Stakeholder Management and Project Success: Case of Integrated Financial Management Information System Project in Kenya

Abstract

Projects have various stages from initiation, planning, execution and closure. It is essential that throughout these stages key stakeholders are involved to ensure they buy in into the project. The key stakeholders for the IFMIS project include donors, Ministerial Departments and Agencies, counties, vendors, parastatals and suppliers. This study sought to determine the extent of stakeholder management adoption in the IFMIS project and the impact it has had on success of the project. Descriptive research design was adopted for this study and a sample of 95 respondents was used. Data was collected from the various respondents through a semi structured questionnaire. The research findings revealed that stakeholder management had been adopted in the IFMIS project through communication with stakeholders, provision of adequate personnel for the project, incorporation of views of stakeholders and resolution of any complaints by stakeholders. However there was still need to address how the various stakeholders were categorized, their knowledge gaps on the project and overall stakeholder experience. The project was successful in enhancing efficiency in government transactions and creation of equal platform for competition for government business opportunities. The project however had not been able to fully enhance transparency and accountability in the public sector. The stakeholders identified challenges they face with IFMIS including; frequent downtimes of the system, lack of dedicated support from the IFMIS personnel and inadequate integration with other key government systems. They proposed that The National Treasury enforce use of IFMIS, put in place infrastructure to make the system more robust and ensure that trainings at IFMIS Academy are customized to the need of the various users.