Humanitarian risk mitigation strategies adopted by non-governmental organizations in west pokot County, Kenya

Abstract

This research project sought to identify the risk mitigation strategies adopted by humanitarian NGO ’ s in West Pokot County. The objectives of this project were to identify the nature of risks encountered by NGO ’ s in West Pokot County and the risk mitigation strategies adopted by these NGO’s . The methodology of research entailed descriptive statistics involving a population of 21 NGO ’ s in West Pokot County. The instrument used i n the study was q uestionnaires with closed - ended questions as well as open ended questions which was previously pilot - tested to establish content validity. The questionnaire was sent out to the managers of these NGO’s in advance. Descriptive statistics wer e used to analyze the cleaned data. The Study found that hazard risk was the most important risk according to the responses from NGO’s . This was followed by financial risk as risks affecting achievement of organizations goals . On risk mit igations; r isk av oidance, risk reduction and risk retention were the t hree most preferred risk mitigation strategies employed by most NGO’s in their operations . In conclusion, b a sed on the findings, it is recommended that hazard risk be looked into with a view to creating an environment with less risk to raise the effectiveness of employees, through initiatives such as f inancial incentives, appropriate insurance packages and additional security to employees. In order to secure funding, it was evident that more non t raditiona l funding sources and mechanisms have to be explored in order to operate. With respect to risk mitigation strategies , it is recommended that Integrated Risk Management Framework needs to be in place to provide a cohesive risk management process. On the part of e mployees , they need to know their roles, responsibilities, and their accountab ilities so as to reduce risk. The right team to manage projects is core in effective implementation of projects. This will not be complete without introducing or having in place incentive measures that will motivate the employee to monitor productivity and hence reduce risk at organizational level. The findings and conclusions together with recommendations of this study will go a long way in building theory as well as kno wledge base in this field, and suggests areas for further research