| dc.description.abstract | Good project management practices are key to the success and sustainability of community led projects. In the community, the fight against HIV and Aids is spearheaded by projects aiming at stopping further spread of the epidemic, and improving the lives of those infected and affected. In Imenti North Sub county, these projects are mainly implemented by civil society organizations which include non-governmental organizations, faith based organizations and community based organizations. This study sought to assess the influence of project management practices by civil society organizations implementing HIV and Aids projects in the sub county. It examined critically the extent to which civil society organizations employed project management practices when implementing HIV/Aids projects. The study was guided by five objectives namely; to determine the influence of strategic planning on implementation, to establish the influence of adoption of information technology, to establish the influence of monitoring and evaluation practices, to establish the influence of training on project management practices, and to establish the influence of risk management by civil society organizations on implementation of HIV and Aids. The study targeted respondents from civil society organizations as follows; 8 project managers from non-governmental organizations, 5 project coordinators from faith based organizations and 30 project coordinators from community based organizations. From the target population of 43, a sample of 36 project managers and project coordinators were selected for this study. This included 7 project managers under NGOs, 4 and 25 project coordinators under faith based and community based organizations respectively. The study adapted descriptive research design. Questionnaires were administered as key instruments for data collection. Quantitative data was analyzed and presented through descriptive statistics; however qualitative data, detailed narrative was used to summarize data. The study revealed that majority of the civil society organizations had both vision and mission statements. This was represented by 93.9% of the respondents who indicated that their organizations had both vision and mission statements. However, only 29.0% of the respondents indicated that their organization had vision statement agreed by all members and used to guide mission and projects, and mission statement used to guide decisions about projects. The study also established that 45.5% of the respondents indicated that they did not have computers in their organizations. The study also established that only 27.3% of the respondents indicated that monitoring processes were documented and data used to inform management decisions, donor reporting and to provide feedback to the community. The study also established that only 63.6% of the respondents had been trained on project management. Majority of the respondents indicated that they would like to be trained on monitoring and evaluation, and proposal writing. 54.5% of the respondents agreed that the organization evaluated and recorded the risks when making important decisions. The study also revealed that organizations do not have enough data on events that it can learn from its own mistakes. This study recommended that civil society organizations especially community based organizations should be trained on importance of strategic planning. Civil society organizations should seek support for information technology facilities such as computers, printers and modems which are beyond their reach from well established organizations, corporates and well wishers. Civil society organizations should be capacity build by well established organizations and development partners on monitoring and evaluations guidelines with more emphasis on reporting and participatory M&E. Civil society organizations should also be encouraged to be communicating the risks to relevant stakeholders, develop a risk review process so as to ensure projects are successfully implemented. | en |
