Rural Government Research Articles

An Investigation into the Challenges and Opportunities of Rural Entrepreneurship in the State of Tamil Nadu

Rural entrepreneurship has come into view as a pivotal mechanism for trade and industry progress and advancement in Tamil Nadu, India, in recent years. This abstract provides an overview of the face and prospects that define rural entrepreneurship in the state. Challenges in Rural Entrepreneurship: Rural entrepreneurship in Tamil Nadu faces a set of daunting problems, including limited access to financial resources, infrastructural impediments, difficulties in accessing markets, skill deficiencies, limited access to finance, infrastructural challenges, market access and skill gaps, opportunities in rural entrepreneurship, government initiatives, agricultural diversification, technology adoption, rural-urban linkages and social entrepreneurship. While rural entrepreneurship in Tamil Nadu certainly grapples with significant challenges, there is a bright outlook for the future. With the right support in terms of financial accessibility, improved infrastructure, skill development, and favourable government policies, rural entrepreneurs have the potential to make substantial contributions to the state's economic growth and development while enhancing the quality of life in rural regions.

Exploring Public Satisfaction in Rural Public Services: 2022 Case Study

This study investigates public satisfaction with service provision in Desa Larangan, Kecamatan Candi, Kabupaten Sidoarjo, focusing on nine key elements outlined in the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform's guidelines. Evaluating citizen satisfaction in areas ranging from requirements to infrastructure, the research surveys Organisasi Perangkat Daerah (OPD) and the Village Government as service recipients. Findings reveal an overall favorable assessment, showcasing a commendable service quality and performance with a Satisfaction Index of 79.02. Notably, infrastructure facilities garnered the highest average score (3.28), while requirements scored the lowest (3.02). This study highlights the positive quality of rural public service provision and underscores areas for potential enhancement, serving as a benchmark for governance optimization.
 Highlights:
 
 Comprehensive Assessment: Evaluated nine dimensions of service satisfaction.
 Favorable Findings: Overall positive performance with notable room for improvement.
 Governance Benchmark: Offers insights for optimizing rural service delivery.
 
 Keywords: Public Satisfaction, Service Quality, Rural Governance, Citizen Feedback, Administrative Performance

ENABLING INNOVATION IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

To ensure sustainable development, there is a limit to the extent of urbanization. Thus, rural development is an essential strategy that many nations must work on to ensure optimal economic, environmental, and social outcomes at a country level. However, rural development in itself is challenging because rural communities typically have limited resources and capabilities to address common livelihood challenges, let alone take on new economic roles. Hence, as part of rural revitalization strategies, innovation plays a critical role. A wide range of technologies can facilitate innovation in rural development, including the internet and new agricultural technologies. In addition, new mindsets and shifts in values, such as the changing trends of work and consumerism, can create opportunities for rural areas to adopt innovation and develop new growth engines. However, it should be noted that the nature of innovation in rural and urban settings are different. In rural regions, growth could be enabled through more specific types of innovations, including frugal innovation, inclusive innovation, and social innovation. To enable these forms of innovations in rural areas, this paper proposes a three-dimensional process model that includes pro-social technological innovation policy, rural innovation governance, and dynamic networks that close the gap between rural and urban innovation systems. Examples from China, such as the development of Tengtou Village and Taobao Villages serve to demonstrate these concepts. Overall, the discussions in the paper suggest that to enable innovation in rural development, it is necessary to foster closer interactions between rural and urban innovation ecosystems for the former to leverage the latter’s technologies, networks, and resources.

E-Gram Panchayats: Enhancing Accountability and Transparency in Rural Administration

Abstract: The "e-Gram Panchayat" application is a transformative digital platform designed to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and accessibility of rural governance in India. This application leverages Information Technology (IT) to bridge the digital divide and empower Gram Panchayats, the local self-governing bodies, to better serve their constituents. The project aims to bring government services, land records, social welfare schemes, and administrative processes to the fingertips of citizens in rural areas.Key features of the e-Gram Panchayat application include a user-friendly interface accessible via web and mobile, comprehensive data management systems, robust security measures, and integration with other government databases. It also includes modules for citizen registration, service delivery, document management, GIS mapping, feedback mechanisms, and capacity building.

Research on the Reconstruction Path of Rural Community in Ethnic Areas from the Perspective of the Rural Revitalization in China

Abstract The implementation of China’s rural revitalization strategy has accelerated the endogenous change of traditional villages, resulting in the restructuring of rural society in terms of geo-community, industrial community, and governance community, and the qualitative change of traditional villages in terms of culture, transportation, technology, and industry compared with the previous ones. The article focuses on a series of changes in the sense of community, which was originally built up by blood relations, as social change accelerates. This is reflected in the structural imbalance of social governance within the traditional villages, the decline of culture, the transformation of economic structure and the spatial reconstruction of the “three lives” of rural ecology and life. In terms of methodologies developed, this study has used survey, observation, and literature methods, as well as other research methods to analyze in detail the changes brought by social transformation to traditional villages, analyze the series of transformation of rural interpersonal relations, blood relations, value identity and so on in the context of social change, and analyze their causes, and at the same time put forward corresponding countermeasure suggestions. The rural revitalization strategy mainly starts from the sustainable development of the governance community, cultural community, industrial community, and spatial community of rural society, and formulates five development requirements in terms of specific measures: prosperous industry, civilized countryside, effective governance, affluent living, and pleasant ecological living. These specifics correspond to the transformation and development of communities in ethnic areas and propose more countermeasures for reconstructing them. By clarifying the connotation and logic of reconstructing the rural community in ethnic areas in China, the path of reconstructing the rural community in ethnic areas in China is constructed by starting from governance, culture, industry and space, stimulating the potential of rural cultural development while cultivating villagers’ spontaneous awareness of participating in rural governance, formulating rural industrial development plans in conjunction with the actual situation, and increasing people’s participation in rural governance in multiple forms and through multiple channels.

Exploring the Optimization Path of Rural Governance in the Perspective of Three Governance Integrations

With the implementation of the new eras rural revitalization policy, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has explicitly set the goal of building a modern rural governance system, emphasizing the integration of self-governance, rule of law, and moral governance in the grassroots social governance system. Rural governance plays a crucial role in grassroots governance, serving as the foundation and key to social governance, and it holds significant importance in advancing the national governance system and governance capacity building. Therefore, this paper discusses the issues in rural governance from the perspective of Three Governance Integrations. Currently, the pain points of grassroots governance are particularly evident in three aspects: the inadequate effectiveness of rural self-governance, the hindered operation of rural rule of law, and the limited role of rural moral governance. Based on this, the paper innovatively proposes three solutions: deepening villagers self-governance, strengthening rural rule of law, and enhancing rural moral governance. By consolidating the foundation of rural governance systems, enhancing safeguard mechanisms, and establishing a robust support system, further development and improvement of the rural governance system in the perspective of Three Governance Integrations can be achieved.

What Is Minimalist Governance?*

“Informality” and “semiformality” are the primary characteristics of minimalist governance. The operation of minimalist governance assumes a boundary between state and society and some amount of autonomous space between them at the ground level. Whether in a traditional or modern form, minimalist governance stands in contrast to the formal, hierarchical bureaucracy of the state. Minimalism is a pragmatic approach to governance tailored to local conditions, a form of semiformal or informal government that emphasizes operational effectiveness over elaborate bureaucratic procedures. Since minimalist governance does not rely entirely on the hierarchical power of the state apparatus, this semiformal approach is simple and effective, hence its “minimalist” appearance. The key to solving the problem of formalism at the basic level of government lies in managing the relationship between “a thousand threads above” and “a single needle below.” Autonomy and self-governance must be granted to the basic level of the government so that party committees may fulfill their integrative political functions and their role in minimalist governance. Ultimately, this will allow the “needle” of grassroots organizations to connect with “a thousand threads above” while also penetrating deeply into local society. There is significant practical and theoretical importance in understanding the uniqueness of Chinese-style modernization, and the modernization of rural governance, from the perspective of “social foundations,” but to achieve this Chinese-style modernization we must learn from the West and from China’s own traditional and contemporary experiences.

Present Conditions and Ensuring Rule of Laws at Local Level: A Case Study on Village Court

This study examines, with particular attention to the Union Parishad in Bangladesh, what constitutes a critical role played by village courts when it comes to ensuring basic rule of law at grassroots level. Since there are no administrative units at village level, the rural local governance structure is driven by UPMs. The Village Court system established under the Gram Adalat (Village Court) Ordinance of 1976 and formalized through the Village Court Act of 2006, serves as a statutory formal court designed to alleviate the hardships faced by the rural poor within the formal judicial system. In order to increase justice delivery in rural areas and improve the resolution of disputes through Salish means, this research looks at how the village court has evolved since its inception in the late 1970s. The Bangladesh’s government has initiated a project called "Activating village courts" with support from the UNDP and the EU in order to reinforce its rural court system. The study, which was carried out in three unions at the Netrokona District, used a combination of methods on as approach to use both quantitative and Qualitative data obtained by Structured and Unstructured Surveys. The findings of the study are followed up by a set of recommendations and initiatives aiming to strengthen the ability of village courts to ensure rule of law at local level. The findings of this research show that village courts are playing a critical role in the Redemption of justice services effectively in rural Bangladesh, which emphasised their importance to broader efforts to encourage access to justice and democratic rights at grass roots level.

Performance evaluation of rural water environment governance based on AHP: a case study of the Beitang River Basin.

Rural water environment governance in China still lacks a systematic and comprehensive assessment protocol to help analyze and improve such governance performance. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was employed in this study to build a governance assessment system that integrates ecological conditions, water pollution control, and public satisfaction. To cover these topics, the assessment system is composed of an indicator layer that is customized to rural water environment governance in China. The Beitang River, located in the rural region of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, was presented as a case study. Field investigation provided raw data for this assessment. A questionnaire survey was conducted to interview local residents on the governance performance. An additional survey with executives who played major roles in the governance was performed to reconstruct a water environment assessment on the Beitang River prior to the governance, in order to highlight the effects of the governance through contrast. The results showed consistency in the questionnaire survey and the assessment system. The AHP assessment system was able to reflect the improvement in the water quality, river ecology, and residential welfare after the governance, and suggested limits and future directions in the following upgrade programs for the river basin.

Pandemic relief spending by New York local governments

COVID-19 federal government funding, especially the State and Local Fiscal Relief Funds (SLFRF) from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), passed in 2021, encouraged communities to invest in infrastructure, resilience and equity. US community development funding has been on a competitive basis the past 40 years, but the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) changed that by providing funds to every local government in the US. A history of austerity since the Great Recession may limit the ability and capacity of local governments to use ARPA funds for transformative change. We surveyed local officials in New York State in late 2021 and early 2022 regarding how they planned to spend their ARPA funds. We model differences between rural and urban governments. Rural governments were more likely to hire expert consultants, develop ARPA specific plans, and participate in regional collaboration. Regression models show these community capacity features also led to more resilience-related investments. The ARPA program wanted local governments to be transformative in addressing equity, and our models find community engagement is key to such transformative change. To move from resilience to transformation requires both community capacity and citizen engagement.

An Analysis of Rural Digital Economy Path

In the face of profound changes in the global digital economy, the rural digital economy needs further transformation and development. Drawing from the current state of affairs, this paper embarks on a multifaceted examination of the digitalization of rural governance. It identifies existing problems and proposes countermeasures. By investigating the status quo, gauging demand, and exploring potential developmental pathways, the author aims to propose effective strategies that will drive the digital transformation of rural governance. The data suggests a promising future for the rural digital economy, indicating substantial potential and room for growth. Concurrently, through the application of Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model experiments, three fundamental factors that influence the development of the rural digital economy have been identified: the construction of digital infrastructure in rural areas, the state of the rural digital economy itself, and the implementation of digital governance in these regions. Meanwhile, research has shown the need to strengthen policy support and build a market-oriented rural digital economy development system; Utilize technological advantages to develop differentiated rural digital economy models; and enhance the legal framework surrounding the rural digital economy industry, which has the potential to stimulate its growth and development.

Comparison Of Sewage And Solid Waste Disposal Methods Among Households In Urban And Rural Local Government Areas Of Anambra State

Improper sewage and solid waste disposal lead to environmental pollution and increased risk of communicable diseases. This study compared the sanitation and solid waste disposal facilities utilized in selected rural and urban local government areas of Anambra State, Nigeria. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 1310 households and data was collected from household heads or a designated adult representative using of quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (KII) data collection methods. The independent variables in this study are the sociodemographic variables and the geographical location of the respondents while the dependent variables are the toilet facilities and solid waste disposal methods. Data from the questionnaire was analyzed using the SPSS version 23 and the hypotheses were tested with the inferential statistics of Chi square at 0.05 level of significance. Most respondents lie between the age group of 31-50 years. Most of the respondents in both the urban (84.4%) and rural(65.0%) areas had secondary education and above but a higher proportion in the urban compared to rural have tertiary education(41.9% versus 22.1%). The difference in educational status was statistically significant (p = 0.0001). There were more business men (46.6%) and civil servants (38.8%) in the urban area than the rural area. Most rural respondents were farmers(41.5%). Many urban household use toilet with sewer connection 152(11.7%) while pit latrine with slab is the most commonly used toilet facility 242 (18.6%). Burning was more commonly used by the rural households (n = 266, 20.5%). Open dumping of refuse and disposal into gullies and water ways were commonly done by the urban households. The gaps that exist between rural and urban areas of Anambra state may present serious health risk and environmental degradation .This issues can be addressed through health education, building more sanitary infrastructure to include the rural areas and enforcing sanitation laws.
 

Dynamic successive assessment of Rural Human Settlements Environment in China

The Rural human settlements environment (RHSE) is an important guarantee for the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy and may be affected by many factors such as water quality, economy and environmental protection. This article focuses on the temporal and spatial variability of RHSE to explore a method of dynamic successive assessment. Firstly, a systematic and causal indicator system is developed from four aspects of agricultural origin environment, sanitary conditions, ecological protection, and economic development. Then, The Variable Fuzzy Pattern Evaluation (VFPE) model and an analytic hierarchy process-entropy (AHP-E) model are combined to successively and dynamically assess RHSE. The proposed method is applied to the dynamic successive assessment of RHSE in China, including inter-province comparisons.The results show that China's RHSE has improved significantly over time, which reflects that the government has achieved remarkable results in rural environmental governance for a long time. In spatial distribution characteristics, the RHSE of Beijing, Tianjin and the southeastern coastal regions maintained the highest, followed by the northeast, north and central regions, and the western region was the lowest. Finally, countermeasures are put forward for the development of RHSE in different regions considering the differences in economic development, geographical environment and infrastructure construction.

A systematic and comprehensive review and investigation of intelligent IoT-based healthcare systems in rural societies and governments

Healthcare needs in rural areas differ significantly from those in urban areas. Addressing the healthcare challenges in rural communities is of paramount importance, as these regions often lack access to adequate healthcare facilities. Moreover, technological advancements, particularly in the realm of the Internet of Things (IoT), have brought about significant changes in the healthcare industry. IoT involves connecting real-world objects to digital devices, opening up various possibilities for improving healthcare delivery. One promising application of IoT is its use in monitoring the spread of diseases in remote villages through interconnected sensors and devices. Surprisingly, there has been a noticeable absence of comprehensive research on this topic. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to conduct a thorough and systematic review of intelligent IoT-based healthcare systems in rural communities and their governance. The analysis covers research papers published until December 2022 to provide valuable insights for future researchers. The selected articles have been categorized into three main groups: monitoring, intelligent services, and body sensor networks. The findings indicate that IoT research has garnered significant attention within the healthcare community. Furthermore, the results illustrate the potential benefits of IoT for governments, especially in rural areas, in improving public health and strengthening economic ties. It is worth noting that establishing a robust security infrastructure is essential for implementing IoT effectively, given its innovative operational principles. In summary, this review enhances scholars' understanding of the current state of IoT research in rural healthcare settings while highlighting areas that warrant further investigation. Additionally, it keeps healthcare professionals informed about the latest advancements and applications of IoT in rural healthcare.

Development of Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) for Prosperity through Community Services (Case Study in Damarwulan Village, Kepung District, Kediri Regency)

Purpose: This research examines the impact of Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) on Damarwulan Village's economic development. It explores BUMDes' significance as a village-owned legal entity managed independently with capital from local resources.
 Method: We employ descriptive qualitative methods, gathering data from various sources, including manuscripts, interviews, and official documents. The study focuses on BUMDes' existence, economic contributions, and factors influencing their success. An analysis follows an Interactive Model involving data reduction, presentation, and conclusions.
 Practical Applications: Our findings have practical implications for rural development and local governance. They inform policymakers and communities about the potential benefits and challenges of BUMDes, aiding decisions on supporting and establishing such enterprises.
 Conclusion: BUMDes significantly enhance Damarwulan Village's economy, offering valuable insights for rural development and governance practices, ultimately improving socio-economic conditions.

Research on the Application of Wechat Mini Program in Rural Revitalization – Taking Yanping Jukou Township in Nanping as An Example

In the current wave of digitization, the application of small programs has penetrated into the lives of urban residents. In the current environment of vigorously promoting digital rural construction in China, this article studies empowering rural public services with digital technology through WeChat mini programs to promote the extension and coverage of "Internet+government services" to rural areas, and focuses on solving practical problems in rural development. Through tourism, rural research, and other means, it expands the business of rural economic development and expands application scenarios, At the same time, the rural government module facilitates the lives of villagers and helps them become wealthy.

Operation mechanism of rural sports governance and implementation path of participatory governance based on mathematical statistics model of Guizhou “The Annual Basketball Event” phenomenon

Abstract Rural public services can be improved by optimizing rural sports governance. In this paper, mathematical-statistical methods for data mining are studied based on the phenomenon of village BA in Guizhou. According to the basic statistical inference method, the data deletion model and the mean drift model under ellipsoidal constraint are discussed to obtain the equivalence between the diagnostic statistics of the two models. The relationships between the estimated quantities before and after deletion and the hat matrix are given for the data deletion model, and the influence functions under such constraints are established while the corresponding mining algorithms for the influence points are designed. The behaviors of participation in the physical exercise had an OR of 4.716 in the model and an OR of 1.375 for walking cumulatively for more than 10 minutes per day, with highly significant differences.

A literature review of smart technology domains with implications for research on smart rural communities

This literature review examines empirical research on smart technologies in eight domains and seeks to analyse implications for smart rural communities research. The development and implementation of smart technologies has the potential to improve various aspects of life in rural areas, including healthcare, mobility, and governance. However, the adoption of these technologies also raises important questions about their relation to communities. The existing literature is reviewed to examine the key findings and knowledge gaps. By using a sociotechnical perspective and considering the specific characteristics of rural communities, the discussion is focused on how smart technologies can contribute to rural contexts. Further, policy implications are considered, encompassing the requirement for a holistic and inclusive approach to the implementation of smart technologies in rural areas. Implementation should address the specific needs, challenges, economic and infrastructural conditions, social structures, and cultural contexts of the respective communities. Future research and exploration of smart community concepts in rural contexts are suggested to improve smart technology implementation.

How do socioeconomic differentiation and rural governance affect households' land transfer decisions? Evidence from China

AbstractIn rural areas, social and economic differentiation profoundly impact rural development patterns, which, in return, impacts rural village social and economic structures and the land transfer decisions of rural households residing within the village. Research on agricultural land transfer has rarely been discussed under the lens of the differentiated socioeconomic structure of rural villages, as well as rural governance capacities. This paper contributes to the existing body of research on the determinants of rural land transfer by examining the role of village socioeconomic differentiation and rural governance based on a quantitative analysis of factors at different scales. The results show that: (1) compared with clan‐based unity structure, kinship‐based split structure and dispersed structure have a positive effect on household land out‐transfer and a negative effect on land in‐transfer. (2) The homogeneity of residents had a negative impact on out‐transfer, while the financial revenue of the village had significant positive influences on households' out‐transfer. (3) The higher the trust in cadres and the evaluation of the local government, the greater the tendency of households to transfer land in, but none of this effect is significant. (4) The socialized agricultural services and the share of non‐farm have significant effects on land transfer. Moreover, households with better geographical conditions, such as those near the county capital and towns, are more likely to transfer their land out. These findings offer significant insights for the management of agricultural scale and the revitalization of rural areas in China, while also offering valuable ideas for the implementation of differentiated agricultural control and rural governance policies in other countries.

Strategic management of rural areas in the context of decentralization

This article analyzes economic mechanisms and approaches to optimize rural governance and development, particularly in the context of ongoing decentralization reforms in Ukraine. Decentralization has given more budgetary and administrative powers to local governments in rural areas, allowing for policies that are more adapted to local conditions. However, local governments often lack the knowledge, skills, and resources to take full advantage of these opportunities. The study aims to identify strategies for strengthening governance and economic management of rural areas through improved financial planning, investment, use of technology, and human capital development. The aim is to provide recommendations for improving the efficiency, sustainability and equity of rural development processes.