The Future Study of Rural Development Planning (Case Study: Varzaqan County)

The present research in the field of pragmatism approach - as a mixed methodology paradigm - has addressed the future of rural development research; so, in terms of methodology, it's about mixed methods, by purpose it is a functional type, in terms of nature and method, it is a descriptive-analytical one and in terms of time, it's kind of futuristic. According to the research needs, three different sample volumes were used to collect and analyze data related to Structural Impact Analysis, Defining Possible Situations and Scenario Basket sections, including experts in the field. To identify key factors, the combination of the "Media Browsing" and "STEEP (V)" method and using the Atlas.ti software, 362 article titles from 6 prestigious journals were used in the period 2014-2018; also, content and formal validity methods and techniques were used to calculate the validity and Cronbach's alpha (0.86) was used to measure the reliability of the research questionnaires. Structural analysis using the MicMac method shows that the dispersion patterns of the effective variables indicates system instability. Key factors: "Development of women's participation in social affairs, migration, health development and quality of life" from a social field; "ICT development" from a technological field; "Rural entrepreneurship" from an economic field and "spatial identity" factor from values field influencing the future of rural development planning in Varzaqan County. Finally, on the horizon of the Seventh Development Plan, 15 scenarios that are considered to be static or unbelievable scenarios are expected to be slightly diminished in the planning process in the Seventh Development Plan. Keywords: Planning, Rural Development, Future Research, Scenario Planning, Mixed Methods.