An Analysis of the Priorities for Achieving Local Governance in Iran Based on the Q Method

What makes designing a local government structure with a promising approach more necessary than ever is the disadvantages faced by rural management in Iran and the low efficiency and effectiveness of rural development programs and services in disadvantaged areas in the past few decades. This study aimed to examine the priorities of achieving local governance in Iran from the perspective of public and private sectors, local communities, and researchers in regional and rural planning. Thus, a set of influential factors in local governance was extracted from the background studies. After refining and classifying, 31 key factors following the eight principles of good governance were selected. The principles of good governance were central law, accountability, accountability, transparency, central consensus, participation, justice and equality, and efficiency and effectiveness. Then, 30 experts and activists were selected using the purposive sampling method and prioritized the extracted items using a Q table. Finally, the collected data were analyzed in Q methodology software by PCA principal component analysis and Varimax rotation. The findings could acknowledge that there were three different views on the priorities of rural governance. Moreover, participation, accountability, and responsibility were emphasized in each of these groups, respectively. In addition, all three groups agreed on the need to strengthen the questioning environment for the press and media. Furthermore, they acknowledged that strengthening the accountability dimension is a key priority for achieving rural governance.