Factors influencing the sustainability of donor funded projects: a case study of mission of hope International at Mathare slums,Nairobi county.

Abstract

Project sustainability is the key encounter fronting many unindustrialized nations. Enormous quantity of schemes employed at huge charges often inclines to encounter problems with sustainability. All chief supporters have raised their concerns towards the sustainability of projects after implementation. The objective of this research was to establish the factors that influence the sustainability of donor funded projects citing Mission of Hope International at Mathare slums in Nairobi County. The key objectives of the study were to establish how monitoring and evaluation influences the sustainability of donor-funded projects, to establish how shareholder participation influences the sustainability of donor funded projects, to determine how management commitment influences the sustainability of donor-funded projects and to establish how achievement of desired goals influences the sustainability of donor-funded projects. A case study design was used in the study. The target population composed of 326 respondents. The study used a sample size of 163 respondents who constituted of 43 staff of Mission of Hope International, 20 local community leaders and 100 community achieved through random stratified sampling design. Questionnaires were used as the key gathering apparatus in the study. Questionnaires were deemed appropriate as they ensured confidentiality of the respondents. A preliminary study was carried out to pretest the strength and reliability of instruments of data collection. The supervisor’s opinion was obtained to ensure content validity of the research instrument. The half-slit method was used to approximate the reliability of the instruments. The data collected from the field was analyzed using Statistical Package of social disciplines version 20 and expressive data such as mean proportions and average deviation was used and also inferential statistics was used. Data was presented using cross tabulation tables to facilitate comparisons and conclusions. The closed ended response questionnaire used a five point likertgauge.Majority of the defendant of the management committee majority of the respondents felt that number of meetings done with a mean score of 3.5 (moderate) which a forms the bases of the implementation of the projects, were of the view that the number of reviews done with a mean score of 3.4(moderate) which indicate project ownership and sustainability. Majority of the respondents on project sustainability showed that high school attendance with a mean score of 3.9 (little extent). However, they also felt that Monitoring & evaluation was fully participatory with community involvement with a mean score of 2.7 (agree). Thus the implementation team involved community/group members in project identification/Conceptualization with a mean score of 2.8 (agree). Community was involved in project implementation through cost sharing with mean score of 2.6 (agree). Community was involved in financial transactions of group account with a mean score of 3.4 (unaware). Lastly they also felt that community was not involved in sharing of benefits of donor funded water project with a mean score of 3.2 (unaware). The study also concludes that most of the residents were involved in the management of donor funded projects. Community capability building was lacking before the commencement of the projects and therefore the public lacked suitable expertise for administration, lacked information of policy guiding principle on the management of schemes and there was weak planning from the management. The study, therefore, recommends more efforts to encourage more capacity building of stakeholders especially the community of Mathare in the project development and execution nourishing the schemes. Research recommends more studies to be carried out on this issue to inaugurate whether there are features influencing the sustainability the post donor funded projects.