Influence Of Monitoring And Evaluation On Performance Of Constituency Development Funded Projects In Kenya: A Case Of Kajiado East Constituency

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of monitoring and evaluation on performance of Constituency Development Funded projects: a case of Kajiado East Constituency and use the findings to come up with recommendations/measures to strengthen use of CDF funds. The objectives of the study were to assess the extent to which involvement of stakeholders in M&E process influences performance of CDF projects, to establish how M&E cost influences the performance of CDF projects, to determine the influence of timeliness of M&E on performance of CDF projects and to examine how the utilization of M&E results influences on performance of CDF projects. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods. The target population for this study was 124 CDF committees members, (3 Project Committee members from the 25 projects this are Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, Community Leaders drawn from each of the four wards of the Constituency this leaders are religious leaders, Youth leaders and women leaders, CDF M&E members). The study used a stratified random sampling to select 40% of the target population. The sample size of this study was 51 respondents, (thirty 30) project committee members and ten (10) project leaders, six (6) CDF M&E and five (5) community leaders). A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data. Qualitative data was analyzed by used of content analysis and be presented in a prose form while quantitative data was analyzed by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 and presented in tables. The study revealed that involvement of stakeholders is directly and indirectly related to project success, timeliness of M&E to revealed deviates and offered paths for learning and improvements, monitoring and evaluation budget should be clearly delineated within the overall project budget to give the monitoring and evaluation function the due recognition it plays in project management, utilization of M&E results provided a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision-makers. The study concluded that timeliness of M&E, involvement of stakeholders, sufficient budget for M&E activity and utilization of M&E results all had a positive influence on the performance of CDF projects in Kajiado East Sub-County. The study recommended that CDF projects must clearly define what percentage of project cost would go to monitoring and evaluation, monitoring and evaluation of CDF projects must be carried out after every phase of project implementation, the committee should encourage community participation, cooperation among committee members and auditing of complete project to access their worth and that monitoring and evaluation team should present the M&E information periodically for proper decision making.