Project Management Practices and Performance of the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Program in Kenya

Abstract

County government projects have been a challenge in Kenya although they play a significant role in promoting social services and economic development. The National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Programme (NARIGP) has a low percentage of completed projects with many abandoned due to poor project management practices. The study was designed to assess the influence of project management practices on the performance of NARIGP in Kenya. Specifically, this study examined the effect of stakeholder participation, project planning, project resource mobilization, and project monitoring on the project performance of NARIGP while evaluating the moderating role of Project Management Information System (PMIS). An explanatory research design was used to carry out the study covering a stratified sample of 146 respondents selected from a target population of 229. Data was for the study collected through semi structured questionnaires that were administered using Google forms. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data after coding and entering them in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 27). Additionally, the qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The study established that stakeholder participation, project planning, project resource mobilization, and project monitoring significantly influenced project performance. The study also established that PMIS significantly moderated the relationship between project management practices and project performance except for project planning. The study concluded that effective project management practices had a positive effect on the performance of NARIGP. The study recommended that county governments should invest more in stakeholder participation, project planning, project monitoring, and use PMIS to increase the efficiency of project resource mobilization and overall performance of the NARIGP projects.