Strategic Plan 2026–2028 (Updated Overview)

ACBAR’s Three-Year Strategic Goals are anchored in ACBAR’s three pillars of service:

1. Coordination & Information Sharing ACBAR is repositioning coordination as a strategic function that goes beyond information exchange. It now actively shapes operational priorities, supports NGO access, and influences decision-making. Regular national and sub-national meetings, quarterly workshops with authorities, and regional team structures ensure field realities drive national advocacy. Information sharing is strengthened through newsletters, flash updates, and new MIS dashboards.

2. Advocacy, Inclusion & Enabling Environment Advocacy is increasingly grounded in field evidence and community feedback. ACBAR leads working groups such as the Women’s Working Group and Advocacy Working Group to amplify NGO voices, promote inclusion of women and marginalized groups, and influence policy processes. Campaigns, policy briefs, and community workshops ensure accountability to affected populations and strengthen NGO legitimacy.

3. Capacity Strengthening & Organizational Development ACBAR is re-establishing its Training Department and launching a new Capacity Strengthening Support Service to replace the Twinning Program. These services will reach at least 150 NGOs by 2028, delivering monthly trainings and tailored modules. ACBAR also leads localization reforms through the Localization Technical Working Group, developing a Strategic Action Plan and a Charter of Commitments to secure NGO representation, access, and funding.

Together, these pillars position ACBAR as a proactive institutional actor—enhancing NGO effectiveness, strengthening collective representation, and ensuring accountability to Afghan communities.

• Localization

Localization is a core pillar of ACBAR’s 2026–2028 strategic plan, anchored in its continued leadership of the Localization Technical Working Group and sustained momentum from the 2025 roadmap. Over the next three years, ACBAR will guide the finalization and implementation of a Localization Charter that articulates shared commitments among humanitarian, basic needs, UN, and donor stakeholders. The strategy also prioritizes the development and roll-out of a multi-year Localization Strategic Action Plan with clear objectives, benchmarks, and accountability mechanisms. ACBAR will strengthen the evidence base for localization through research, learning, and policy engagement, while advancing advocacy that centers Afghan-led perspectives. Further, ACBAR will emphasize improving coordination between humanitarian and development actors on capacity strengthening, increasing local participation and leadership within coordination structures, and embedding accountability to ensure measurable progress toward localization commitments.

• Sub-national Management and Capacity Development 

Over the next several years, ACBAR will strengthen its leadership in sub-national coordination, with a particular focus on building capacity across its seven regional offices and hubs in Kandahar, Herat, Nangarhar, Balkh, Bamiyan, Khost, and Kunduz. While ACBAR already has a strong liaison presence in these locations, it aims to expand its role to provide enhanced support for operational coordination among NGOs and field-level implementers. This expansion will require additional staffing, along with dedicated resources for sub-national data collection, management, analysis, and reporting. ACBAR is actively seeking sustained donor commitments to support its growing role in emergency response planning and coordination at the sub-national level. ACBAR will assume increased leadership in supporting joint humanitarian and basic human needs coordination platforms, such as regional teams, to promote more integrated coordination and response.