Document Type : Exploratory

Authors

• Ahmad Gholipour ¹
• Majid Mokhtarianpour ²
• Ezatollah Abbasian ³

¹ Ph.D in Public Administration, College of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

² Assistant Professor, Public Policy and Administration Department, College of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

³ Professor, Department of Financial Engineering, College of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the underlying reasons behind the failure of comprehensive development planning to fulfill its coordinating role within Iran’s national development planning system. The research is qualitative in nature, exploratory in orientation, and applied in purpose, employing the strategy of qualitative secondary data analysis. The data consist of 16 semi-structured interviews with development experts, along with a set of official and research documents related to Iran’s development planning system, collected between autumn 2023 and autumn 2024. The thematic analysis of the data indicates the inability of comprehensive planning to act as a coordinating force within the Iran’s development planning system arises from three categories of factors: the failure to meet foundational requirements (limited analytical, informational, and temporal capacities); the failure to meet institutional and executive requirements (governance fragmentation and limited implementation capacity); and the emergence of planning and implementation imacts that further disrupt coordination. These factors, by preventing the establishment of a clear, common, and valid basis for the formulation and implementation of plans, have resulted in development plans lacking both internal coordination and the ability to serve as a coordinating basis. Instead, they have further intensified the challenge of coordination within the governance system. These findings underscore the necessity of rethinking the logic of comprehensiveness and moving toward a problem-oriented and priority-driven planning approach in order to generate the coordination required for national development.

Keywords

• Development Planning System
• Comprehensive Planning Failure
• Coordination
• basis of action
• Secondary Analysis of Qualicative Data

Main Subjects

• Other