INFLUENCE OF MONITORING AND EVALUATION ON PERFORMANCE OF COUNTY FUNDED PROJECTS: A CASE OF AMBOSELI CONSERVATION PROJECT IN KAJIADO COUNTY

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ABSTRACT

Project is only successful if it comes on schedule, on budget, it achieves the deliverables originally set for it and the output accepted and used by the clients for whom the project was intended. Many projects in Kenya have either stalled or failed to kick off; in others, shoddy performance by merchants had been noted. County governments invest billions of shillings annually in a number of projects in various sectors. However, most of these projects experience performance challenges in terms of implementation and completion, thereby leading to wastage due to ineffective M & E. Therefore, this study purposed to establish the influence of monitoring and evaluation on performance of county funded projectsbased on Amboseli conservation project in Kajiado County.Specifically, the study looked at influence of M&E planning, M&E training, stakeholders’ involvement in M&E and utilization of M&E findings on performance  of Amboseli conservation project in Kajiado County, Kenya. The study was underpinned by the program theory and theory of change.The study adopted a descriptive research design with the target population being 201 comprising of community leaders, M&E officials, project managers and Amboseli national parks’ officials. Stratified simple random sampling techniques were used to select a sample of 134 respondents. Primary data was obtained using self-administered questionnaires while secondary data was obtained using data collection sheet. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 25.0). Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean score and standard deviation wasused to analyze the quantitative data. The qualitative data from the open-ended questions was analysed using content analysis and presented in prose. Multiple regression analysiswas used to establish the relationship between the independent and the dependent variables. The information was presented in form of frequency tables. The study found thatM&E procedures plans influenced theperformance of Amboseli conservation project in Kajiado County to a very great extent. The research also found that the number of officers trained in M&E influences the performance of Amboseli conservation project in Kajiado County to a moderate extent.The research also found that collaborations; stakeholder identification influence performance of Amboseli conservation project in Kajiado County to a great extent.Further, the research found that provision of performance feedbackinfluence performance of Amboseli conservation project in Kajiado County to a low extent. The study concluded that M&E planning had the greatest influence on the performance of Amboseli conservation projectin Kajiado County, followed by stakeholders’ involvement in M&E, then utilization of M&E findingswhileM&E training had the least influenceto the performance of Amboseli conservation projectin Kajiado County.The study recommends that the effectiveness of monitoring and evaluation can be enhanced when project team learn how to apply technical and systematic methodologies in executing these activities.The study also recommended for a proper adoption of monitoring policy which will ensure that it is properly anchored within county-funded projects performance.The study also recommends that the staffshould possess the required technical expertise to ensure high-quality monitoring.

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

            Background of the Study

Environmental conservation or protection is the maintenance and preservation of the environment, habitat, and its environs. Conservation on the other hand is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection (Mao & Zhang, 2018). Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Those who advocate or work towards the Millennium Development Goal number 7 calls for ensuring environmental stability by increasing forest cover among other actions. Over the past two decades environmental conservation organisations, have become a force to reckon with. Although there had been a severe government backlash, in a number of countries ranging from Russia to Zimbabwe, overall these organisations have increasingly substantial impact worldwide, with increasingly a large amount of resources at their disposal and increasingly a large amount of trust from the public (McComb, 2015).

Projects are used as means of organizing an activity with the aim of achieving desired objectives. A project is only successful if it comes on schedule, on budget, it achieves the deliverables originally set for it and they output accepted and used by the clients for whom the project was intended. Projects are unique and that’s why project success differs from one project to another (Müller & Turner, 2013). To increase complexity even more, within the last decades the concept of project success is approached in relationship to stakeholders’ perception, being accepted that success means different things to different people (Shenhar et al, 2010).

Monitoring is defined as a continuous assessment both of the functioning of the project activities in the context of implementation schedules and of the use of project inputs by targeted population in the context of design expectations. Monitoring involves the provision of regular feedback on the progress of a project implementation and the problems facing project implementation. Guerra-López and Hicks (2015) define project monitoring as a continuous function involving the day to day operation during the implementation of a project. It is a routine measurement of program input/ activities and output- procurement, delivery and implementation plans, resources, adherence to implementation of projects, compliance with required procedures and achievement of the planned targets (Islam, Mouratidis & Weippl, 2014).

The success of any project is critical in achieving development agenda in the local communities across the globe. Monitoring and evaluation of projects is fundamental if the project objectives and success is to be achieved since it improves overall efficiency of project planning, management and implementation. Several projects could be initiated to transform social, political and economic well-being of citizens in a particular country. This calls for effective utilization of monitoring and evaluation results for continuous improvement and quality of performance in organization(Yalegama, Chileshe & Ma, 2016).

In order to improve project management in future, the current projects or proposed projects, the stakeholders need to evaluate and monitor these projects, monitoring and evaluation budget should be set aside for project activities and it should be done in a timely manner. These will provide information on project implementation and difficulty that face this project thus providing records that can be used to try and reduce these problems and also make sure the goals of county fund is always achieved in all the projects, feedback help in controlling the workmanship thus enhancing the quality of a project (Yamin & Sim, 2016).

World Bank (2014) highlighted that monitoring activities are undertaken to achieve the following purposes: to indicate at the earliest instance any shortcomings with regard to achieving intended objectives so that ameliorative measures can be undertaken in good time; to monitor the development of the project as a whole, and its component projects, in relation to changes in the context and circumstances of their implementation; to implement a rapid problem identification system as well as a system for internal communications to the various stakeholders; to facilitate evaluation process during and after activities, through the definition of specific indicators; it is used as a tool to help planners initiate new projects; to determine whether existing interventions should be strengthened or discarded; to facilitate continuous improvement in the project and to assess the overall effectiveness and efficiency of social interventions in terms of their outputs, outcomes, costs and impacts; and where necessary, to determine the catalytic effects and performance of such projects (Hermann, Pentek & Otto, 2016).

Globally in India, Hundal (2012) noted that despite having most profuse natural gifts: verdant forests, water-stocked Himalayan ranges, rich coastal fish resources, productive estuaries, grassy pastures, and bountiful river systems. Years of lack of properly managed wild conservation, have degraded forests, wounded coastline, and poisoned aquifers with devastating results. Today, India contains 172 species (2.9% of the world’s total number) of

animals that are considered to be globally at risk. These include species of mammals, 69 species of birds, 23 species of reptiles, and species of amphibians. Extinction is somehow classified as ‘biological reality’ because no species has, as yet, existed for more than a few million years without evolving into something different or dying out completely. Extinction  is threatening all species, but most of the time smaller animals, like bats and rodents, face this threat more than other animals (Yamin & Sim, 2016).

Regionally in Namibia conservancies have many and increasing cross-scale and cross-level linkages (Young, 2012), including important linkages with international tourism enterprises. Centrally and internationally conceived approaches in community-based conservation emerged in the 1980s in Southern Africa to buttress national parks as wildlife reserves, and better conserve wildlife as an economic development alternative to agriculture in semi-arid regions. These have been termed community-based natural resource management (Fabricius, et al. 2012).

Locally under Vision 2030, Kenya’s journey towards prosperity involves the building of a just and cohesive society, enjoyable equitable social development in a clean and secure environment. This quest is the basis of transformation in eight key social sectors that include environment. Kenya aims to be a nation living in a clean, secure and sustainable environment by 2030. The goals for 2012 are to increase the forest cover from less than 3% at present to 4% and to lessen by half all environmental – related diseases. Specific strategies involve; promoting environmental conservation for better support to the economic pillar flagship projects and for the purposes of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (Wanjiku, 2013).

County governments have been initiating flagships projects for conserving the environment. These include the water catchment management initiative through rehabilitating the five water towers including Mt. Kenya, the wildlife corridors and migratory routes initiatives by reclaiming all wildlife corridors and migratory routes (Wanjiku, 2013).Kenya is not exceptional where it has witnessed various environmental hazards that are traced to forest degradation. This calls for global environmental conservation and creation of awareness of the issue which has increased the willingness of the states and governments to intervene. In order to mitigate this, Kenya along with other states and governments, has had in their national agenda environmental conservation policies and legislations(Liambila, 2017).

                  Project Performance

Project performance refers to the state at which intervention meets the established goals that is the expected needs of the beneficiary producing quality, standards that have been determined to satisfy the needs. Globally, organizations are battling with demands for persistent changes in project management to improve performance and stay focused (Kerzner, 2017). Some of the sources of the pressure to improved project performance are: donors, county governments, private sectors and the press. Despite the calls for greater responsibility and openness in return for genuine outcomes, activities and projects must be progressively be receptive to partners’ request to demonstrate unmistakable outcomes (Sirisomboonsuk, Cao, & Burns, 2018).