Project Management Cylce and Performance of Community-based Water Projects in Kangundo Sub- County, Machakos County, Kenya

Abstract

Community-based water projects are a vital aspect of society composition and thus their performance and sustainability are issues of global interest and concern. On the other hand Project management has widely been embraced in commissioning and running community-based projects. This study sought to determine whether project management cycle influences community-based water project performance in Machakos County's Kangundo Sub-county. Precisely this research study tested if there was influence of project management cycle; Initiation, planning, execution, Monitoring and evaluation on the performance of community-based water projects in Kangundo Sub-county, Machakos County. A mixed-methods strategy was used to achieve the research aims, combining qualitative data from in-depth interviews with quantitative data from surveys. The sample size of this study was determined using Yamane's (1973) sample size calculation. A total of 191 respondents drawn from Machakos county water department, Kangundo sub-county water office, Kangundo sub-county administrator office and project management committee (beneficiaries) randomly selected from 32 community-based water projects participated in this study. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Inferential statistics (correlation and regression) was also applied to test the relationship between variables. Tables were utilized in presenting the data. The study established that community-based water project performance increases in tandem with improvements in project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation. When all aspects of project management cycle have been well incorporated in all phases of community-based water projects development, they overall help them perform better and become sustainable. The study's conclusions emphasize how crucial it is to Promote community involvement, increasing openness, giving operational efficiency first priority, allocating funds for capacity building, and putting technological advancements into practice are some of the recommendations. Project reactivation for the projects that have halted is considered an urgent priority. The research paves the door for further investigations into long-term effects, cross-context comparative studies, technological innovation integration and policy formulation to assist community-based water projects.