Since 2008, the Institute has been a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers.

Objectives

• To improve the quality and quantity of research on Afghanistan by providing logistical and financial support for scholars in the United States, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.-To create opportunities for scholars in the US, Afghanistan, and elsewhereo develop their knowledge of Afghanistan by providing fellowships and grants.
• To foster an international community of scholars and scientists who are dedicated to the study of Afghanistan.
• To provide a forum for the exchange of knowledge and scholarly insights through organization of workshops, symposia, and conferences.
• To support dissemination of scholarly production on Afghanistan by any means including newsletters, journals, and monographs in electronic and print media and documentary film.
• To enhance public understanding of Afghanistan and its relationship to the United States through public lectures and activities directed at broad audiences.
• To organize and seek funding for collaborative research efforts, especially between Afghan and US scholars that cannot be undertaken by individual researchers alone.
• To encourage and support identification, authentication, archiving, cataloguing and publication in print and electronic form of significant source materials important for the study of Afghanistan and to build a significant Institute library in Afghanistan
• To forge and strengthen relationships between institutions, scholars, and students in Afghanistan and the United States by identifying common interests and concerns that can serve as the foundation for binational collaboration and exchange.
• To establish and maintain field offices within Afghanistan that can facilitate the work of visiting scholars and serve as vibrant centers for scholarly life accessible to all who are interested.
• To raise funds from public and private sources to support specific activities or to be applied to an endowment aimed at providing permanent support for the Institute.