| dc.description.abstract | The role of stakeholder participation in project performance cannot be overlooked. A review of case studies has demonstrated a relationship between the two. The study was undertaken to demonstrate how stakeholder participation influences the performance of donor funded projects. The study considered community participation in four (4) phases of the project cycle; initiation, planning, implementation and M&E. In assessing project performance the study was limited to three (3) key project performance indicators; timely completion, cost implication, and project sustainability. The study was guided by four objectives: identify the influence of stakeholder participation in project initiation on project performance, understand the influence of stakeholder participation in project planning on project performance, determine the influence of stakeholder participation in project implementation on project performance and lastly determine the influence of stakeholder participation in M&E on project performance. The researcher studied KIFSLP in Kinango Sub County, Kenya which was funded jointly by Safaricom Foundation and the Kwale County Government but implemented by KRCS. The respondents were project representatives from the two donors, representatives from the implementing agency, representatives of the PIC and the project beneficiaries. The first three categories of respondents were sampled purposively while simple random sampling was employed for the last (project beneficiaries) category. Data from the first three categories of respondents was collected using key informant interviews while questionnaires were used to collect data from the project beneficiaries. A total sample size of 70 was used in the study. Descriptive design was used to analyze data; specifically the researcher used SPSS and mainly measures of central tendency were used to describe data. The researcher correlated and did regression of the dependent and independent variables in order to test the hypotheses of the study. The study found that stakeholder participation and project performance were positively correlated. While participation in initiation, implementation and monitoring and evaluation were positively correlated to project performance, participation in planning and project performance were negatively correlated. Tables were used to present the data. The researcher concluded that stakeholder participation in the four phases of the project cycle influences project performance. The researcher recommends further research on influence of stakeholder participation on other project performance indicators other than those considered in this study (time, cost and sustainability). | en_US |
