Strategic Management Process and Performance of NG-CDF Funded Projects: A Case of Thika Constituency, Kiambu County, Kenya.

Abstract

Thika constituency is among the administrative units that get a disbursement of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund. In Kenya, the fund was introduced in 2003 by an Act of Parliament; for poverty eradication at the grassroots level, to ensure equitable distribution of resources at the constituencies. There has been a huge increase in the number of failed or uncompleted projects in Kenya despite government’s effort to make the CDF funds available for the purposes of development. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of strategic management process on the performance of CDF-funded projects in the Thika Town constituency in Kiambu County. The objectives of the study were to establish the effect of environmental analysis, strategy formulation, strategy implementation and strategy evaluation on the performance of Constituency-funded projects in Thika Constituency in Kiambu County. The study employed three theories: balanced scorecard model, resource-based view theory (anchor theory), and dynamic capabilities theory. The study employed explanatory and descriptive research designs to achieve the research objectives. The study population for this study was 19 NG-CDF projects implemented in the last five years (2019-2023. The unit of observation entailed all the people involved in the projects execution such as members of the project management committee in these projects, community representatives, NG-CDF committee, NG-CDF staff and project implementation committee. The target population was therefore 253 respondents involved in the project execution of the 19 CDF projects. A sample size of 127 respondents was drawn from the target population using stratified random sampling. The study relied on primary data which was collected by use of questionnaires. Pre- testing of research instruments was done using validity and reliability tests. Content validity was measured by subjecting the questionnaire to expert judgment and constructs validity was measured by ensuring that the study adopted the constructs used by other researchers in previous studies. On the other hand, reliaility test was tested using Cronbach’s alpha with a threshold of 0.7. All the variables had a Cronbach Alpha coefficient of above 0.7 ranging from 0.793 to 0.940 hence no modification of the items was undertaken. A mixture of qualitative and quantitative data was used in this study. Content analysis was employed to analyze the qualitative data, while descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyze quantitative data. Data was analyzed using the SPSS software. Descriptive statistics included mean, standard deviation, frequencies and percentages while inferential statistics included regression analysis and Pearson’s correlation. The results of data analysis was presented in tables. The study findings indicated that the projects were completed on time, within budget and met the set standards or the quality specified in the scope requirements. Regression results indicated that environmental analysis, strategy formulation, strategy implementation and strategy evaluation had a positive and significant effect on performance of projects funded by NG-CDF. The study therefore concluded that strategic management process had a positive and significant relationship with performance of projects funded by NG- CDF in Thika Town Constituency. The study further concluded that there was increased and improved project performance in Thika Constituency due to effective strategic management processes adopted by NG-CDF. The projects were completed on time, within budget and met the set standards or the quality specified in the scope requirements. The study recommends policy makers and strategists working in the National Government Constituency Development Funded Projects in Thika Constituency should embrace strategic management process to aid in their decisions making in regard to project implementation.