Institutional Determinants of Sustainability of Early Childhood Development Projects: a Case of Baby Friendly Community Initiative Project in Dagoretti, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The pursuit of sustainable projects has been the goal of many stakeholders implementing various projects. This quest has to a large extent been elusive. This can be attributed to the scarcity of literature on how various determinants in different contexts influence sustainability. The study was conducted on the backdrop of observed trends whereby many projects in the Early Childhood Development sector collapse once the donors or the government withdraw their support toward the implementation of these projects. The study aimed to examine how various project aspects determine the sustainability of early childhood development projects with a case of the baby-friendly community initiative project in Dagoretti North Constituency, Nairobi County, Kenya being investigated. The determinants investigated were; project resources, project champions, project leaders, and project staff. At the time of the study, the Baby-Friendly Community Initiative project was being implemented in Dagoretti North Constituency, Muslim Sub location targeting three villages; Muslim, Kanungaga, and Precious. The target population was made up of 507 BFCI project stakeholders while the sample size was 211. The target population was made up of 500 project beneficiaries, two lead mothers in charge of the mother-to-mother groups, two government officials, two Ministry of Health staff, and one staff from the implementing partner of the project. The sample size of the project beneficiaries was derived using the Yamane formula. Stratified sampling was used to get study participants from each village representing a stratum. Proportionate stratification was used to get the sample size of each stratum. This means that each stratum had the same sampling fraction. The other study participants were not sampled due to their low number. The study made use of a descriptive survey design that helped get data from a large number of participants who took part in the study. The researcher used self-administered questionnaires to collect quantitative data while an interview guide was used to collect qualitative data in this research. Percentages, frequencies, mean, and standard deviation are the descriptive statistics used while correlation and regression analysis were used in inferential statistics. Data collected from this study was analyzed with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS V 23.0) and triangulated qualitative data that was analyzed through themes and content analysis. The results show that their is a moderate relationship between project resources and sustainability of ECD projects with correlation value of (r=0.433, P<0.000). Hence, it was recommended that project stakeholders should put on place resource mobilization strategies to ensure that projects do not lack resources. The study also found out that their is a strong relationship between project champions and sustainability ECD project with correlation value of (r=0.655, P<0.000) Consequently, the champions should be involved in planning and designing project activities as this increases the chances of project sustainability. Additionally, the study established that there is weak relationship between project leaders and sustainability of ECD projects with correlation value of (r=0.384, P<0.000).This was dependent on their skill set, the training the leaders receive, ability to mobilize resources for the project and also how committed they are to the project. Considering that the relationship between project staffing and sustainability had a moderate correlation value of (r=0.428, P<0.000), the study recommends that the recruitment of staff should be objectively carried out so as to get competent and highly qualified staff who will contribute to the sustainability of the project. Lastly, the study recommends for studies to be done to look at wider geographical areas, encompass more indicators, and also look at determinants of sustainability of projects that target other age groups that are not ECD projects.