This study aims to explore the impacts of global changes, which affected the
related national institutions, policies and programs, on the responses of local
organizations to theses changes. It aims also to pursue the differential effects of the
variant internal socio-economic structures of local communities on these responses.
The core was to disclose the extent of change of the role perfonnance of local
organizations related to rural development that took place in some specific new and
old rural settlements the last decade of the twenties century. The study is based mainly on the before-after and cross-region comparative
approaches and the application of quantitative techniques. A sample survey was
undertaken during the summer and autumn of2001 on a selected random sample of
400 heads of households located equally in two rural areas In Giza governorate and
South Tahrir, to represent the old and new lands respectively. The main tool used to
collect needed data was a household questionnaire. It was applied along with
personal interviews with the selected interviewees. Measures cover the demographic
characteristics of the household, the socia-economic conditions, farm data, work
conditions of household members, and the perceived changes of role performance of
local rural organizations during the last ten years were included In the questionnaire. Change of the performance of the specific roles of local organizations during
the last decade from the respondents' point of view was measured. Eight loeal
organizations cover a vast range of developmental activities were studied. These
organizations are the local administrative units, the agricultural cooperatives, the
village banks. the veterinary clinics. the health clinics. the community development
societies, the Kindergartens and the rural clubs (youth centers). Differences across
time in each of the two rural areas and between the two areas in each period and
between the trends of change in both old and new areas were statistically tested using
non-parametric techniques. In general, significant changes in the role performance have already
occurred in about 75% of the organizations that have economic as well as general
welfare related activities. Two main findings related to the changes of the performance
of local organizations that resulted from the contextual effects of local society
response to the globalization related national institutional changes could be
concluded. First, there are significant differences of the role performance of local
organizations between the old and the new lands in the past and at present in most
organizations. They were mostly better in the new than the old lands. Second, the
trend of change was towards more deterioration of the role performance of almost all
economic related organizations against some slight improvement of the role
performance of the general welfare related organizations .