Objective: The current Research was conducted with the aim of Strategic Analysis of Rural Development Programs held by Basij Sazandegi Organization to formulate a superior strategic matrix.
Methods: The research followed the paradigm of mixed method (qualitative-quantitative) so that collecting data was done by interview and questionnaire tools in the qualitative and quantitative phases respectively. According to the purpose, the research statistical population consisted of two expert’s groups. In order to evaluate the environment of rural development programs, three groups of rural development organizations’ experts, experts from Basij Sazandegi Organization and rural informants (councils and local leaders), were surveyed. Each group consisted of 30 experts. Also, for developing the superior strategic matrix, 8 rural development experts were asked to rate importance of strategies. SWOT technique was used for environmental assessment and the superior strategic matrix was developed through hybrid TOPSIS-ANP method in Super Decisions software environment.
Results: The results of this study revealed that rural development programs exhibited strengths that surpassed their weaknesses, yet they were also confronted with threats. The superior strategic matrix further indicated that among the 10 strategies derived from environmental analysis, the strategy of "coordinating the Basij Sazandegi organization with other stakeholders of rural development in program formulation and reduction of redundancies" emerged as the foremost strategy. Subsequently, the strategies of "collaboration and regular meetings with local leaders for program implementation and evaluation of rural development initiatives" and "partnerships with associations and religious institutions to mobilize manpower and financial resources towards job creation projects" were ranked as the subsequent most important strategies.
Conclusions: In light of the research outcomes, it is recommended to expand the network of collaboration and cooperation with other rural development stakeholders and adhere to a comprehensive and targeted rural development model to enhance the effectiveness of constructive mobilization in RDPs of Basi.
