Qualitative Evaluation of Hadi Project of Karnachi Village in Kermanshah Township: Applying the Grounded Theory Approach

Introduction: Hadi Rural Planning (HRP) was developed by Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning in order to improve infrastructure elements in rural regions across Iran. Hadi Rural Planning (HRP) was developed by Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning in order to improve infrastructure elements in rural regions across IranThe plan aimed to improve rural livelihood through physical construction of roads, electricity, drinking water, sanitation, etc. Although HRP has been going on for sometimes in Kermanshah province, less attention has been paid to its effectiveness. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study is evaluating the HRP in Karnachi village located 5kms. far from Kermanshah city city.
Methodology : In order to gain rich data, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques were used to collect data. Social mapping, ven diagramming, matrix scoring, and transect walking were among techniques used in this study. Moreover, focus group interviews and observation was also utilized in this study. A meeting with rural villagers was planned through village council in the mosque during the time most convenient for local people. The local villagers were asked in advance to participate in the study. Among participants, women were also asked to participate with the consent of their husbands. Social mapping was used to break the ice between local villagers and research team. Ven diagramming was used to identify which group of government bodies local villagers contact the most and the least. Matrix scoring was used to rank problems villagers are currently facing after HRP has been implemented in their village. Transect was used to walk with the local residents around the village in order to observe HRP improvements or problems at close as possible. Focus group interview was utilized when it was felt that participatory approaches were not very effective among some rural villagers. Data was analyzed using grounded theory approach as proposed by Strauss and Corbin. Grounded theory refers to theory that is developed inductively from a corpus of data. If done well, this means that the resulting theory at least fits one data set perfectly. This contrasts with theory derived deductively from grand theory, without the help of data, and which could therefore turn out to fit no data at all. Three steps are used to analyze data with grounded theory approach: Open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. Open coding is part of an analysis concerned with identifying, naming, categorizing, and describing phenomenon found in the text. Axial coding is the process of relating codes to each other, through a combination of inductive and deductive thinking. In selective coding, the researcher chooses one category to be the core category, and relates all other categories derived during previous process to that category. One important consideration in data analysis is that when the researcher feels all added information derived from interview is of no further use, theoretical saturation occurs. This means that no further data collection is required.
Results: Results of this qualitative research indicated that lack of infrastructure, poor service centers, and environmental as well as social and economic factors have created major problems for Karnachi local residents. In other words, HRP have failed to address these problems and has acted as the major reason for that being non-participatory nature of HRP. The plan has also caused reverse migration in that city dwellers have taken advantage of fertile lands in the village by building summer resorts and recreational sites for personal uses. To cross check our findings, two separate meetings were set up with local council members as well as city board members. During the meetings, HRP administrators confirmed our conclusions, that more participatory approaches are needed if the successful HRP allover the country is the case.

Conclusion: Local people should participate in the design and layout processes of any infrastructural facilities such as roads, sanitation, water, electricity for an effective HRP. The results of this study include implications for HRP policy-makers in Iran as a whole and Kermanshah province in particular. Local villagers in Karnachi region in particular - and rural Iran in general - should be actively involved in the physical layout of their home villages if it is expected that HRP interventions to be more effective. Although in HRP objectives it is clearly stated that local villagers should dominate any decision-makings about the reconstruction of their villages, limited attention is being paid to the above mentioned objectives. Furthermore, it seems that the rural developers are using the name of participation to achieve financial support for HRP whereas in reality local villagers are "focipulating" rather than "participating".