Evaluating the Performance of New Rural Management with a Good Governance Approach and Presenting Solutions for its Improvement in Rural Areas (Case Study: Shaho District, Ravansar County)

Document Type : علمی

Authors

• Hamed Ghadermarzi ¹
• Davood Jamini ²

¹ Kordistan Universiry

² University of Isfahan

10.22067/jrrp.v6i2.57099

Abstract

Extended abstract
1. INTRODUCTION
Rural chiefs can play a significant role in promoting the goals and policies of government and people in rural areas as a link between government and people. However, it is necessary to note that the source of power and legitimacy in the urban and rural governorship, is all the citizens and villagers, and their presence in all aspects and pillars of the civil society. In a nutshell one can state that the main task of modern rural management is to preserve and achieve sustainable rural development as a public institution with its specific tasks. Regarding the activity and presence of more than a decade of rural managers in different affairs of villagers, the basic question that can be surveyed is that what is the satisfaction level of villagers from rural managers based on good governance indicators, and what solutions do the villagers propose to improve the status of good governance indicators in their villages? According to the stated issues, the purpose of the present study is to evaluate the performance of modern rural managers with a good rural governance approach and providing solutions for improving it among rural communities, which is performed as a case study of Shaho village which is located in Ravansar County.
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The United Nations Development Program defines governance as the following: exercising economic, political and administrative authority for the administration of the affairs of the country at all territorial levels, including the means by which the government promotes cohesion and social integration, and ensuring people's welfare and prosperity. The criteria for "good governance" are presented by Garau et al. and according to them, the set of criteria should be examined and considered in a coherent and mutually reinforcing way: 1- The process of democratic decision making, 2- Legitimacy, transparency and accountability, 3- Efficiency and effectiveness, 4- Fairness and justice, 5. Participation and inclusion, 6. Transfer of affairs to the lowest possible level. According to the Majlis (Parliament) Research Center, the governance indexes in Iran are as follows: 1. Accountability 2. Consensus base 3. Transparency 4. Participation 5. Law orienteers 6. Responsibility 7. Justice. 8. Efficiency and effectiveness. Also, according to studies, the most appropriate indices of good rural governance in Iran are: participation, responsibility, accountability, legality, transparency, collective agreement, effectiveness of performance, and justice orienteers. It should be noted that each of these indicators include several variables and totally encompasses all aspects of good governance in rural areas of Iran.
3. METHODOLOGY
The purpose of this study is to use applied research method and descriptive-analytic research method. The population of the study consisted of all the headships of rural households in Shaho district and using Cochran's formula, 285 family caregivers were estimated as the statistical sample. The main instrument of the research is a researcher-made questionnaire and its validity was confirmed by experts and academic professors after necessary corrections were made in several stages. In order to assess the reliability of the tool, a guideline study was conducted in one of the villages outside the study area and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.901) indicated that the tool was durable. The high cost of completing questionnaires and the lack of cooperation of relevant organizations with researchers has been one of the most important limitations of this research.
4. DISCUSSION
The findings of this research showed that satisfaction rate of villagers in Shaho district with a 2.8 mean, was less than average regarding rural managers' performance with an emphasis on good rural governance indexes, and the highest satisfaction of villagers from rural modern managers to collective agreement indicators with an average of 3.61 and a standard deviation of 1.03 and the lowest level of satisfaction belongs to liability index, with a mean of 3.04 and a standard deviation of 1. 52.
5. CONCLUSION
The new rural managers in the studied area are not functioning well according to the good governance indicators and for the first time in the country, by villagers in the Shaho district, the villagers have offered operational solutions to overcome good governance problems. The findings of the study showed that three strategies of "rural villagers' opinion polls in different stages of implementation (before, during and after implementation of programs)"; "more and more sympathetic cooperation and activities of rural managers in rural environment" and " transparency of village plans and activities with villagers ", respectively, with 154, 132 and 126 repetitions, are the most important ways to improve the status of good governance indicators in the study area.

Keywords

• Rural Development
• Good governance
• Rural Management
• Shaho District

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