Community Participation in Project Planning and Performance of County-Funded Road Infrastructure Projects in Baringo County, Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t4428Abstract
County funded road infrastructure projects in Baringo County, Kenya, continue to experience delays, stalling and incomplete delivery despite policy commitments under the County Integrated Development Plan (2023–2027) to expand and upgrade the road network. This manuscript examines the relationship between community participation in project planning and the performance of these projects. Using a correlational research design, data were collected from 88 stakeholders drawn from county government officials, project management staff, engineers, contractors, finance and procurement officers, ward administrators, and monitoring and evaluation officers, sampled from a target population of 137 through stratified random sampling. Descriptive findings showed that community participation in project planning was moderate (M = 3.47, SD = 1.19), with identification of priority needs rated highest and committee representation lowest. Performance of road infrastructure projects was similarly moderate (M = 3.47, SD = 1.19), supported by strong perceived improvements in accessibility and travel time but constrained by weak timeliness and budget adherence. Pearson correlation revealed a positive and statistically significant relationship between planning participation and project performance (r = .525, p < .001). Simple linear regression further confirmed that planning participation significantly predicted project performance, explaining 27.6% of the variance. The null hypothesis that community participation in project planning has no significant effect on project performance was therefore rejected. The findings support Participatory Development Theory and are consistent with prior Kenyan studies, although the moderate relationship observed suggests that community participation in Baringo County remains weighted towards consultation rather than meaningful shared decision making.
Keywords: community participation, project planning, project performance, county-funded roads, Baringo County
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