Evaluating the Realization of Mid-term Plans of Metropolitan Municipalities (Case Study: 5-Year Strategic and Action Plan of Shiraz 2013-2018)

Extended Abstract
Introduction
Evaluating plans is significant because it provides useful information on how to effectively implement projects to enhance positive effects and eliminate unnecessary plans. Also, performance evaluation leads to providing feedback information and recognizing the realization of the purposes and prospects of the municipality. Accordingly, the current research aims to evaluate the 5-year operational strategic plan of Shiraz 2013-2018. The main research question is whether this plan has fulfilled its purposes and prospects. Therefore, the unknown aspect of the problem is the realization of this plan. The reason for selecting Shiraz is the numerous problems in various dimensions of the metropolitans of Iran. These problems include the aspects of economic (income instability), managerial (interference in the different urban entities and lack of coordination and cooperation between the responsible organizations), and planning (unrealistic and ambitious plans, improper regulations of the land use in zoning and land subdivision, and neglecting the role of people and their participation). Shiraz City is not an exception.
Methodology
The current research method is analytical-descriptive and is applied in terms of purpose. The data and information collection method is a library and field study. In the field study, the opinions of 30 experts and elites were used in the form of a questionnaire. To analyze the data, a One-sample t-test and factor analysis were used. The T-test with the range of 1-10 (medium level of 5.5) was applied. T-test with the range of 1-5 (medium level of 3) was applied to study the average response to the realization of the plan purposes. Also, factor analysis was used to identify the most significant and influential factors in the realization of the purposes of the 5-year operational strategic plan of Shiraz using factor analysis.
Results and discussion
The findings obtained from the T-test indicate the relatively appropriate state of the prospect realization of the 5-year operational strategic plan of Shiraz. By considering 5.5 as the average of the test, the obtained average is 6.2. Also, the obtained average for all the mentioned indices is higher than 5.5. The total average of this component is also obtained as 6.4.
The results obtained from the t-test indicate that all three dimensions of adaptability, relationship, systematization, and coordination have a mean higher than the test average (3). This result shows a relatively good realization of the plan objectives. This value is obtained for the "relationship and systematization" dimension equal to (3.52), the "coordination" dimension equal to (3.48), and the "adaptability" dimension equal to (3.29), respectively. Also, the total realization of the purposes of the 5-year strategic operational plan of Shiraz is equal to 3.41. It shows that according to the experts, the 5-year strategic operational plan of Shiraz has been realized to some extent.
According to the findings of the factor analysis, the selected final factors are classified as follows:
First factor: this factor explains 13.47% of the total variance, and according to the final filtered matrix, it is correlated with the indices of “Shiraz as the Tourism Center”, “Shiraz as City for Living, Working, and Recreation”, “Participatory of many plans”, “ Shiraz, The city of Information and Communication Technology”, “ Shiraz, a Religious City, and The Cultural Capital of the Islamic Iran”, “Involving New concepts of Planning such as Prospect with the Urban  Planning”, and has a close relationship.
Second Factor: this factor explains 12.84% of the total variance. According to the final filtered matrix, it is correlated with the indices of “considering the long-term prospects with urban planning”, “more use of the NGOs”, “a holistic and integrated perspective”, “Shiraz, the city of service and technology in the border of the Persian Gulf and Southern part of the country”, “Calendar view of planning in budgeting”, and has a close relationship.
Third factor: this factor explains 12.15% of the total variance. According to the final filtered matrix, it is correlated with the indices of “having idea and strategy”, “providing plan from bottom-up”, “Emphasis on the participation”, “Shiraz, a beautiful, cohesive, and identity city”, and has a close relationship.
Fourth Factor: this factor explains 11.70% of the total variance. According to the final filtered matrix, it is correlated with the indices of “merely physical perspective towards the urban planning”, “paying attention to the cultural and social features”, “Shiraz, a powerful city in the urban management and capital attraction”, “Shiraz, a flow city”, and has a close relationship.
 Fifth Factor: this factor explains 10.74% of the total variance. According to the final filtered matrix, it is correlated with the indices of “Shiraz, a safe, clean, and green city”, “taking objectives on different scales”, “paying attention to the cases in municipality activity area”, “changes from the managerial perspective to the governance”, and has a close relationship.
Conclusion
The research result on the purposes of the 5-year operational strategic plan of Shiraz (2013-2018) showed that these purposes are realized to some extent; however, they are far away from the desired realization. Finally, according to the research findings and considering the indices with a lower score than other indices, some suggestions are given to increase the realization of the considered plan:

Transparency in explaining the purposes of the plans through presenting the performance report, honesty in reporting statistics and information, and opinions of the residents about the performance of the managers in the implementation of the plan, and transparency in the decision-making.
Developing a mechanism to evaluate the plan by the municipality as a continuous and stepwise evaluation (before, ongoing, and after the plan implementation), and ensuring the appropriate plan performance. This can be done by creating evaluating working groups and supervisors in the municipality.