Based on a research project titled "Institutional Structures for Improving Rural Community Services", this essay addresses the following questions: How can rural communities cope with public services of both limited quantity and quality? How can rural organizations and leadership be developed and maintained to force accountability on government entities? How can the rural community development practitioner enhance his capacity to assist communities in obtaining public services? Specifically, this essay discusses: (1) the rural setting (migration patterns, existing services, trade-offs); (2) the rural economic system (a model depicting the relationship between rural areas and urban trade centers); (3) the variables which influence public service delivery systems (population density; geographic area to be served; distance to major urban center; availability and source of financial resources to support given services; participation of voluntary organizations in service delivery systems; cooperative arrangements among municipal, county, state, regional, and Federal agencies; attitudes and expectations of local residents; unique requirements of the service being delivered); (4) leadership and organizational considerations (leadership identification, representation, involvement, and cooperation and organizational influence). (JC)