Ranking and Assessing the Optimal Allocation of Development-Service Equipments to Iranian Village Assistance Offices

In the present study the optimal allocation of development-service equipments to village assistance offices (VAOs) was evaluated by applying factor and cluster analysis. The dominant approach in the study was survey and the required data was collected by a questionnaire using proportional multi stage stratified sampling method, in the fiscal year 2005 from 450 VAOs in Esfahan, Bushehr, Tehran, Khorasan-e Razavi, North Khorasan, Khouzestan, Semnan, Kerman and Hamedan provinces. Experts and managers of provincial governments, and Municipalities and VAOs Organization assessed the content validity of the questionnaire in pilot stage. The findings showed that 57.38% of the statistical population did not receive any type of distributed equipments and 42.6% received at least one or two equipments, 42.38% of them were waste collection vehicles, the highest share, and 6% were fire fighter trucks, the lowest share. The results of the factor analysis implied that 11 factors were extracted that could explain 57.07 of the total variance in variables. Also the results of the paired t tests between ranking and the index for received equipments showed that there was a relationship between the two which was significant at 99% level. In other words the process of distributing equipments, and distribution indices and methods needs modification and adjustment.