A Theoretical Framework for Local Development Process from the Viewpoints of Community-Based Development Activists in Iran

Identifying the main bases of local development and presenting a framework for better understanding its process from the perspective of the activists in the recent community-based development wave in Iran.

This qualitative research uses the Grounded Theory method. The data is collected and analyzed from deep interviews with activists in five successful case studies in Iran.

The results, validated by respondent validation and triangulation methods, demonstrate that community-based local development is most understood by Iranian activists as a human and social phenomenon rather than economic, political, and environmental. The results show that human capital is identified by concepts like responsibility, proactiveness, and psychological empowerment rather than the common indicators of international organizations. Also, social capital and participation are known relatively by concepts such as positive relations, collective actions, positive norms, bridging social capital, and by institutionalization and resource mobilization. The final framework in this article shows that human capital and social capital not only enhance local participation and, therefore the economic, political, and environmental indicators but also are promoted back through reinforcing loops which enable the ongoing running of the development engine.

Research authenticity:

 Despite considerable literature on local development, the authors did not find any published article which identifies the fundamental concepts of community-based development and its process in contexts like Iran which benefit from natural resources to grow outcome development indicators. The suggested framework in this paper well supports the understanding of the explored process.