Project Management Practices and Performance of County Funded Projects in Kisumu County, Kenya
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of project management practices on performance of county funded projects in Kisumu County, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to examine the effect of stakeholder involvement; capacity building; top management support and funding on performance of county funded projects in Kisumu County. The study used a descriptive research design and targeted 150 employees that were directly involved in project management in Kisumu County. The study sample size was 75 respondents who were selected using stratified sampling method. Primary data was collected using semi structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings indicated that stakeholder involvement and project performance were positively and significantly related (B=0.297, p=0.002), capacity building and project performance are positively and significantly related (B=0.321, p=0.002), top management support and project performance in Kisumu County had a positive and significant relationship (B=0.228, p=0.016), funding and project performance were positively and significantly related (B =0.326, p=0.004). Based on the results, the research concluded that stakeholder involvement, capacity building, management support and funding influence performance of County funded projects. The study recommends to the county government of Kisumu in conjunction with the national government to take keen interests in monitoring the whole process of project management to completion. The government in conjunction with the county government needs to set clear policies governing the management and accountability of Constituency Development Fund, which should be directed towards serving the citizens rather than being utilized for self-interests. The study also advises constant and periodic improvement of the human resource through the induction and training process for the improvement of the quality of delivery of services. The study also highly supports the aspect of transparency in the utilization of project funds since most of them are utilized trough self-interests of the managers. This could be done by over budgeting the projects in order to include their personal expenditures within the fund. To ensure accountability there is need to ensure transparency of information across all stakeholders.
Keywords: Project Management Practices, Performance, County Funded Project
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