Project Management Practices and Performance of Women Economic Empowerment Projects in Homa Bay County

Abstract

Women empowerment projects play a critical role in the socio-economic development of women, especially in less developed countries. A significant concern among governments, donors, and other major stakeholders deploying humanitarian programs is their failure to meet objectives and poor performance. However, women empowerment projects in Homa Bay County have adopted several project management practices. This study, therefore, sought to determine the influence of adopting various project management practices on the performance of women empowerment projects in Homa Bay County. The study specifically sought to examine fundamental tenets of project management, including stakeholder management, project planning, risk management, and systematic monitoring and evaluation. The research study adopted a descriptive design where information is collected through a census survey. Questionnaires were deployed to respondents sourced randomly from different women empowerment projects in Homa Bay County. The responses for coded and the various degrees of agreement were tabulated. The Pearson correlation test was used to investigate the nature of the relationships between the various questionnaire scales. The study's results revealed a significant relationship between the different project management strategies and the performance of the women empowerment projects. The study recommended the need for program implementation teams to assess stakeholder interests to improve buy-ins. It further recommended the need for the government to conduct capacity-building and equip project management teams with adequate knowledge of project planning and more robust project evaluation and monitoring measures. Finally, ensuring functional audit departments, practical risk assessment, and setting clear risk management strategies are ways project teams can provide better project performance