Counterpart International is proud to be a key partner with the US government in its effort to build a more democratic, prosperous and gender equitable society in Afghanistan through the assistance of the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and other international and national stakeholders. Since January 2005, Counterpart has been the lead implementer of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) effort to promote civil society in Afghanistan.  Through USAID, Counterpart International has been implementing a project entitled the Initiative to Promote Afghan Civil Society (I-PACS) through two phases. The first, a five year program, ended in 2010 and in recognition of the success of this first phase of the I-PACS project, USAID recently awarded Counterpart International a 36-month follow-on grant, entitled I-PACS II, which will extend through September 2013.

I-PACS II, led by Counterpart International, has developed partnerships with two international agencies to enhance its program implementation, namely, the International Center for Not-for-profit Law (ICNL) and Development Training Services (dTS). 

Integral to the I-PACS project is its cascade model of capacity and training delivery.  Through this model, the I-PACS II program has partnered with seven local, Afghan NGOs: the Afghan Civil Society Forum (ACSF), Basic Education and Employable Skill Training (BEST), The Afghanistan Center for Training and Development (ACTD, The Association on Defense for Women Rights (ADWRO), The Educational and Training Center for Poor Women and Girls of Afghanistan (ECW), The Women Activities and Social services Association (WASSA) and the Afghan Women's Educational Center (AWEC).  These seven civil society organizations (CSOs), called I-PACS’s Intermediary Service Organizations (ISOs), are the first step in the cascade methodology, the ISOs role in the project is to provide advanced training and technical assistance to twelve other CSOs.  These twelve additional CSOs are the second wave of  I-PACS’s cascade methodology and are called, Civil Society Suppor
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