Project Management Practices and Project Performance of Non-Government Organizations in Goma Region, Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of project management practices on project performance of non-governmental organizations in DRC with the focus being Goma region. NGOs projects face a myriad of issues such as prolonged delays, overruns in costs and quality issues especially at the implementation stage which has led to poor project performance. This study sought to assess the effect of project management practices on project performance of non-government organizations, with focus being in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. The specific objectives were to assess the effect of stakeholder involvement practices, project planning practices and communication practices on project performance of Non-Governmental Organization in Goma region, DRC and to determine the moderating effect of project complexity on the relationship between project management practices and project performance of Non-Governmental Organization in Goma region, DRC. The study was anchored on Balanced Scorecard Model, system theory, and Novelty, Complexity, Technology and Pace (NCTP) model. This study adopted the descriptive and explanatory research design and utilized quantitative data. The target population of the study consisted of 125 employees working in the project management departments of 25 humanitarian NGOs operating in Goma region DRC. The study employed census approach to include all the target population in the study. To ensure validity, Face, content and construct validity were tested. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient a threshold of 0.7. Primary data was collected through structured self-administered questionnaires. Data collected was analysed using means, and standard deviations. Pearson correlation analysis was used to establish the strength of the relationship between variables while multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the effect of project management practices on project performance of the non-government organizations. Data obtained for this study was analysed using SPSS version 27. The findings of this study indicated that stakeholder involvement practices has a significant statistical influence on the project performance (β1 = 0.045, p = 0.045). Project planning practices has a significant statistical effect on the project performance (β1=0.092, p = 0.046). Project communication practices has a significant statistical effect on the project performance (β1 = 0.033, p= 0.049). Project complexity has a significant statistical moderating effect on project management practices. The study concluded that humanitarian NGOs in Goma region used project management practices in their organization. Further, the study recommended that, to fully benefit from stakeholder involvements, the NGOs should identify and analyse stakeholders to understand their interests, expectations, and influence.