The Pathology of Rural Assistance Offices in East Azarbaijan Province: A Case Study of Bostan Abad County

One of the main approaches to sustainable and balanced development is the dependence of rural management on people organizations. Rural Assistance Offices (RAO) are non government organizations established in accordance with a law approved by Iran's Islamic Parliament in 1998. They start their activities from 2003 aiming for sustainable integrated development for rural areas in the country. The statistical population consists of 30 rural assistance officers in Bostan Abad county. They discuss the areas of interest by forming a focus group. The statistical population is engaging actively in the collection and interpretation of data. The study recommends the training of managers with adequate knowledge of rural areas and local organizations, adequate project appraisal before the implementation, selection of strong officers neutral to tribal issues, consideration of people attitudes and satisfaction, necessity of cooperation between officers and other organizations, and delegation of more roles to officers with respect to rural issues.