An investigation of factors influencing performance of non govermental projects in Kenya: A case of Garissa County

Abstract

A project is a temporary group activity with a defined beginning and end in time, scope and resources designed to produce a unique product, service or result. The performance of a project towards meeting its intended objectives is dictated by diverse factors. According to the NGO Council of Kenya there are so many projects whose performance to quality, cost and time has been put into question. This study sought to investigate the factors influencing performance of NGOs projects in Garissa County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were to establish if and to what extent funding, organizational culture, governance and community participation influences performance of NGOs projects in Kenya. Descriptive research design was employed. The researcher took the entire 72 fully functioning NGOs as his target population and consequently as the source of his research sample size, the researcher used stratified random sampling method in the study and the sample size for the study were 56 respondents. Data was collected using a questionnaire, and analyzed. The study found out that availability and accessibility of funding, governance issues such as leadership and accountability, organizational culture as well as community participation influenced performance of NGOs projects in Garissa County. The study recommends that the NGOs should diversify their funding sources. The research also recommends that top leadership of NGOs should have minimum qualifications of bachelor’s degree and should be adequately equipped with management skills through continuous training. The above recommendations coupled with focus on building and sustaining organizational culture that motivates employees to reap their full potential will help the NGOs in improving their project performance. Finally, the study recommends that in order to achieve meaningful community participation, NGOs need to adopt flexible policies and procedures that allow communities to explore ideas and make their own decisions.