Factors influencing implementation of monitoring and evaluation processes on donor funded projects; a case of Gruppo per Le Relazioni Transculturali -GRT project in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish factors affecting implementation of M&E practices in donor funded projects in Gruppo per le Relazioni Transculturali – GRT. The study was guided by the following objectives: To establish the influence of staff technical skills on the implementation of Monitoring and Evaluation in GRT in Nairobi County; to examine the extent to which stakeholder’s involvement influences the implementation of M& E in GRT in Nairobi County; to find out how Budgetary allocation influences the implementation of M&E in GRT in Nairobi County and to establish the influence of M & E indicators in the implementation of M&E in GRT in Nairobi County. Descriptive research design was used for the study. The target population consisted of project staff and stakeholders of GRT. A total of 110 respondents were therefore targeted by the study (including 44 staff and 66 stakeholders) out of which a total of 98 responded (consisting 40 staff and 58 stakeholders) giving a response rate of 89%. Questionnaires were used as instruments for data collection. Questionnaires were used to collect data from all the staff and stakeholders. Data was analyzed through the use of a computer software SPSS. Primary data from the field was edited first. Coding was then done to translate question responses into specific categories. Quantitative data collected was analyzed by descriptive statistics while a content analysis technique was used to analyze qualitative data. Descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviation, frequencies and percentages were used to describe the data. The analyzed data was presented in form of tables. In determining the influence of staff technical skills on the implementation of monitoring and evaluation the study found out that the technical skills were inadequate and that technical skill is a determinant of M&E. Regarding the influence of stakeholders’ involvement in the implementation of monitoring and evaluation the study found that stakeholder’s level of involvement to be in small extent. On the influence of budget allocation on the implementation of Monitoring and evaluation the study found out that inadequate allocation of resources can lead to failure in the implementation of monitoring and evaluation to a very large extent. Furthermore, the study also revealed that that inappropriate choice of indicators leads to an unfairly negative evaluation to very large extent. From the findings of the study, it can be concluded that staff technical skills the affect the implementation of monitoring and evaluation in that necessary skills play a key role in providing functional advice in the development of appropriate results-based performance monitoring systems. It can also be concluded that even though there was funding, poor budget allocation thus affects the implementation of monitoring and evaluation. The study further concluded that stakeholders’ participation influence the implementation of monitoring and evaluation. It can finally be concluded that inappropriate indicators of monitoring and evaluation influences the implementation of monitoring and evaluation. The study recommended that the project managers should provide the necessary resources and facilities for monitoring and evaluation. This will facilitate effective implementation of monitoring and evaluation. The study also recommends that the staff should be trained and/or given in-service courses on monitoring and evaluation. This will give them the skills and knowledge in monitoring and evaluation. The study further recommends that Monitoring and evaluation indicators should be well constructed to avoid poor monitoring and evaluation. The study finally recommends that stakeholder’s participation should be improved in monitoring and evaluation. This will promote the implementation of monitoring and evaluation since there will be little resistance from stakeholders. The study finally recommended that another study be done factors influencing the effective implementation of projects in Kenya which was not a concern in this study