The ‘Afghanistan Institute for Civil Society’ (AICS) is a concept that has been incubating for several years amongst Afghanistan’s civil society community, following the 2007 Enabling Environment conference convened by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Aga Khan Development Network, in partnership with the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program and the Asia Development Bank. One of the key recommendations from the conference was to establish independent certification bodies for civil society organizations that are recognized by Government, the private sector, donor agencies and civil society.