In Afghanistan the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is working in partnership with the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) to help the new Afghan government extend its capacity, authority and legitimacy throughout the country. The UNDP is active in supporting the strengthening of information management capacity in Afghanistan through intervention in three areas: (a) ICT policy, capacity, and access; (b) aid co-ordination; and (c) data management. ICT programming aims to (i) advocate for government ownership and implementation of the national ICT policy; (ii) facilitate the updating of the policy to incorporate feedback and account for growing private sector involvement; (iii) provide regular policy advice at senior levels; (iv) expand ICT training support to towns and cities throughout Afghanistan and encourage private sector responsibility for specialist ICT training; and (v) support the creation of an enabling framework for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and public Internet access points. UNDP assists the aid co-ordination efforts of the government through continuing support to the consultative group process and the donor assistance database. To promote transparency and realistic expectations for reconstruction, it supports a public information centre and a national team of public information specialists. UNDP is also expanding its support for data management in anticipation of the NHDR produced by Afghanistan, national monitoring of the MDGs, and in the preparation of a CCA and an UNDAF. The Afghanistan Information Management Service will become a vehicle for building national data management capacity. In addition, UNDP anticipates a role in conducting a national census, preparing the national data strategy and establishing an independent policy development institute.