and conflict mitigation, in addition to construction. 

 Lessons Learned 

The author could not have programmed the funds with such complexity without the help of the military. 

The access the military has to intelligence on anti-government elements is incomparably better than the 

information a USAID employee can access. By tapping into core capabilities of the military (intelligence 

and planning), the money the author was responsible for programming had a greater impact. 

The author vetted the information collected by SGT Kling with the Provincial Governor, Provincial 

Council, appropriate GoA line ministry representatives, NGOs working in the area, PRT interpreters, and 

USAID Implementing Partners to better triangulate the information. The military is an excellent source for 

information, but cannot be the only source. 
 11

It is important to note that health projects in Nangarhar were funded by the European 

Community (EC), yet there was no local EC representative in Jalalabad with whom the PRT 

could coordinate. If this had been a USAID health area, the CG might not have excluded it. The 

last point is not meant as a criticism of the EC, but rather as an example of the importance of 

understanding the area or “battlespace” so the program’s design can maximize the money’s 

effectiveness. If a donor does not have provincial representation, coordinating operations at the 

local level is difficult.

A project time limit of 3–6 months, from groundbreaking to ribbon cutting, was the next 

parameter set by the CG. This limit was set because the purpose of building these structures is to 

shift popular sentiment toward the GoA, and the CG feared that if a project took years, the goal 

would not be achieved—in part because growth of enemy strength might outpace the project. 

Also, the projects should be small in scope, such as a school or a micro-power system. QIPs 

should not be multi-million dollar development projects in warfighting areas due to the challenge 

of an ever-changing battlespace. The purpose of a QIP is to positively affect stability, not to 

conduct long-term development. 

Another aspect of gaining popular support for the GoA was to give jobs to the sub-subtribe 

community we were trying to affect, who would also be the project’s beneficiaries. The next 

parameter, therefore, was to insist on local employment opportunities. Jalalabad is home to a 

vocational construction trades training school funded by USAID and DOD, so the CG included a 

provision for the communities involved with the project to nominate 6–12 people to attend the 

month-long course and learn vocational trade skills. If the village was interested in this option, 

the CG then required the contractor to allow the villagers to serve as interns on the project in their 

area, so they could work with the contractor’s staff and practically apply the skills they learned in 

the school. 

The final parameter was that the projects must serve multiple villages and have a subtribal area 

impact. The rationale was to reinforce the idea of community, which was destroyed during 25 

years of war. We also wanted to foster the idea of development rather than a laundry list of 

projects. Too often communities in high-risk areas are caught in survival mode; one goal of these 

projects is to lay the groundwork for the population to think above a sub-subtribal level and 

identify with those from nearby areas to build a larger community mindset. 

The limitation of Afghan contractors was another factor considered at this time. Due to 25 

years of nearly continuous fighting, Afghanistan had an extremely limited capacity to absorb the 

quantities of aid that began flowing in 2001. The CG discussed the number of locally owned 

construction companies that were available in the area, what other projects those companies were 

working, and what level of construction they could handle, e.g., could they construct an eightroom school house, or a three-story district center with power and water? The CG knew the 

challenges could be worked around, but it was important to discuss these realities as preparation 

for managing the expectations of the villagers in the target areas.23

The CG decided to develop a short list of the types of acceptable projects for this program 

based on the limitations described above. The list was not exhaustive by any means, but the CG 

used it as a baseline to ensure that members of the team could speak consistently and coherently 

to those outside the PRT. Three primary sectors were agreed upon: 

 

23 If there is only one viable construction company for foot bridges in the area, and that company is 

working on two other projects, then the villagers may need to accept a company from another part of the 

country to get their bridge constructed soon, or else agree to wait 6–8 months while the local company 

completes the other projects. It is important to be aware of this in the program design phase, so that when

projects are identified, the people who meet with the communities can be aware of the limitations and 

manage expectations. 
 12

• Water/Sanitation/Sewage (piped water systems, gutters), 

• Agriculture (irrigation, canals), 

• Basic Infrastructure (bridges, schools, micro-hydro, flood protection). 

Step 5: Conducting the Project Identification Process24

After the team developed a clear idea of the tribal area and the parameters of the projects, the 

CG then discussed the project identification process. Ideally, the FPO planned to first meet with 

the Provincial Council, the only democratically elected body in the province, and the directors of 

key line ministries (Rural Reconstruction and Development, Agriculture and Public Works), 

explaining the concept of QIP, its parameters, and its geographic focus. The goal was first to vet 

their programmatic concept with the provincial government and deal with any issues at that time. 

The next step was to push the project identification process to the government to decide how 

best to proceed. The FPO explained the preferred geographic focus, acceptable project types, and 

implementing limitations with the hope that the GoA would sort out the actual projects. The CG 

anticipated that the GoA would develop small teams to go to the areas of interest and hold 

shuras25 with the community leaders to discuss project options; a representative from USAID’s 

primary IP in the area and the USAID Afghan program manager would participate, representing 

the interests of USAID. 

In reality, USAID had only a few weeks to meet with villagers, design the project, gain GoA 

approval, nominate the project through the USAID chain of command, have it sent to the IP for a 

bill of quantity (BOQ)—USAID’s internal process to have a QIP project funded—and have the 

BOQ approved.26 Based on the author’s prior experience of working with the provincial GoA, 

they would not have been able to do this in a timeframe that met USAID’s needs. Time 

constraints were explained to the government, but timelines are not always adhered to in 

Afghanistan, and all too often, the deadlines passed. Some projects never happened or were 

delayed by months while the government decided whether to support them. 

Because of the time restrictions, the CG chose to use existing USAID partners working in the 

area, and asked them to hold community shuras and develop project nominations. The author met 

with USAID IPs and explained the concept of QIP and its parameters. They agreed to conduct the 

process and transmit the information to USAID electronically. USAID also used information that 

the U.S. Army civil affairs team collected that fit within the scope of the program. In each 

instance, the communities were asked to nominate their top four project priorities. 

A key factor in project success is local ownership. Initially, the CG thought of requiring a 30 

percent community contribution to any project, but realized there were other ways to gain 

community buy-in, such as requiring security for the project and ensuring local workers have jobs 

on the project site. Additionally, the contractors could hire local women to cook food for the work 

 

24 At this point in the process, the USAID FPO moved from the consultative process of the CG meetings to 

the individual responsibility of programming funds as a development expert. The FPO continued to seek 

advice from her colleagues, but the ultimate legal responsibility for representing USAID-funded projects 

and programs to the population and the GoA rested with the FPO. 

25 Shura is an Arabic word for “consultation” or “council.” In Afghanistan, it is a method for 

decisionmaking whereby the leaders of a community discuss a topic and make a decision for the whole of 

the community.

26 Having to nominate projects in a minimal timeframe is common in combat zones because of ever-shifting 

money cycles at higher levels. That is all the more reason to develop a sound strategic plan at the provincial 

level, so that the minute money becomes available the team can program it into an existing framework 

rather than starting from scratch every time the HQ wants the PRT to spend money. 
 13

crews. They also could hire the head of the local shura to coordinate the labor force rather than 

having the outside contractor find people. 

Step 6: Gaining Government Approval 

In each province of Afghanistan, there are formal and informal governance institutions. 

Because the goal of the PRT was to increase the government’s effectiveness and legitimacy, the 

FPO decided to gain project concurrence through the formal mechanisms, namely, the Provincial 

Council and the appropriate technical line directors representing their ministries: Rural 

Reconstruction and Development, Agriculture and Public Works. It is important to note that 

USAID did not seek approval for the projects, only concurrence. The QIP programming cycle 

 3. Lessons Learned 

1. If you want to utilize the GoA in project identification, then it will require a significant amount of time 

and mentoring by the PRT. The PRT will most likely have to fund the transportation and per diem costs 

of the GoA to visit the communities, which have limited operating funds of their own. The parameters of 

the projects must be clear, and the PRT must have Afghan representatives present at meetings to 

manage community expectations. It is possible that the GoA may promise projects that are beyond the 

PRT’s capacity, which would undermine the entire project. It is much more difficult and time consuming 

to have the GoA engaged, but it is a key factor in counterinsurgency, and the PRT must have a serious 

discussion about the cost-benefit analysis if it is considering bypassing the GoA to meet a deadline. 

The Jalalabad PRT chose to follow the time deadline instead of building the capacity of the GoA, and it 

was probably a mistake. Nangarhar had a competent and active provincial government, which is ideal for 

this kind of program. Further, to achieve the greatest impact on an insurgency, programming of funds 

must have GoA ownership; bringing in the government at a later stage might remove the government 

even further from ownership of the program. 

2. If there are any doubts about the ability to fund at least one project in the area, then the GoA and the 

PRT or its proxy must not go to the area. Only after a budget is secured should anyone meet with the 

communities. The PRT, its proxy, or the GoA, will explain the number of projects that can be completed 

based on the budget. The project nomination process should be explained in simple terms, so the 

community can know when to expect a project to begin. They should be given contact information for the 

GoA and the primary IP so they know that they can follow up directly. They must understand that they 

will be responsible for security in the area for the contractor, and will be held accountable. They must 

understand that the community will have the chance to work on the project, and they must know if a 

trade school option or other training options exist. These discussions may need to be held in multiple 

meetings to ensure that everyone understands the project. 

3. It is important to manage expectations of the beneficiaries during the project identification stage. In 

most cases, the PRT will not know their exact budgets or how many projects they can complete. Once a 

meeting like this is held, the community will expect some kind of results. Considering the strategic 

objectives of affecting the insurgency, if the community’s expectations are raised and nothing occurs, the 

result could be damaging. The people’s frustration with their government for not delivering what they 

thought was promised will be used by the enemy to further undermine the legitimacy of the GoA. 

Therefore, it is imperative that this part of the exercise be handled delicately. 

4. There must be community contribution of some kind for a project to have the desired effects. If the 

community is not willing to contribute to the project, then the importance of the village should be 

reassessed. The PRT could meet with the district sub-governor or the provincial governor to address this 

issue and get greater government involvement to understand why the community refuses to contribute. 

In a particularly hostile area with nearby villages that are good secondary targets, moving focus areas 

should be considered. 
 14

includes a final approval at the ministerial level in Kabul, so the provincial directors do not have 

the authority to approve projects.27

Once projects were identified, USAID staff wrote project nomination forms and translated the 

forms into Pashto for GoA distribution. USAID first met with the Provincial Council, which had 

been together for about a month. This was the first formal meeting between USAID and the 

council, so the FPO spent the morning explaining USAID and the strategy behind QIP. The 

Council was asked to review the projects nominated by the communities to see if there were any 

issues or concerns that were not addressed. They agreed to have their comments back within the 

week, and were very appreciative at being included in the process. They also requested to be 

involved in future programming, especially in the project identification portion. USAID agreed 

that it would be a good idea. 

USAID next met with the appropriate line directors to ensure the projects were nested in the 

larger national programs of their technical ministries. The government was asked to verify and 

concur with the projects within one week; most of the line directors signed their concurrence on 

the internal PRT project nomination form (Annex 1) during the initial meeting. USAID worked 

with each of the line directors in other project programming, so they were familiar with the 

process, and this was merely routine business. 

Once the Council and the technical directors signed their concurrence with the projects, 

USAID sent a final copy of the project form to the Governor’s office for notification. 

Step 7: Holding the PRT Project Nomination Board 

The next step in the process was the Jalalabad PRT’s internal project nomination board, a 

coordinating mechanism in which each agency voluntarily agreed to participate to better 

coordinate efforts.28 The PRT established this meeting within 3 months of its creation because it 

was clear the local community expected each team member to have the ability to discuss any 

project managed by someone in the team. The locals did not care about agency distinctions, only 

that someone could explain what was happening in their village. Although frustrating at times, 

each agency found this meeting instrumental in ensuring that the PRT’s various projects fit within 

 

27 The GoA has a unitary government structure, so decisionmaking authority was not delegated to the 

provinces, which made the job of the PRT much more difficult. The CG was tasked with increasing GoA 

effectiveness and legitimacy, but at the provincial level the leaders often had little of either. Fortunately, in 

Nangarhar, there was a strong government at the provincial level that would make decisions and gain the 

proper support inside each ministry. 

28 The PRT concept has no policy directives that require the leadership of each agency to meet, coordinate, 

or operate together in any way. The Jalalabad PRT developed the nomination board to ensure that each 

agency knew what the others were doing and could support each other. This was a personality-based 

solution to a major coordination problem that worked beautifully. 

4. Lessons Learned 

This is the time to conduct capacity assessments of the GoA. Find out what they can contribute to 

the project. For example, the Jalalabad PRT in 2006 often had Department of Public Works 

engineers work on their projects to ensure the contractors met GoA specifications. Additionally, the 

provincial council agreed to meet with the beneficiary communities on a monthly basis to ensure the 

project was meeting the communities’ expectations. It is not only the community that must feel 

ownership of these projects, it is also the government. 
 15

the strategic focus each agency agreed to honor, there was no duplication of efforts, and the team 

had visibility on what everyone was funding. 

Anyone in the Jalalabad PRT could bring a project idea to the board, which consisted of DOD 

Civil Affairs, USAID, USDA and DOS as voting members, and any other PRT member who was 

interested could attend for situational awareness. Although every agency was on the board, only 

USAID and DOD had money available to fund projects, so if a project was suggested by someone 

on the team without funds and everyone agreed that it supported the mission, DOD and USAID 

would discuss which funding mechanism was more appropriate. The meetings were held only 

when necessary—when someone wanted feedback or guidance on projects they were planning, 

when they needed funds, or when the projects had gone through the cycle described below and 

were ready to be sent to higher headquarters. The board served as a brainstorming session, a 

sounding board, a reality check, and a final check before elevating the projects to the next level. 

The process is as follows: 

1. A representative from the agency proposing the project provides a brief verbal summary 

of the concept. 

2. The representative explains the project nomination and approval process that occurred for 

the project. 

3. The representative asks for feedback/input and possibly funding. 

4. Usually, questions ensue and are either addressed to everyone’s satisfaction at the time, 

or the agency representative is requested to provide more information and complete what 

is unsatisfactory. For example, someone who wants to build a school but has not 

coordinated with the director of education must get that coordination piece in place 

before the board will concur on the project. 

5. If everyone agrees that the project is a good idea, fits within the strategic focus of the 

PRT, and has the necessary government and community approvals, then everyone signs 

the form noting their concurrence. (Note: Only the agency representative has the 

authority to request or deny projects; if someone is against a project they can note their 

concern on the form, but the project may be nominated anyway).

Once the project was approved, each agency had its own internal project approval processes, 

which will not be discussed in this document. Generally, the project nominations were sent to 

higher headquarters for final approval. Once approved, the next step was implementation. 

5. Lessons Learned 

The Project Nomination Board is an excellent tool to allow everyone in the PRT to have visibility on each 

other’s projects. Even if a PRT does not want to use a model of endorsing each agency’s projects, it is 

recommended that representatives meet regularly to discuss the status of ongoing projects, thus 

ensuring the PRT is speaking with one voice externally. 

There is some debate regarding who from the military should participate. Ideally, it would be the head of 

the military component, usually a LTC or COL, the final decisionmaker for DOD project funding. In 

Jalalabad, the Civil Affairs commanders participated because they had de facto authority from the 

military commander to make decisions in the meetings. In the future, both the military commander and 

whoever he or she delegates as project management could participate, because the military commander 

also needs visibility on the other agencies’ projects. Additionally, in some PRTs there is a feeling of 

disparity between the civilian and military components, so the more the leaders of each agency work as 

a team, the stronger that team will become. 
 16

Step 8: Implementation 

Planning is essential, but plans are of little value without good implementation. Due to the 

collaborative nature of this project, and the desired end state of creating a more stable 

environment, it is fundamental that the contractor hired to construct the project work with 

complete community and GoA involvement. 

The best way to ensure cooperation is to write any such requirements into the scope of work 

for the contractor. During the bidding conference, it is important to inform the potential 

contractors that these requirements are non-negotiable, and failure to meet them will be the basis 

for termination. 

Conclusion 

It is not easy to measure the effects of funding construction projects on stability operations. A 

project in one area could be the reassurance that a community needed to believe in their 

government. A project in another area could have little effect outside the immediate community it 

serves. But the people at the tip of the spear in the field have to start somewhere. Once the CG 

starts to understand what “wins” or “loses” in a specific area, they need to capture that 

information and share it with others to ensure that practitioners in the field and analysts and 

policymakers can grow smarter about how to conduct the civilian side of counterinsurgency. 

The CG must keep in mind that the goal is not to buy the community. It is to give the 

community faith in their government so they will take the initiative to deny sanctuary to and 

provide information about the people trying to destroy the government. The communities must 

take their future into their own hands by standing up to the forces who want to undermine the new 

government, and no amount of kinetic operations will convince the community to take such a 

risk. 

Part of defining the battlespace is setting up a good timeline of project cycles. In areas of 

greater instability, the cycle of determining mission criteria, tribal analysis, and project 

parameters will be more frequent than in areas with greater stability due to the changing realities 

of the insurgency. This is fundamental to the success of the PRT’s mission due to the ever 

fluctuating staffing patterns of the various agencies and personnel. The military may rotate on 9-

month cycles, whereas the development officer may stay for 36 months, and the political officer 

for 12. Programming must not be personality-dependent. The timelines for the PRT to analyze the 

battlespace and adjust programming accordingly should be driven by the realities of the 

insurgency, the Afghan people, and institutions in the area, rather than the PRT personnel. 

6. Lessons Learned

Based on experience, it is not enough to do all of this hard work in the beginning. The PRT also must 

follow up as the project develops. Extensive pre-planning, as laid out above, will greatly help with the 

amount of follow-up. If the Provincial Council agrees to meet with the community, and the line ministry 

has a worker on the project, it should considerably ease the burden of management from the project 

funder. Further, it is the responsibility of the donor agency to constantly monitor and evaluate these 

projects and ensure they are being done well. A monitoring schedule and form should be developed for 

each project.