Assessing the Level and Type of Rural People's Participation in Rural Guide Plan: A Case Study of Sangestan, Hamedan County of Iran

This study aimed at assessing the level and type of rural people’s participation in Rural Guide Plan (RGP) in the village of Sangestan in Hamedan county of Iran. It was conducted in a survey method. The main tool of this research was a questionnaire and its statistical population consisted of 483 men in the village; among them, 150 people were selected as target sample by using Cochran formula. Study findings showed that there was a significant relationship between the level of rural people’s participation and some independent variables like participants’ education level, income, tendency to stay in village and motivating to participate in the RGP. Also, the result of multiple regressions indicated that three independent variables including participants’ income, tendency to stay in village and motivating to participate in the RGP had impact on the level of rural people’s participation in the RGP. Totally, these three variables explained 86.3 percent of variation in the dependent variable. Based on the study results, the level of rural people’s participation in the RGP was about average rate and participation type was mainly advisory with financial incentives and motivations.