Terms of Reference
Afghani Quick Hits –
Infrastructure Building for Counter-Insurgency Operations
As news reports have highlighted, the Obama administration
has recently decided to increase the number of US ground
troops by 30,000 in Afghanistan in an effort to quell violence,
stem the increase in popular support for the Taliban, and
provide an environment for the construction of accountable
and efficient government institutions. He will announce this
troop surge on TV this evening. While the Obama plan does not
implement the entire counter-insurgency strategy requested by
General McChrystal, the top U.S. officer for Afghanistan
operations, it will follow the classic approach to
counter-insurgency strategy known as “Clear, Hold, and Build.”
Clear the enemy out of strategic popular centers;
Hold those centers using an active presence of combat troops,
who cooperate and work with local leaders to root at possible
insurgents and provide peace and stability; Build basic
infrastructure and governance institutions to stem local
support for the insurgency. As part of this effort, the United
States Agency for International Development (US-AID) will provide
the technical expertise and funding for the “Build” projects
of the counter-insurgency program. You have been hired to assist
in what is known as the “quick hits” portion of this wide-ranging
“Build” operation. “Quick hits” are a series of small scale
infrastructure projects that are tailored to meet the needs of
local communities. These projects will be implemented immediately
after US forces have secured local communities in the hopes of
immediately winning public support for US operations.
These projects generally include 1) local road construction,
2) electricity grid repair,3)building of new sewer systems,
4) enhancements of local parks and sports venues, and 5) the
building of one-room school houses for elementary education.
You have been given $15 million and a great deal of flexibility
in how the project can be implemented. In order to isolate
the effect of a particular quick hit, your superiors have
suggested to that you prioritize one of the above project types.
You can choose any of the five project types above for your
initial effort -- You must simply offer a reasonable explanation
for why you chose the particular project type. This decision
can be based on your personal expertise, logical arguments
about the needs of Afghani citizens at this time of year,
or preliminary surveys and interviews. Keep in mind that the
goal is not to compare the different types of quick-hits to
one another, the goal is simply to choose a single project
type and evaluate its success at achieving the mission’s goals.
Based on your knowledge of troop increases in Afghanistan, the
initial surge will be able to secure and stabilize 70 districts
within five southern and eastern Afghani provinces (Helmand (11),
Kandahar(15), Paktika (27), Nurestan (24), and Khost(17)).
In other words,these 70 districts will have been cleared
of armed insurgents, and are securely held enough that they are
suitable for quick hits projects. An excel spreadsheet has
been provided that lists the 70 districts. 11 More information
on topography, demographics, and population needs can be found at
(http://www.aims.org.af/sroot.aspx?seckeyo=52&seckeyz=38)
and on current projects in each province
(http://www.mrrd.gov.af/nabdp/DDP_1.htm)
2
You have put together a well-trained team of 10 international
experts, 50 trained Afghani staff for the operations, and have
permission to use U.S. forces to provide security for your teams
in the field. This sizable staff will allow you to operate in 4
communities at once, which will enable you to complete quick
projects in 30 districts by the end of January. Your mandate
extends simply beyond selecting the 30 target districts;
you are also expected to evaluate the success of the project.
Success is defined as increases in local trade and economic
welfare, but also more abstract concepts such as satisfaction,
faith in government, and reduction in support for the Taliban.
The results from your evaluation will be used to improve “Build”
operations, as the U.S. military secures other parts of
Afghanistan. You can use any of the tools discussed in this
class to evaluate the project. The head of US-AID operations in
Afghanistan has requested that you provide your initial research
instruments to him within one week. The quick turnaround is
necessary, so that US-AID can allocate budget and personnel
to the project. At a minimum, you should include:
• A description of the evaluation project, explaining your
overall design, key variables to be collected, and defense
of your chosen “quick hit” project and research method
(No longer than 2 pages, single-spaced)
• A explanation of your site selection (i.e. sampling)
strategy (No longer than 2 pages, singlespaced)
• Your research instruments (these may include surveys,
interview protocols, case study designs, content analysis
collection and coding rules…) (No longer than 5 pages per
instrument and no more than 2 instruments).
