Community Participation and Sustainable Livelihood Projects in Kenya: A Case of Justice and Mercy in Homa Bay County
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Date
2024-10
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Daystar University, School of Business and Economics
Abstract
The goal of development projects is to improve people’s lives, yet often, the intended benefits are not fully realized due to the limited involvement of project beneficiaries. This study examined how community participation influenced the success of sustainable livelihood projects, a case of the JAM Project in Homa Bay County. The objectives of the study were: to identify how beneficiary communities participate in the JAM sustainable livelihood projects; to examine the benefits of the JAM sustainable livelihood projects to beneficiaries; and to assess the influence of community participation on sustainable livelihood outcomes. The study was premised on the Stakeholder theory, the Ladder of Citizen Participation and the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) Framework. This study adopted a concurrent mixed methods design. 105 participants were sampled, including direct project beneficiaries and core JAM project team members. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data, which was analyzed using the SPSS statistical package to generate descriptive statistics and presented using statistical tables. Qualitative data was collected through open-ended interview schedules and analyzed thematically. Results of the model summary from correlation of variables produced R-square value of 0.176 with a significant p-value of 0.012 indicating that 17.6% of variations in sustainable livelihoods are triggered or correctly preceded by community participation in projects. Additionally, all parameter estimates had p-values <0.05 indicating their high significance. The findings revealed moderate though significant participation by the beneficiaries in the JAM projects, as well as evident livelihood benefits including increased income and food security, new skills and mutually benefiting social networks. The study concluded that greater participation of project beneficiaries across all phases of the project cycle would have had a greater impact on the sustainable outcomes. The study recommends enhanced project scope definitions, as well as greater investments in project budgets and project scheduling to accommodate meaningful bottom-up approaches. It further recommends stronger community-infused monitoring and evaluation processes, and genuine opportunities to make necessary project adjustments for outcomes that better suit community needs and priorities.
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Master of Business Administration in Project Management
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Citation
Obbayi, M. (2024). Community Participation and Sustainable Livelihood Projects in Kenya: A Case of Justice and Mercy in Homa Bay County. Daystar University, School of Business and Economics