Analysis of Opportunities and Challenges Facing “Development and Civil of Counties Cooperatives” in Iran Subject Areas :

Cooperatives are the old institutions reliant on social capital to solve social problems. Also, in modern times, they are considered helpers of governments in solving social issues. In Iranian law, initiatives such as the establishment of “Development and Civil of Counties Cooperatives” have been proposed to utilize the capacity of these institutions. Nevertheless, in practice, these cooperatives have faced challenges that have led to their failure. Therefore, the present study, which is based on a qualitative approach, aims to achieve the proposed strategies to use these cooperatives’ existing capacities and opportunities to meet the challenges facing them. In this regard, in the present descriptive-analytical research, in addition to written and online sources and documents, the text of the conservations with 30 of this field’s experts, beneficiaries, and involved people has also been analyzed through “content analysis.” According to the results of this study, the mentioned cooperatives have the capacities and opportunities, such as “facilitative legal capacities and opportunities,” the possibility of “achieving public benefit within the framework of economic capacities and opportunities,” and the potential of “flourishing local and indigenous capacities of cities.” On the other hand, they face challenges such as “cumbersome legal procedures and their non-implementation,” “undesirable interaction and improper support of government structures for cooperatives,” “difficulty in financing activities,” and “Institutionalizing distrust of cooperatives.” Finally, based on the research findings, the following strategies have been proposed for the success of “Development and Civil of Counties Cooperatives”: “clarification of laws,” “using resilient management,” “networking,” and “social entrepreneurship based on the comprehending and use of local capacities,” “structural trust,” and “effective advertising and education” strategies.