MONITORING AND EVALUATION PRACTICES AND PERFORMANCE OF WATER PROJECTS IN ISIOLO COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Water projects play a great role to society development and economic spheres as the nation becomes more industrialized and urbanized. Despite the government and NGOs making good efforts to supply water to citizens, it has not been able to cover all areas particularly rural areas.  In Isiolo County, water projects have been plagued with poor performance in terms of budget overruns, poor quality, and late delivery.  The general objective of this study is to determine the effect of monitoring and evaluation practices and the performance of water projects in Isiolo County, Kenya. The specific objectives are to determine the effect of M&E human capacity building, M&E within organizational structure and water projects in Isiolo County. The study used guided by the human capital theory, and contingency theory. The study involved 9 water projects implemented by the county in the financial year 2021/22. The unit of observation was; 9 project supervisors, 9 project managers, 16 county M&E staff, 23 ministry of water officials, and 90 water projects committee members.   Census was used to sample all the targeted respondents. This study used a questionnaire to collect primary data. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 28) was used for analysis. A pilot test was conducted with 10% of the sample, hence 15 project team members was used for piloting. The study used content and construct validity and found that; M&E human capacity building had an AVE of 0.533, M&E within organizational structure had an AVE of 0.550. Reliability was tested using the Cronchba Alpha coefficient and the results showed that; M&E human capacity building had alpha value of 0.726, M&E within organizational structure 0.881. Therefore, the instrument for measuring monitoring and evaluation practices and project performance was considered reliable and valid for actual data collection. The regression findings, with significant coefficients (M&E human capacity building: B = 0.815, p = 0.027; Organizational Structure: B = 0.648, p = 0.003 underscore the substantial influence of M&E human capacity building, organizational structure on the performance of water projects in Isiolo County, Kenya, suggesting that investments in enhancing these areas can significantly improve project outcomes. Therefore, recommendations include prioritizing capacity-building initiatives, implementing clear organizational structures, to optimize project performance and ensure sustainability.

Key Words: Monitoring and Evaluation Practices, M&E Human Capacity Building, M&E within Organizational Structure, Water Projects, Isiolo County