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With a major emphasis on cooperative planning in rural development, three elements of development process were identified: (1) integration of units involved, occurring when several organizations contribute to a larger collective effort; (2) decentralized planning and local initiative, occurring when planning initiative is at the local level; (3) balanced contributions from public and private sectors, occurring when there is simultaneous input from public and private sectors. Questionnaires and personal interviews were given to administrators of 160 sample organizations (selected from 16 Iowa counties representative of different socioeconomic problems found throughout the state), which were categorized as Federal agricultural agencies, state and county public agencies, and private associations. Definitions of rural development varied, but economic development headed the list, while development activities most frequently mentioned were agricultural aspects and natural resource conservation. Difference in the focus of the three groups coupled with evaluation of organizational commitment revealed the necessity for assurances of interagency goals, costs, and responsibilities as prevention against conflict of interest. Development priorities were identified as schools and education, agriculture activities with farmers, and agricultural-related business and industry. Assessment of organizational structure and function and administrative attitudes was made to determine the level of cooperation attainable. (JC)