Project Planning and the Performance of Study Visit Programmes at Rwanda Cooperation

Abstract

This study examined the effect of project planning on the performance of study visit programmes at Rwanda Cooperation, the Rwandan institution that coordinates international study visits under the country’s South-South and Triangular Cooperation agenda. Since 2018, the institution has handled 845 delegations and 9,790 delegates, yet its records report volumes rather than results, and activity fell from 2,184 delegates in 2024 to 1,728 in 2025. A descriptive and analytical design was used. A census of all 58 employees across five departments was conducted, and 56 completed questionnaires were returned, a response rate of 96.6%. Project planning was measured through work plan development, resource allocation and scheduling of activities (seven items, Cronbach’s alpha = .886). Data were analysed in SPSS Version 23 using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regression at the 5% significance level, and were triangulated with institutional documents. Respondents agreed that planning supports performance (mean = 4.10, SD = 0.90). Planning was strongly correlated with programme performance (r = .794, p < .01) and remained a significant predictor when stakeholder engagement and monitoring and evaluation were controlled (B = 0.361, β = .372, t = 4.457, p < .001), and the null hypothesis was therefore rejected. Respondents rated risk planning and the realism of schedules lowest, and institutional records show that delays of three to five working days arose mainly from delegates’ travel, visa processing and institutional availability. The study recommends that Rwanda Cooperation continue to standardise its plans and add contingency and risk-planning mechanisms and outcome indicators to them.

Keywords: Project Planning, Study Visit Programmes, Programme Performance, South-South Cooperation, Rwanda Cooperation