Critical Success Factors Influencing Adoption of Monitoring and Evaluation Systems of County Government Projects in Kenya: A Case of Mombasa County Government
Abstract
Monitoring and Evaluation systems are crucial in ensuring that the project meets the targeted objective. Monitoring and Evaluation helps organizations to retrieve important information from previous and current projects. This information is useful in planning for the future, avoiding pit-falls, keeps the project within the right track and reduction in delays during project implementation. Government projects are planned for at both the national level and the county government level. Despite the existence of a robust M&E system, County Governments in Kenya have continually misappropriated and/or diverted funds meant for development projects. County government Projects are over-priced and lack adequate and meaningful public participation in the planning, implementation and evaluation. An effective and efficient monitoring and evaluation system is critical for successful implementation of projects. Whereas Mombasa County Government has received negative successive mentions in the Auditor General reports, since 2013, an analysis of these reports, between 2013 and 2018, indicates that no significant change has been achieved. The study was an investigation into the critical success factors influencing the adoption of monitoring and evaluation systems in County Government projects in Kenya, the case of Mombasa County. The researcher investigated the influence of organisation culture, budgetary allocation, organisation structure and staff competence on the successful adoption of monitoring and evaluation systems of county government projects. The dependent variable used for the study was adoption of M&E systems, while the independent variables were organization culture, budgetary allocation, organization structure and staff competence. The literature reviewed the themes of organization culture, organization structure, budgeting, and staff development. The study was anchored on the Results Based Management Framework and the participant-oriented approach. The target population for the study was 50 respondents drawn from the staff members in the county government delegated the M&E function, their directors and chief officers of the departments. Based on the Krejcie and Morgan model used to determine the sample size, 44 respondents were used in this study. Data collection was done by aid of a structured questionnaire with items ranked using a 5-point Likert scale. Piloting was conducted using 11 members of staff and the validity of the data collection tool was determined. Reliability of the research instrument was determined using the inter-rater approach. Data analysis was done by both descriptive statistics, using the mode and the mean; and by inferential statistics. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to determine associations between the dependent and independent variables used in the study. A weak positive association between organization culture and adoption of M&E systems was noted (rs = 0.1, p two-tailed= 0.87. There was a moderate positive association between budgetary allocation and adoption of M&E systems (rs =0.5, P two-tailed = 0.391. Organization structure’s influence on the adoption of M&E systems was very weak (rs =-0.05, p two-tailed = 0.93). There was a moderate negative association between staff competence and adoption of M&E systems (rs = -0.5, p-two-tailed = 0.391). Based on the study objectives the study concluded that there is a significant relationship between organization culture, budgetary allocation, organisation structure and staff competence on the successful adoption of monitoring and evaluation systems of county government projects. The study recommended that organization culture influences the overall performance of the organization. Besides, it was recommended that county governments should budget for the M&E of the projects and that the M&E unit should be well funded. Similarly, training should be carried out at least once in a year for the staff in the M&E unit.
Keywords: Organizational culture, budgetary allocation, organization structure, monitoring and evaluation, Mombasa County Government
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