Stakeholders’ Participation in Project Management and Performance of Donor Funded Projects in Kenya: a Case of Agriculture and Dairy Economic Development Project in Emali

Abstract

The primary factor for a project's failure or success is the commitment to engage stakeholders during the entire project cycle. This study aimed to determine how stakeholders' participation affect the performance of donor-funded initiatives in Kenya. Numerous projects in Kenya fail due to the lack of stakeholder involvement, resulting in unsuccessful project implementation. The specific goal of this study was to assess the effects of stakeholders' participation in the identification, planning, implementation, and monitoring and control phases of the Agriculture and Dairy Economic Development Project in Emali, Kenya. The study employed a descriptive research design, targeting 135 workers from different departments in the project. A structured questionnaire with both open- and closed-ended responses, utilizing a 5-point Likert scale rating, was used to gather primary data. The data was analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) to create a regression model and perform hypothesis testing analysis. The findings of this study would be of great significance to various stakeholders, project policymakers, academicians, governments, and future donor-funded projects. The study highlighted the spositive influence of stakeholder participation in project identification, planning, implementation, and monitoring and control on the performance of donor-funded projects. The study recommends enhancing stakeholder participation and allocating adequate resources for monitoring and control activities to ensure the success of donor-funded projects. Further studies on integration of stakeholders' participation in various phases of the project life cycle, including project scheduling and project closure, in addition to the four phases of project identification, planning, implementation, and monitoring and control, is suggested to validate and expand the current findings