THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES TO THE SUCCESS

OF COMMUNITY BASED PROJECTS

(A CASE OF NAKURU DISTRICT NAKURU COUNTY)

BY
ANTONY MOMANYI MOGIRE

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL CARRIED OUT IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

FOR THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE AWARD OF DIPLOMA IN PROJECT
MANAGEMENT AT THE KENYA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

SEPTEMBER 2016

DECLARATION
This research study is my original work and has not been presented to any other
Institution. No part of this research should be reproduced without the authors
consent or that of The Kenya Institute of Management.
ANTONY MOMANYI MOGIRE
KIM/17344/15
Sign ___________________

Date _____________

DECLARATION BY THE SUPERVISOR

This research has been submitted with my approval as The Kenya Institute of
Management Supervisor.
PAUL MUTERU
KIM Nakuru Branch
Sign ___________________

Date _____________

DECLARATION BY THE AND MANAGEMENT

For and on behalf of The Kenya Institute of Management
M/S. Anne Nairo
Branch Manager, KIM Nakuru Branch
Sign ________________

Date _____________

DEDICATION
To my loving family. You truly sacrificed a lot to see me through.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to acknowledge the contributions of my family, friends and colleagues at the
university who gave me total support and encouragement towards my pursuit to
obtain a Diploma of project management. I am equally grateful to my supervisor for
the valuable supervision which gave me the skills and direction for this study.

ABSTRACT
With an aim of fighting poverty at the grass root, many donors and facilitators are
opting to channel their funding through Community based projects (CBPs). These
CBPs have a gestation period or life-span in all the areas or communities. In order to
achieve the goals of these programs with the planned resources, there is need to find a
way of how best these can be sustained or managed by the community after the
gestation period (phase-out). This study is motivated by the fact that there are
numerous efforts in the recent past of phasing out the community based projects but
there is failure on the part of the communities in managing or success of the projects.
The research will set out to find out social cultural factors that affect the success of
CBPs in Nakuru District of Nakuru County. This will be through the following
objectives; to investigate the active participation of the local people in the success of
CBPs; to find out the diversity factors affecting the success of CBPs and to establish
the role of social organizations on the success of CBPs in Nakuru District. The
research will take the form of descriptive analysis and both qualitative and
quantitative data will be collected. The target populations will be CBPs managers,
project donors and facilitators and the projects beneficiaries. The respondents will be
selected through both purposeful and random sampling. Both the finding of the
literature and the quantitative and qualitative results will be analyzed with the aid of
SPSS. They were then presented in form of figures, tables and narratives. The study
found that the greatest factor affecting the sustainability of the community based
projects lies with the social organizations. This was followed by diversity factors and
finally the community. The main social organizations were identified as the donors,
CBOs and NGOs. These carry the greatest impact on the sustainability of the CBPs.
diversity factors highlighted include natural resources and the environment. The most
dominant role played by the community was security and provision of human
resources to the CBPs. These answered the concerns raised regarding the socialcultural factors affecting the success of CBPs in the study area.

TABLE OF CONTENT
DECLARATION..........................................................................................................ii
DEDICATION.............................................................................................................iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..........................................................................................iv
ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................v
TABLE OF CONTENT..............................................................................................vi
LIST OF FIGURES..................................................................................................viii
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS.....................................................................x
DEFINITION OF OPERATION TERMS................................................................xi
CHAPTER ONE...........................................................................................................1
1.0 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................1
1.1 Background Of The Study....................................................................................1
1.2 Statement Of Problem..........................................................................................2
1.3 Objectives.............................................................................................................3
1.3.1 General Objectives............................................................................................3
1.3.2 Specific Objectives............................................................................................3
1.4 Research Questions...............................................................................................4
1.5 Significance Of The Study...................................................................................4
1.6 Scope Of The Study..............................................................................................4
1.7 Limitation Of The Study.......................................................................................4
CHAPTER TWO..........................................................................................................6
LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................6
2.0 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................6
2.1 Theoretical Review...............................................................................................6
2.1.1 McClelland achievement needs Theory............................................................6
2.1.2 Freirean theory of dialogue and society............................................................6
2.1.3 Theory of change...............................................................................................7
6

2.2 Empirical Review.................................................................................................8

2.3 Conceptual review................................................................................................9
2.3.1 The role played by the active participation of local people in the success of
CBPs...........................................................................................................................9
2.3.2 How diversity of the project environment affects success of CBPs................12
2.3.3 The role of social organisations on the success of CBPs................................14
2.4 Research Gaps....................................................................................................16
CHAPTER THREE...................................................................................................17
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY....................................................17
3.1 Introduction........................................................................................................17
3.2 Research Design.................................................................................................17
3.3 Target Population................................................................................................17
3.4 Sampling Design and Procedures.......................................................................17
3.5 Data Collection Tools and Instruments...............................................................18
3.6 Data Analysis and Presentation..........................................................................18
3.7 Reliability and Validity of the Research Instrument...........................................18
3.8 Ethical Consideration.........................................................................................19
CHAPTER FOUR......................................................................................................20
DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATIONS...........................................................20
4.1 Introduction........................................................................................................20
4.2 Demographic Information..................................................................................20
4.2.1 Gender of the Respondents..............................................................................20
4.2.2 Age of the Respondents...................................................................................21
4.2.3 Respondents Education....................................................................................21
4.2.4 Respondents Duration of Work in Nakuru District.........................................22
4.2.5 Involvement in CBPs at Nakuru District in Nakuru County...........................23
4.2.6 The Role Played by the Community in the Sustainability of CBPs................23

4.2.7 Diversity Factors Affecting Sustainability of CBPs in Nakuru District..........25

4.2.8 The Role of social organizations on Sustainability of CBPs in Nakuru District
..................................................................................................................................27
CHAPTER FIVE........................................................................................................29
DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.........................29
5.1 Introduction........................................................................................................29
5.2 Summary of Findings.........................................................................................29
5.3 Discussion on Findings.......................................................................................29
5.3.1 Discussion on Role of the Community in the Sustainability of CBPs............29
5.3.2 Discussion on diversity Factors Affecting the Success of CBPs in Nakuru
District......................................................................................................................30
5.3.3 Discussion on Role of Social organizations on Success of CBPs...................30
5.4 Conclusion..........................................................................................................31
5.4.1 The Role Played by the Community................................................................31
5.4.2 The diversity Factors.......................................................................................31
5.4.3 The social organizations..................................................................................31
5.5 Recommendations for Improvement..................................................................32
5.6 Recommendations for Further Studies...............................................................32
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................33
APPENDIX I: RESEARCH LETTER
APPENDIX II: RESEARCH QESTIONNAIRE

LIST OF FIGUR
Figure 2.1: Theoretical framework................................................................................7
Figure 2. 2: Conceptual Framework.........................................................................16Y
Figure 4.1: Working Duration in the Nakuru District..................................................23

LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1: Gender.........................................................................................................20
Table 4.2: Respondents Age.........................................................................................21
Table 4.3: Respondents Education...............................................................................22
Table 4.4: Role Played By the Community in Sustainability of CBPs........................24
Table 4.5: Diversity effect on Sustainability of CBPs.................................................26

10

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

CBPs

Community Based Projects

CDF

Constituency Development Fund

CDPs

Community Development Projects

FBOs

Faith Based Organization

NGOs

Non-Governmental Organizations

SD

Standard Deviation

SPPSS

Statistical Package For Social Sciences

11

DEFINITION OF OPERATION TERMS

Community:

Agroupofpeoplelivingwithinthestudyarea.

CommunityDevelopment:Aprocessoforganizingcommunitymemberstoinitiate,
implementandmonitorprojects.
Facilitators:

Registeredorganizations(CBPs,NGOs;FBOs,Churches),
Governmentagenciesandfundingagenciesinvolvedin
communitybasedprojectsinthelocalsetting.

Management:

A process which involve planning, organizing, staffing,

directing, motivating and controlling during project
implementation.

PhaseOut:

This is the point at which the donors and facilitators

completely hand over the management of the CBP to the
community.

12

13

CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter gives the background of the study, statement of the problem, research
objectives, and research questions, significance of the study, scope of study and
limitations of the study.
1.1 Background Of The Study
Social cultural attributes are customs lifestyles and values that characterize a society
or group, cultural aspects include; concepts of duty education, language law and
politics, religion, social organizations, technology and material culture, values and
attitudes. The Brunt land Commission memorably defined Community based projects
in its 1987 report (Our Common Future) as undertakings that meet the needs of the
present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs (World Bank, 2005). Most authors perceive Community Based
Development Projects differently. Roy (2003) viewed it as a set of interrelated
activities that are done for the people and by the people. His argument was that, the
essence of community based projects is determined by the people, which can be
attributed to change of peoples attitudes, leading to a change in their habits. It took
many years of intensive work to reach a global consensus on the elements of
community based projects, but it was finally achieved in 1995 at the World Summit
on Social Development. This definition brought together what is popularly known as
the three es; environment, economy and equity. In this context the main concern in
characterizing a community based project was that it had a capacity to help the poor
maintain and improve their natural capital (natural resources), while developing their
human capital (human resource development). Such an undertaking was also required
to have the capacity to develop human made capital (investments infrastructure and
directly productive capital goods), and social capital (the institutional and cultural
bases and political systems that make a society function). (Celliso and Jean-Louis,
2004).
Morris and others (1999), in their study of the Plandero anti-poverty program to
increase the incomes of the rural poor in western Honduras, found out that better-off
areas were the most likely to receive program assistance, and the most deprived areas
were the least likely. They argue that the weak targeting was due to the projects
1

implementation schedule, its rate of return criteria, and an evaluation strategy that
emphasized economic results for beneficiary farmers. These jointly created an
incentive to select areas that were easily reached which typically tended to be betteroff areas and to target project benefits to better-off households within these areas
because they tended to be the most credit worthy and most able to absorb project
funds. In Kenya, an estimated two million people are being positively impacted by
community based projects efforts. The focus of CBPs has included interventions in
education, water, sanitation, health care, agriculture, spiritual nurture, community
capacity building as well as microenterprise development (Kenya National Profile,
2001). Community based development projects are planned for a certain period of
time called gestation period or life-span after which they come to an end and the
community is expected to continue running the project and make them self-sustaining.
Government organs and NGOs in partnership with communities do establish
community based development projects. However, the project activities collapse
following the phase-out of funders support.
A World Vision (2009) evaluation report analysis show that, most community
development projects have failed to sustain themselves, become self-reliant and the
communities have failed to continue running them after funding organizations
withdraw their support. Some factors which should have been worked out, in order to
stop this trend of projects collapsing are not done despite support being meant for a
specified period with the objective of making the projects self-reliant. Political
economy considerations and perverse incentives created by project performance
requirements can also result in poor targeting. Ravallion (2000) noted that a desire to
ensure a broad geographic spread of participants can weaken pro-poor geographic
targeting. Jalan and Ravallion (2003) also noted that social networks were a crucial
determinant of who benefited from the workfare program. They argue that this can be
corrected in the design of the program by offering a wage low enough to discourage
wealthier members of the community from participating (Gachuki, 1982)
Kenyas colonial and post-colonial legacy of centralized political and resource
mobilizing power has excluded citizens (wananchi) from meaningful political
engagement at the local level and has precluded the rise of accountable and viable
local government systems. The country inherited from the colonial system a highly
centralized system of governance, which the first president Jomo Kenyatta further
2

entrenched by bloating the size of the state and centralizing power in the executive.
After gaining independence the central government controlled the management of
resources and afforded citizens little opportunity to participate in governance; in this
way, centralized power exacerbated undemocratic institutions of governance, (Gitau,
and Amaya, 2006).
According to Oyugi and Kibua (2006), a set of policies that set in motion the
decentralization trend were formed. These policies originated under the District Focus
for Rural Development (DFRD), which asserted the district as the most viable unit of
development (in contrast to the state as whole). The DFRD aimed to empower
localized government structures to determine their own development plans by
devolving some central government powers to the district level. In recent years the
central government has initiated a series of reforms to improve the fiscal viability and
functioning of local governments (commonly referred to as local authorities)
packaged in the Kenya Local Government Reform Program (KLGRP) (1999).
One such reform initiated by the KLGRP is a grant from the central to local
authorities called the Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF). The LATF grant has
four primary objectives: to eliminate local authority (LA) debts, enhance economic
governance, improve LA service delivery, and expand citizen participation in LA
programs. Comprising five percent of total annual income tax collection, the LATF
grant was divided among the 175 local authorities in Kenya based on population size
and the submission of budget information and citizen planning tools (Oyugi, 2008).
These citizen-planning tools are referred to as Local Authority Service Delivery
Action Plans (LASDAP), and they reflect stakeholder service delivery needs and
priorities as elicited through a series of town-hall-like meetings (Odhiambo and Taifa,
2009).
The main goal of LASDAP is to improve local government service delivery by
involving community members in planning and prioritizing their service delivery
needs. Citizens attend planning meetings to elicit their communities service delivery
needs, and these needs are then translated into the local authoritys annual LASDAP.
The services prioritized in the LASDAP indicate how the LA will spend its service
delivery budget for the following year. Examples of LASDAP projects include

repairing drainage systems, constructing classrooms and dispensaries, and installing

boreholes (LASDAP Regulations, 1999).
The local government modernization agenda, largely set out within the 1998 and 2001
local government White Papers, is intended to bring about improvements under key
themes including efficiency, transparency and accountability. Aspects of the
modernization agenda relating to public participation, council decision-making and
wider governance are considered a programme for the democratic renewal of local
government. In practical terms, the last four years has seen the implementation of a
range of policies and initiatives for local government, including new council
constitutions, community planning, best value, local Public Service Agreements,
Local Strategic Partnerships and local government finance reforms.
The future of local government is tied to its capacity as a community leader to work
alongside other agencies and its citizens in order to achieve social and economic
benefits. The local government modernization agenda includes encouragement or
requirements for local authorities to engage the public in realizing this capacity. As
the 2001 local government White Paper: Strong Local Leadership Quality Public
Services emphasizes, ongoing public participation - at local elections and between - is
vital to enhancing the democratic legitimacy of local government, the development of
community leadership and in improving service delivery (Devas and Grant ,2003).
Local authorities have long had statutory responsibilities to consult and involve the
public in relation to certain issues, such as land-use planning, through public meetings
and consultation documents. Under the Local Government Act, elected local
councilors are expected to represent the interests of the local citizens so that citizen
preferences are ultimately reflected in the policies made by the local council. Ideally,
such policies as are set by elected local councilors should guide the budgeting and
policy implementation processes that translate into service delivery, which is
responsive to the citizen needs and priorities. This expectation is based on the
assumption that citizens are able to influence local decision-making through their
local council representatives. In electing local councilors, the electorate has certain
expectations from those elected into office (Local Government act 1998).
For instance they expect that the elected leaders to be the channel for their views,
needs and preferences into the council decision-making process and that the councilor
4

will facilitate the citizens participation in project identification, planning and

monitoring of implementation and further that the councilor will be their watchdog in
the council to ensure that their taxes are prudently managed by the appointed council
officers. In as much as these are very legitimate expectations in an ideal scenario, in
reality of the Local Governments in Kenya, these expectations are rarely met due to
deficiencies in the legislative framework, inadequate capacity, lack of necessary
resources and the dynamics of political environment in which local councilors operate
(TISA, 2010).
To begin, outside their participation in electing their local councilors, there is no clear
and mandatory provision in the Local Government Act for involving citizens in the
decision-making process of a Local Authorities in Kenya. Although under the
provisions in the Local Authority Service Delivery Action Plan (LASDAP)
Regulations and Guidelines, issued under the Local Authorities Transfer Fund (LATF)
Act (1998), Local Authorities are required to involve the community and other
stakeholders in project identification, prioritization and monitoring of implementation,
the arrangement is inadequate because the citizens and other stakeholders are not
involved beyond the selection of projects/activities included in the resource envelope.
Further, the responsibility for identifying and inviting the stakeholders to the
consultative forums remain that of the local council with no right to demand inclusion
by the citizenry. In the absence of statutory provision prescribing formal channels for
engagement, in the context of service delivery, councilors and citizens have resorted
to interacting through informal forums. Through these forums, we cannot ascertain
the power of their voices in the involvement of service delivery in their communities.
These informal forums include gatherings like barazas where members of the
community gather to air their views and concerns which in most cases do not go
beyond thebarazaforums. This has resulted in members of the community not
taking such forums seriously and in most cases absconding their attendance justifying
their absence in such forums as why attends when nothing can be done. This has
resulted in a feeling of alienation, lack of trust in the local authority and generally
very low citizen participation in Local Governance.
Nakuru is faced with enormous challenges relating to huge backlogs in basic
infrastructure, high levels of poverty and underdevelopment. The fact that this area is
5

poor, demands targeted community focused development planning that addresses

poverty and builds a firm foundation for the creation of thriving and sustainable
community. The impact of political animosity is of major concern and the
constituency sees a need to adopt concerted effort to combat this pandemic by
implementing a social development program, which will only come to fruition with
maximum public participation in the LASDAP.
1.1 CBPs in Nakuru District
Nakuru District which is located in Nakuru County is prone to abject poverty mainly
attributed to long dry spells leading to failure in agriculture production. Many CBPs
facilitators and donors have initiated several community based projects in the district
as an intervention measure. These CBPs includes: World Vision, Swedish group,
Catholic dioceses of Nakuru, Red-cross, Compassion and Rincord international.
Initiated projects include bore holes, health facilities, and irrigation projects.
Therefore this location is expected to be ideal for this kind of study. This study will
therefore look at factors affecting the sustainability of community based projects in
Nakuru district after phasing-out and the issues that contribute to lack of sustenance
and thereafter make necessary recommendations on how the projects can be managed
by the communities. Facilitators for instant NGOs, CBOs and Church based
organizations have had an opportunity in the past years to establish more than one
hundred community based projects country-wide. All of these were established under
the assumption that after the agreed period by the Support office and the facilitating
partner end, the project would become self-supporting and continue meaningful
service to the community. In other words this study will present a critical analysis of
how community development projects can be managed and be sustained after phasing
out with a particular focus to community based projects in Nakuru District.
1.2 Statement Of Problem
CBPs consistently use social impact assessments and in country situation evaluations
as a means to advocate for citizens and minority groups, to fund projects aimed at
improving the standard of living for the communities in which they work. However,
CBPs not having the money and standing as the governments that they oppose, they
must rely on generous donors to fund such assessment which is an enterprise which
can be filled with pitfalls and ethical dilemmas. Ethical dilemmas between donors and
6

CBPs implementing programs as desired and needed versus fulfilling donor requests
are evident. Ethical conflicts and concerns have been raised (Welch, 2001.pg 20).
These donations in return influence program development resulting in closure and
redirection of programs. Very few of CBPs which have been phased-out, have had
major impacts on the community members overall living standards. This is attributed
to them not becoming self-reliant (Blank, 2003). This may be due to poor
management and not achieving success by the community members as noted by. The
new CBPs being initiated now are likely to join the graveyard path of other
community based projects (CBPs) in failing to impact community beyond the planned
intervention phase. Those that plan these CBPs may systematically fail to work out
their success as evidenced by many stalled projects in the district. This is a worrying
trend in a district riddled with high levels of poverty, unemployment and poor
infrastructure leading to underdevelopment. Therefore, this study was set out to
investigate social-cultural factors affecting the success of Community based projects
with a particular emphasis on CBPs in Nakuru District in order to generate knowledge
that was not only to improve the success of CBPs but also increase access to
infrastructure and development.
1.3 Objectives
1.3.1 General Objectives.
The broad objective of the study was to establish the effects of social cultural
attributes to the success of community based projects
1.3.2 Specific Objectives.
The specific objectives of the study are:
i.

To determine the extent of the role played by the active participation of local

ii.

people in the success of CBPs in Nakuru District.

To measure how diversity of the project environment affects success of CBPs

iii.

in Nakuru District.
To establish the scale social organizations affect the success of CBPs in
Nakuru District.

1.4 Research Questions

i.

What is the role played by the active participation of local people in the

ii.

success of CBPs in Nakuru District?

How does diversity of the project environment affect the success of CBPs in

iii.

Nakuru District?
How do social organizations affect the success of CBPs in Nakuru District?

1.5 Significance Of The Study

The frequency of instant sluggish of community based development projects has
come to light in the recent past with the obviously, increasing concern and frustration
on the non-success of the projects by the facilitating organization (NGOs) and the
Support Offices (donors) with the inclusion of the communities themselves. It is now
of vital importance to identify factors that impede success of these projects and the
best strategies to employ to make them Successful after phasing-out. If the identified
constraints can be eased and obstacles removed, then conditions for community
development project success, such as ownership could be established and community
developmental activities sustained for future developments. This study made a great
contribution to CBPs facilitators as it b roughtout issues learnt and challenges
encountered and made recommendations on how the community based development
projects can be made Successful after phasing-out. The study showed how the benefit
of making the community development projects self-managing, self dependent and
self-sustaining.
1.6 Scope Of The Study
The study was bound to social-cultural factors affecting sustainability of community
based projects, other projects which are privately or government owned were included
in the study. The study was bound within the boundaries of Nakuru District and
projects outside the district were included in this study. The whole project took about
two months ranging from writing, data collection and all the necessary field work.
1.7 Limitation Of The Study
The researcher faced various draw backs while conducting the study. Considering the
fact that the study adopted a survey design, collecting data from the vast number of
respondents was cumbersome. To counter this, the researcher was obliged to seek the
help of research assistants to aid in data collection. Securing appointment from the
8

selected respondents also proved troublesome. To solve this problem, the researcher
booked appointments early enough and made a follow up. The researcher encountered
a few challenges during the field study as expected from the nature of the study. The
biggest challenge was getting respondents who were willing to participate in the
survey especially because there was no significant reward for the participants. A
culture of must benefit has become rampant in our communities and any action is
usually expected to come with a rewards especially if you are doing it for someone
else. Getting authorization from the area chiefs to conduct the study was as also a
challenge since the chiefs were not always in their offices this slowed down the
mapping process.

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 INTRODUCTION
The aim of this chapter is to try and put together what others have written about the
topic that is addressed in this research work and to try and bring out my own thoughts
about what is found in current literature especially in relation to the topic. Literature
review encompasses the evaluation of all sources of information or data that relate to
the topic and is not confined solely to academic publications (Baker, 2003).This
chapter looks at what has already been published by some accredited scholars and
researchers, on the management of Community Based Projects (CBPs). The chapter
further considers what has been learnt about CBP facilitated by NGOs and see how
they can be sustained by the community after phasing out. Non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) are also known as quasi-governments because their
operations are those for serving a need and are not expected to make a profit. Their
main goal is that of serving and meeting their mission in the most efficient way. In
implementing the CBPs, the organizations work hand in hand with the community
members to make the projects sustainable after they are phased out. This section will
examine the following three theories; Theory of change, McClellnd achievement need
theory and Freirean theory of dialogue and society. Also the role played by the
community in the sustainability of CBPs, Geographical factors affecting sustainability
of CBPs and the role of project controllers and implementers in sustainability of CBPs
will be examined. Reviewed literature has shown that social and culturally approved
community-based projects eventually become sustainable. Community-based project
sustainability is about creating a more just and equitable community through
encouraging social and cultural diversity (Roseland et al. 2005). Any communitybased project therefore, must give much consideration to socio-cultural aspects in any
given project during pre and post-implementation. Sustainable project design utilizes
essential aspects of cultural identity, can serve to synthesize the past with the present
for the benefit of the future (Matthews and Herbert, 2004). Participatory Learning and
Action (PLA) approach should be employed during needs assessment to be able to
accommodate the views of all community members in the project. According to
KWAHO, a water organization project in Kenya, the sustainability of the water
10

projects at the grassroots has been due to the strategies integrated before the projects
are completed, which include sensitivity to socio-cultural factors in the communities
where the project are being implemented. Further analysis indicates that the project
should be respectful and considerate of the communitys beliefs, norms, and religion.
Any project activity that undermines a communitys socio-cultural orientation will be
met with a lot of resistance and the chance of its sustainability is quite small. For
instance, the case of anti Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) projects in communities
of Rift Valley province in Kenya is a living testimony. Thus, it is imperative to
involve the community adequately before you begin a project that is likely to brush
shoulders with a communitys socio-cultural system. Sustained projects will always
become points of reference for other people or communities that need to undertake
similar projects and thus become case studies for learning. Project sustainability is
important because it helps in proper utilization of the immense resources invested in
the project. Thus continuity of the project long after external support has ceased, leads
to economical use of resources and avoids misuse of the same. The authors argue that,
to enhance sustainability, the community members must be seen as people who are
capable of navigating their own destiny. As such, at all stages of project cycle, should
be followed systematically to contribute what they have or know, share or learn what
they do not know and enhance their capabilities. In this way, project sustainability
enables the community to continue producing the much needed results, to ensure their
most felt need is met thus, solve their problem long after the external assistance has
stopped.
2.1 Theoretical Review
2.1.1 McClelland achievement needs Theory
While the trait model focuses on enduring inborn qualities and locus of control on the
individual's perceptions about the rewards and punishments in his or her life, (Pervin,
1980,), need for achievement theory by McClelland (1961) explained that human
beings have a need to succeed, accomplish, excel or achieve. Entrepreneurs are driven
by this need to achieve and excel. While there is no research evidence to support
personality traits, there is evidence for the relationship between achievement
motivation and entrepreneurship (Johnson, 1990). Achievement motivation may be
the only convincing person logical factor related to new venture creation (Shaver &
Scott, 1991).
11

2.1.2 Freirean theory of dialogue and society

This project is based on the third theory under review that is the Freirean theory of
dialogue and society, and the major economics models of project assignment. The
Paolo Freires theory of dialogue (Freire, 1970) states that dialogue, particularly
between leaders and community, is essential to liberation and education of the masses
by challenging historically held methods via the use of critical thought. Critical
thought raises consciousness and questions the assumption that people should fall into
established routines or systems, rather than help to form new systems that better
address their needs especially concerning projects intended to better their lives. This
emphasis on conscious, collaborative action gives power to community members
motivated to redefine aspects of their cognitive systems. Whether by negligence, lack
of budget, lack of motivation, or simple ignorance, there are disparities in
implementation of community based projects.
Freires emphasis on dialogue is reflected in this project by my advocacy for
community involvement with the development and management of CBPs in order to
ensure continuity and provision of basic amenities even after phase out. Community
members deserve not only to be part of the project design and implementation, but to
be explicitly invited to that process and thus get involved in the solutions.
Additionally, information about these mechanisms must be presented in accessible
language, and with appropriate context. This study will be anchored on this theory
and serve as a bridge from the inaccessible and often intimidating language of
development agencies to the people most affected by the discussion: communities.
2.1.3 Theory of change
The first Theory examined is the Theory of Change. It defines all building blocks
required to bring about a given long-term goal. This set of connected building blocks
interchangeably referred to as outcomes, results, accomplishments, or preconditions is
depicted on a map known as a pathway of change/change framework, which is a
graphic representation of the change process. Built around the pathway of change, a
Theory of Change describes the types of interventions (a single program or a
comprehensive community initiative) that bring about the outcomes depicted in the
pathway of a change map. Each outcome in the pathway of change is tied to an
intervention, revealing the often complex web of activity that is required to bring
about change as envisaged by community based projects
12

2.1.4 Arnsteins Ladder of Participation

The seminal work on the subject of community participation was by
Arnstein(1969).The importance of Arnsteins work stems from the recognition that
there are different levels of participation from manipulation or therapy to what can be
viewed as genuine participation. In the theory, he explains that there are eight ranks in
the ladder and each of the ranks represents the type of participation and degree of
citizen control over development.
In rank one and two participation takes the form of manipulation, in rank one and
therapy in runk two. Three and four represent participation by informing and
consulting respectively. These levels of tokenism allow have-nots hear and have a
voice but hardly offer power to ensure that the powerful heed to their voices .There is
neither follow through or assurance of changing status. The fifth is a graduation of
participation from tokenism to placation.
Placation allows the have-nots to advice the powerful continue to retain the right to
decide. The sixth, partnership, the seventh, delegated, power and the eighth citizen
control. These runks stand for genres of participation that provide citizens with
increasing degrees of decision making power. The ladder promotes the idea that
participation should allow for, redistribution of power that enables the have not
citizens presently excluded from the political and economic processes to be
deliberately included in the future .Participation is the means by which citizens can
include significant social reform which enables them to share in the benefits of the
affluent society.
2.1.5 A ladder of citizen power
Burns et al (1994), modified Arnsteins ladder of participation a ladder of citizen
power. This was a shift towards understanding participation in terms of the
empowerment of individuals and communities. This stemmed from the growing
prominence of the idea of the citizen as a consumer, where choice among alternatives
is seen as a means of accessing power.
This is more elaborate than Arnsteins ladder with further qualitative breakdown of
some of the different levels. For example, a distribution is drawn between cynical and
genuine consultation and between entrusted and independent citizen control. The
phenomenon of civic hype, increasingly recognized during the1990s is incorporated at
the bottom of the ladder. This essentially treats community participation as a
marketing exercise in which the desired result is sold to the community.
13

2.1.6 Robert Chambers: Participatory Rural Appraisal

Chambers, (1994) argues that to promote the development of the disadvantaged
people, change agents must transform into learners .They must abandon their topdown attitudes, professional expertise and institutional behaviors. They must
constantly reflect on the extent to which their actions inhibit development on their
subjects. Chambers assumes that personal changes in the behavior and attitudes of
development practitioners lead to professional changes. Drawing from chambers,
Mwanzia et al (2010) explains that participation is a method, a process and outcome
of development, research and empowerment. They explain that participatory methods
are important to get information from the marginalized because most policy-makers
are unaware of the needs of the rural poor as most of them live in the urban centers
and do not share the social circumstances, or class origins of those they profess to
help.
Figure 2.1: Theoretical framework
McClelland achievement needs Theory

Freirean theory of dialogue and society

Theory of change

Arnsteins Ladder of Participation

A ladder of citizen power

Robert Chambers: Participatory Rural

Appraisal

14

Success of CBPs in Nakuru District.

Researcher (2016)
2.2 Empirical Review
Most authors perceive successful Community Based Development Project differently.
Roy (2003) viewed development as for the people and by the people. His argument
was that, the essence of Success of CBPs is determined by the people, which can be
attributed to change of peoples attitudes, leading to a change in their habits. It took
many years of intensive work to reach a global consensus on the elements of
Successful development, but it was finally achieved in 1995 at the World Summit on
Social Development, This definition brought together what is popularly known as the
three es; environment, economy and equity. In this context, the main concern in
characterizing by Success of CBPs was that which had a capacity to help the poor
maintain and improve their natural capital (natural resources), while developing their
human capital (human resource development). Such a development was also required
to have the capacity to develop human made capital (investments infrastructure and
directly productive capital goods), and social capital (the institutional and cultural
bases and political systems that make a society function). (Celliso and Jean-Louis,
2004). With this diversity Robert (2003) argued that, sustainability is an essentially
vague concept, and it would be wrong to think of it as being precise, or capable of
being made precise.
Recent literature on poverty uniformly acknowledges different theories of poverty, but
the literature has classified these theories in multiple ways (Blank, 2003, Goldsmith
and Blakely, 1992; Jennings and Kushnick, 1999; Rodgers, 2000; Schiller, 1989;
Shaw, 1996). Virtually all authors distinguish between theories that root the cause of
poverty in individual deficiencies (conservative) and theories that lay the cause on
broader social phenomena (liberal or progressive). Ryan (1976) addresses this
dichotomy in terms of blaming the victim. Goldsmith and Blakely, for example
distinguish Poverty as pathology from poverty as incident or accident and poverty
as structure. Schiller (1989:2-3) explains it in terms of flawed characters, restricted
opportunity, and Big Brother. Jennings (1999) reviews a number of variants on these
individual vs. society conceptions, giving emphasis to racial and political dynamics.
Rank is very clear: the focus on individual attributes as the cause of poverty calling
for community development projects is misplaced and misdirected. Structural failings
of the economic, political, and social system are causes instead. (Rank 2004:50)
15

focuses on the various theories divergent, and each result in a different type of
community development intervention strategy. One other principle of community
development is popular participation. Popular participation deals with broad issues of
social development and the creation of opportunities for the involvement of people in
political, economic and social life of the nation (Obbo, 2003). Thus in this way it
prepares a way for community participation, a concept which connotes the direct
involvement of ordinary people in local affairs such as building of roads, schools, or
election of local and civic leaders ( Middler,et al 2006). This study will thus be
anchored to this theoretical approach. In the world today, community based
approaches for community development, have emerged as the best tools for achieving
project sustainability. According to UNHCR (2008), a community-based approach is a
way of working in partnership with persons of concern during all stages of project
cycle. In this paper, we define community-based approaches as strategies that extend
individual needs to the community and ensure consolidation of efforts among
community members in advancing their effort towards community driven projects.
Community-based approaches recognize the resilience (ARC, 2001), capacities, skills
and resources of people concerned, and build on these to deliver protection and
solutions that support the communitys own goals (UNHCR, 2008). In an effort to
analyze the performance of water systems in six countries (Benin, Bolivia, Honduras,
Indonesia, Pakistan, and Uganda), Katz and Sara (1997) found that the communitybased approach significantly increased sustainability. The analysis found that there
exist a strong linkage between participation of the community members and
sustainability of the projects. Sustainability was achieved owing to the fact that
community members were able to access information, capacity build at all levels,
trained in operations and maintenance, control over funds, and good quality
construction. In a different analysis by Newman et al. (2002) of eighteen rural water
projects in two regions in Bolivia, they found that community-level training (for
example, on cleaning water tanks, repairing water tubes, and managing user funds)
was critical for improving water quality. In Zimbabwe, Cleaver (1999) found that the
empowerment and long-term effectiveness of participation approaches was rather
complex. Limitations of communities in mobilizing the necessary resources, either
through collecting funds from community members or lobbying government officials,
greatly affected project sustainability. Narayan (1995) analyzed lessons from 121 rural
water-supply projects funded by different agencies in 49 developing countries and
16

found that the participation of local communities was an important factor for project
effectiveness and sustainability. Adoption of more radical approaches in handling the
theme of sustainability of community- based projects: new project sustainability
models built on intrinsic sense of duty attained through individual and organizational
based processes (Wanjohi, 2010). Most development workers are familiar with cases
where past projects can only be located by the project buildings, now serving some
other purpose, or by the piles of rusting machinery, which lead to the question of
continuity and sustainability. When a community is capable of maintaining the flow of
results from a project for their own good, they will always have a feel of we are
capable and this enhances their self-esteem or ego, and thus will be more willing to
get involved in any other project than ever before.
From the foregoing discussion, it is apparent that project sustainability can be
achieved if only change agents can adopt community-based approaches that embrace
participation and involvement of the communities in designing, planning,
implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. Citizen participation is an idea whose
time has come. Throughout the world, and especially in Africa, citizen participation is
seen as a means to , enhance development and service delivery, improve governance
and deepen democracy. This subject has attracted much attention from various
scholars and researchers especially at this time when the country is going through a
transition in the new political dispensation. Many studies have shown that public
participation is an integral tool in an economys development. Despite its importance,
not much has been achieved yet. Studies conducted in Kenya show worrying figures
of public non-involvement in the development programs. In many parts of the country
majority of Kenyans are not aware of projects in their constituencies and participation
is foreign to them.
In a study conducted by the government in 2011, Parliamentary Budget Office set out
a scorecard to measure the success of service delivery in Kenya specifically the CDF,
which is a participatory development tool. The survey indicated the CDF program
score as bad. On a scale of 1-5, the scorecard indicated a score of 2 out of 5, which is
relatively low. Observations were that worrying gaps existing service delivery of
government and service expectations by Kenyans in different sectors across the
Country.
This is a practical pointer that feedback mechanisms between service provider and
citizens are currently very weak or non-existent leading to the mismatch. The report
17

identifies instances of disjointed service delivery at grassroots with a number of civil

society organizations found to exist in different areas in the same region while
offering similar services. This according to the report resulted in duplication of efforts
thus preventing achievement of the overall goal.
A major weakness with the CDF Act (2003) is the lack of clear mechanisms of how
the community needs to participate. Whereas Article 38 of the Act provides that
community interests be considered in any project undertaken in an area, several
empirical studies have established that there exists a gap between policy and practice.
The existing mechanisms, if any, are grossly inadequate, opportunities to engage are
infrequent and are based on information sharing and not necessarily genuine
participation.
Participation is the process through which stakeholders input and share control over
development initiatives, decisions and resources which affect them (Odhiambo and
Taifa, 2009). Citing Gardiner (1995), Okello et al, (2008) further define it as a process
whereby stakeholders influence policy formulation, alternative designs, investment
choices and management of decisions affecting their communities.
Participation is important because practical experience on the ground shows that it
establishes the necessary sense of ownership. Generally, people tend to resist new
ideas if these are imposed on them. Participation has greatly contributed to the
sustainability of development initiatives, strengthened local capacity, given a voice to
the poor and marginalized and linked development to the peoples needs.
Participation has been instrumental in guarding against abuse of office by public
servants and political leaders. It has also provided a control against excessive
discretion being vested in civil servants in public procedures. Participation has
provided checks and balances against unnecessary political interference in service
delivery and disregard for professionalism and meritocracy in the public sector
amongst others (Odhiambo and Taifa, 2009). There are two broad dimensions of
citizen participation namely, indirect involvement and direct involvement. Indirect
involvement acknowledges that electoral officials and professional administrators
should act on behalf of the citizens in a representative democracy. Direct involvement
suggests that citizens are the owners of the government and should be involved in the
decisions of the State (Yang and Callahan, 2005).
This paper therefore focuses on direct participation, which emphasizes the importance
of citizen participation in formulation of service delivery plans. This dimension is
18

administrative centric. This simply means that it focuses on the role of the public in
the process of administrative decision-making or their involvement in decisionmaking related to service delivery. It thus implies governmental efforts to involve
citizens in administrative decision-making and management processes at the
grassroots level.
Since it occurs primarily at the administrative-citizen interface, direct participation
therefore differs from political participation. The latter includes but is not limited to
voting in primaries and elections, contacting the elected and campaigning for political
candidates (Yang and Callahan, 2005). The imperative for citizen participation is also
drawn from their statutory duty to pay taxes for service delivery. This means that they
are not only consumers of services but also essential financiers of government
revenue.
Citizen participation in administrative decision-making is thus inclusive of goal
setting, determination of strategies, policies, and monitoring and evaluating
government services. Citizen participation activities would then relate to the
techniques and mechanisms to arrive at these. The techniques include but are not
limited to public hearings and sittings, citizen advisory councils and citizen panels,
which constitute LASDAPs, neighborhood or resident association meetings and
citizen surveys.
The functional or practical areas for citizen involvement are economic development,
education, environmental protection, public health and policing and public safety
amongst others (Yang and Callahan, 2005). Citizen participation is an idea whose time
has come. Throughout the world, and especially in Africa, citizen participation is seen
as a means to , enhance development and service delivery, improve governance and
deepen democracy. This subject has attracted much attention from various scholars
and researchers especially at this time when the country is going through a transition
in the new political dispensation. Many studies have shown that public participation is
an integral tool in an economys development. Despite its importance, not much has
been achieved yet. Studies conducted in Kenya show worrying figures of public noninvolvement in the development programs. In many parts of the country majority of
Kenyans are not aware of projects in their constituencies and participation is foreign
to them.
In a study conducted by the government in 2011, Parliamentary Budget Office set out
a scorecard to measure the success of service delivery in Kenya specifically the CDF,
19

which is a participatory development tool. The survey indicated the CDF program
score as bad. On a scale of 1-5, the scorecard indicated a score of 2 out of 5, which is
relatively low. Observations were that worrying gaps existing service delivery of
government and service expectations by Kenyans in different sectors across the
Country.
This is a practical pointer that feedback mechanisms between service provider and
citizens are currently very weak or non-existent leading to the mismatch. The report
identifies instances of disjointed service delivery at grassroots with a number of civil
society organizations found to exist in different areas in the same region while
offering similar services. This according to the report resulted in duplication of efforts
thus preventing achievement of the overall goal.
A major weakness with the CDF Act (2003) is the lack of clear mechanisms of how
the community needs to participate. Whereas Article 38 of the Act provides that
community interests be considered in any project undertaken in an area, several
empirical studies have established that there exists a gap between policy and practice.
The existing mechanisms, if any, are grossly inadequate, opportunities to engage are
infrequent and are based on information sharing and not necessarily genuine
participation. In order to enhance participation as the country implements devolution
at county level, there is need for clear mechanisms for engagement and articulation of
community interests. As such, the report recommended that the government through
stakeholders engagement is obliged to come up with a robust feedback mechanism
of identifying the communities benefiting from various public projects. (Sande, 2012).
Studies conducted by Gitau et al (2003), provide important insights on the nature of
citizen participation in LASDAP in addition to eliciting issues involving citizen
capacity to participate in LASDAP. Through their study, they found that the LASDAP
participatory process generally favors the participation of registered Community
Based Organizations (CBOs) rather than evoking more evenly representative
community engagement of the common mwananchi at the grassroots level. This
suggests that the poor and marginalized members of society may not be included in
the decision-making and participatory process of issues that greatly affect them
through attending LASDAP meetings.
In their study, Odhiambo, et al(2005). found that while residents have adequate
knowledge of LA revenue sources, only four percent of their survey respondents
indicated any awareness of LATF as a form of revenue mobilization. This suggests
20

that the vast majority of residents in the County have very little awareness of this
major central to local government transfer, which comprises upwards of forty percent
of LA resource envelopes.
Odhiambo et.al (2005), established a fairly high level of understanding among
residents of the types of resources and the methods used to mobilize them in the LA.
However, despite this general awareness, the study found that in most cases, those
residents did not demand accountability in the management of those resources. This is
an interesting study because, if the residents are aware of the resources and even
methods to mobilize them then why dont they take part in monitoring and planning
for these resources.
This observation informs the gist of this study in the sense that it will be important to
find out if the citizens believe in the Local Authority ability to deliver good services
to them.
2.3 Conceptual review
2.3.1 The role played by the active participation of local people in the success of
CBPs
At local level, community development requires that local economic development
supports community life, using the local talents and resources of the local community.
It further challenges us to ensure that the distribution of the benefits of development is
done in a more transparent manner and equitably (Elizabeth, 2006). On the same
Ismail and Richard (1995) also cited that there is a need to now move from improving
living standards to improving the quality of life. This would happen when
development becomes fully, participatory and people centered, driven by spiritual
values that embrace caring and nurturing at their core. However, the distinction
between natural resource development and changes in human well-being needs to be
made explicit. Further, we need to see development primarily from the point of view
of its impact upon the poor people. Then we must go further and either define
development in such a way that the welfare of the poor people is incorporated in it or
show that material growth is a sufficient condition for an unambiguous improvement
in human welfare (Hall, 2003). Development, defined variously related to the
improvement, growth, increase, increments are the different facets of development.
Development generally signifies improvement at the initial stages from undesirable
state of affairs to desirable one in any field of social living. It is development in the
21

economical economic sphere irrespective of the field of application-whether social,

economic or otherwise, but it should be Successful in the long run for the well-being
of the people in the area concerned. The community fosters cooperation in CBPs.
Prior to the introduction of the concept of cooperation in community development; it
has been difficult to win the support and commitment of the community members in
development work. Cooperation is a social order. Cooperation is one of the techniques
in community development. This is related to integration in the sense that the various
units actually join together practically giving rise to cooperative groups with various
principles. The principle involves people from the community to agree to form, own
and control a business in production, marketing or consumption. Community
Development needs cooperation as there is community development without
cooperation (McPherson, 2002). In any community development there is need for
cooperation between the organization and the community. Most of the communities
which community based projects operates in are characterized by social problems,
which include poverty, unemployment and other social evils. In view of the
prevalence of the socio-economic problems and geo-physical characteristics, the
people in these communities have limited options for their development needs.
Consequently these people remain backward and the mass living in these backward
pockets are affected socially and physically. This has resulted in the shaping of their
behavior in tune to the prevailing conditions.
Community action means differently to different individuals, but in this report we
shall rely on Poplins (2009) analysis of community action. Poplin gives three
analyses of activities or events that are considered part of the universe of community
action. In this report only two of them will be examined. Firstly, he views an activity
or event to be part of the universe of the community action if the participants in that
activity or event intend to solve some problem related to the locality where they live.
An example can be a local community coming together to build a clinic in its area. In
some cases it may even build a house for the medical staff just to ensure that the
community gets medical facilities in its locality. Community action activity or events
should be free from vested interests groups whose aim is self-centered. All
participants should contribute to the goal setting, realizing that the end results benefit
the entire community. The role of the organization is to facilitate rather than direct the
action. The second technique is partnership or integration, which is used here to
22

describe a community as whole, whose various parts are unified, coordinated and
working harmoniously towards the desired end, thereby making the community act as
a balanced whole (Ssengendo, 2008). The organization must be aware of the
differentiation necessary in any community of the people or of a team that handles a
community project. It is only after that awareness that the organization can estimate
the level of integration that is required and the partnership among the various units. To
bring out integration, the organization has to ensure that the various units have a
common cause to partner with and work together, that is, their objectives are
interrelated and they bring about a better interaction and cooperation. Success of
CBPs planning engages stakeholders such as, local residents, key institutional
partners, and interest groups, in designing and implementing action plans. Planning is
carried out collectively among the groups affected. It is organized so as to represent
the desires, values and ideals of the stakeholders within the community.
An examination of the available literature reveals lack of commonly accepted
definition of the concept of policy. There is agreement on the domain, function and
processes of policy (Gil, 2006). Schorr (2008); Miller and Riessman (2008); and
Miller and Roby (2000); define a policy in terms of action to reduce inequality
through redistribution and access to resources, rights and social opportunities.
Freeman and Sherwood (2001) conceive of policy as principles whereby societies
and/or institutions come together to seek solution to common problems. Studies have
in the recent past clearly shown that desk-made aid policies that govern
developmental programs at community level, can limit the quality and degree of trust
between the donors, local institutions, and the beneficiaries. Transplanting policies or
guidelines that are foreign to the local communities can lead to substantial dislocation
of social and economic relations (Ismail, 1997). The need to bring greater
accountability and rationality to decision making has led to policy formulation and
planning. Accountability and rationality raise the central question of efficiency and
reducing social economic problems and the ability to justify actions and programs on
the basis of objective evidence. With the same objectives of being accountable and
rationalizing it project in terms of performance NGOs and other facilitators have their
own policies they follow. There is a Memorandum of understanding which is part of
the policy for the community development project (CDP). This implies respecting
traditional (local) knowledge, values and perceptions, seeking to understand and use
23

them, and possibly integrating them with the modern (outsiders) knowledge and
values (Willy, 2003). Many evaluations have shown that projects and programs
following participatory approaches produce high and more Successful returns.
Participatory development is no quick fix but a learning process which takes time,
resources, imagination and sometimes courage to implement. It requires behavioral
change on the part of many actors, calls into question old habits and often reveals
conflicts of interest because of the need for power sharing. The novelty in
participatory development, lies in a new, people centered vision and development,
which replaces the top-down procedures with approaches based on joint learning and
negotiation. Another new feature is that participatory development can no longer be
seen as an exclusively local issue, but has strong national and international
dimensions (Jean, 2005). Participation is the process through which stakeholders
input and share control over development initiatives, decisions and resources which
affect them (Odhiambo and Taifa, 2009). Citing Gardiner (1995), Okello et al, (2008)
further define it as a process whereby stakeholders influence policy formulation,
alternative designs, investment choices and management of decisions affecting their
communities.
Participation is important because practical experience on the ground shows that it
establishes the necessary sense of ownership. Generally, people tend to resist new
ideas if these are imposed on them. Participation has greatly contributed to the
sustainability of development initiatives, strengthened local capacity, given a voice to
the poor and marginalized and linked development to the peoples needs.
Participation has been instrumental in guarding against abuse of office by public
servants and political leaders. It has also provided a control against excessive
discretion being vested in civil servants in public procedures. Participation has
provided checks and balances against unnecessary political interference in service
delivery and disregard for professionalism and meritocracy in the public sector
amongst others (Odhiambo and Taifa, 2009).
2.3.2 How diversity of the project environment affects success of CBPs
Given the basic tenet that participation requires not a single blueprint approach but
a learning approach tailored to each specific situation, under different circumstances,
progress has been made in practice towards more genuine participation i.e.,
24

participation in decision making with the new partnership where the conventional topdown relationship is considerably modified, if not completely reversed (Jean, 2005). It
is true to say that projects or programs that have been initiated or followed popular
participation have been considered either an essential condition for Success or an end
in itself. Although not all of the projects or programs have shown the expected results,
they offer worth-while lessons for future initiatives. Communities however, should
not be left to develop by themselves alone, rather they should be integrated into
provincial, districts and chiefdom systems that will protect and simultaneously
facilitate their programs organizations. Participation serves a range of general
development objectives such as efficiency, equity and capacity building. Success in
particular depends on the people being in-charge. FAO (1991) puts it succinctly thus
without participation, rural development initiatives are unlikely to be Successful in the
long run and rural inequalities are unlikely to be redressed. (Bhati 2005). In light of
this, caring about environment in Sub-Saharan Africa is not a luxury but a prime
necessity because African economies depend heavily on their natural resources. This
is even very true in the context of alleviating poverty because of environment
degradation is, therefore, a key element of strategy to reduce poverty in Sub-Saharan
Africa. Calliso and Jean-Louis (2006) mentioned that such a strategy requires every
effort to maintain natural capital and to use it sustainably by promoting sound
environmental management. It can further be said that protection of the environment
is today one of the most urgent responsibilities of society. One of the participants is
Government whose primary task is to achieve an ecologically Successful industrial
society. In 1987, the World Commission for Environment and Development, the so
called Bruntland Commission, presented its paper (Our Common Future). The
message was that the countries of the World must create a global policy of permanent
Successful development. The new challenge was to satisfy todays needs without
jeopardizing the possibility of future generations to satisfy
their own needs (Carl, 2006). Although environment is not the focus of this research,
this view should be that there is a need now than ever before, to integrate the
environmental challenges in the development programs. Success of CBP smay indeed
require a strong policy on the part of Government and other stakeholders of protecting
the natural resource base if the same is not in place. The source base including all
forms of capital should perhaps be maintained intact or even enhanced. Development
25

is Successful if the rules of the game are transparent and the game is inclusive. The
challenge for Successful community development is to ensure a better quality of life
for all people while meeting everyones aspirations for well-being. A sound program
design, adapted to local conditions and based on simple methods that facilitate
beneficiary involvement i.e., Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) should always be
chosen and beneficiaries should be involved in the selection. Participatory survey
should define the social context of support, and communities should be well
organized, trained, and sensitized before needs are identified. Judy (2001) has
explored the ways in which knowledge of the local conditions becomes side tracked
before it can affect other planning or implementation of programs largely initiated
from outside. The definition of evaluation depends on the intellectual background of
the person define the concept. Writers such as Suchman (2007) have a broader view
of evaluation which include outcomes (impacts) as well as analysis of efforts
(program input). However this definition excludes consideration of programs activity.
The other definition is that whose major concern is with outcomes. The focus here is
with output related to the achievement of programs goals. For this study evaluation
will be defined in a more or less comprehensive terms as a robust area of activity
devoted to collecting analyzing, interpreting information on the need for
implementation of, and effectiveness and efficiency of intervention efforts to better
the lot of human kind by improving social conditions and community life (Rossi, et.
al,1985)
Evaluation of on-going projects requires a proper strategy which can work if one is to
achieve the desired results. It is of vital importance to discuss about participatory
evaluation, asking the people concerned to participate in evaluating their own
projects thereby, enabling them to determine the future effectiveness of their goals of
the project. Calliso and Jean-Louis, (2006) connoted that evaluation is a process
integral to the development process and by which a community (where project is
established) assesses whether what is being done is bringing the desired results. In
view of the definitions above, there are many reasons of conducting an evaluation
which include the following: To judge the worth of ongoing programs/ projects; To
estimate usefulness of attempts to improve programs; To increase the effectiveness of
management and administration of programs ; To delay a decision; and to justify and
legitimize already made decisions (Suchman, 2007).
26

2.3.3 The role of social organisations on the success of CBPs

A measurable goal is a written statement of the final desired result. It is essentially
realistic, time bounded, acceptable, and measurable. In other words, a goal should
answer the following questions: Who? How many? How much, What? When?
Where? Like baselines, a measurable goal is essential to be able to evaluate progress
change (Chitire, 2009). After setting measurable goals of any project in the
community, what should follow next is an indicator. An indicator is something that
can be counted, measured, or observed which will indicate whether or not progress
has been made toward a goal (Chambers, 2003). This is a kind of system which is
maintained throughout the duration of a project which keeps truck of activities and
measurements of indicators, and records necessary information for evaluation. Ideally,
monitoring system is designed and maintained at the community level. It can vary
from simple pictorial graph to complex charts or forms according to the abilities and
needs of those who create it and who use the information (Lyle, 2007). It is important
to point out here that, the results of evaluation, whether eternal or external, should be
communicated to the decision making group. With this opinion, anyone undertaking
evaluation program of the project based in a community, should not overlook some of
the essentials regarding the participation of the community members. Evaluation
should measure success and how to build on this success (or lack of it).the
participation on the part of the people therefore, is always essential. It can be done in
the participatory mode as opposed to top down. Monitoring is the basis of evaluation,
and both should be conceived as an integral part of the program cycle, so that learning
can take place as events unfold. The most important audience of evaluations is the
beneficiaries themselves. Participatory evaluation should be promoted, so that
communities can be involved through rapid appraisal techniques (David 2003).
Batchelor (1985) observed that, development is a slow process, because the less
privileged people are the last in the line to be reached due to poor communication and
transport system in the rural areas. They keep a low profile. They are last to speak. In
light of this therefore, they need to be encouraged in what they are already doing for
survival. The idea of development is an attractive one. It could mean that more people
should have a voice in deciding how to improve their community and that the project
should be seen and understood as their own and not something imported or imposed
on them. Many attempts at locally initiated rural development projects unfortunately
fail. Rural people have often have limited organizational and managerial skills. This
27

not only makes them vulnerable to intentional mismanagement and theft, but also
causes projects to fail due to inadequate planning. Self-help projects are easily
frustrated because of inability to analyze problems and formulate simple solutions.
When such failures occur, the negative experience goes a long way to discourage
similar initiatives in future. Women are consistently left on the fringes of most
development activities. Though women supply the bulk of labor when local projects
require it, they have minimal access to information, education opportunities, or
decision making. This is particularly tragic because women, as care-takers of rural
families, are extremely practical. They can bring much needed commonsense to
project planning but are usually excluded from the process. There are indeed
substantial impediments to broad participation in rural development. Different
approaches for promoting participation have all had to contend with these obstacles.
(Terry ,2003). In part, Chambers (2003) in his book, discusses about the reversals on
the part of all the stakeholders that. The reversals of current positions and practices by
all stakeholders are required if the nature and extent of community development is
appreciated and if the future actions are to be tailored to the felt needs of the less
privileged members of the community. He further says that, it is important for the
beneficiaries themselves to realize that, development is something very different from
what they had always understood it to be. Development that they should see is not a
matter of receiving funds from the donors for infrastructures, rather, it should be all
about helping Peoples Attitudes and their habits and helping them to do together
things that, alone, they could never have achieved.
It has been said also that, Community organization is very essential in achieving
development. Community organization is a descriptive term which has been applied
on a wide variety of activities and programs. More recently, the definition of the
phrase has been narrowed down to focus on a method or process of affecting social
change. In this process the community members are organized, so that they are able to
identify their own felt needs, establish priorities among their needs develop a program
of action and move to implement this program (Lyle, 2007).
The authors whose works have been reviewed above, none has produced a definite
and a holistic discovery of consensus on what are the inhibiting factors to successful
community based development.

28

Figure 2. 2: Conceptual Framework

Independent Variables

Dependent Variable

Active participation

Diversity of the project environment

Success of CBPs in Nakuru District.

Researcher (2016)
Social organizations
In this case, manipulation of any independent variable affected the success of
community based project. Success of CBPs is measured in terms of rate of survival of
CBPs after phase-out and achievement of project objectives, the independent
variables which were the local people active participation, diversity and the role of
social organizations. The dependent variable was the success of Community based
projects.
2.4 Research Gaps
This study was carried out in the sense that, there are key determinants of CBPs
success which havent been covered by past researchers. Citizen participation in Local
Governance has attracted a lot of interest among many researchers. Several studies
have been conducted on this subject. However many have failed to address the weak
articulation of mechanisms and frameworks for community engagement. Very little

29

research has been done on the role that the Local Authorities can play in terms of
fostering public participation

30

CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This chapter highlights the various methods and procedures the researcher adopted in
conducting the study in order to answer the research objectives raised in the first
chapter. The chapter will be organized in the following structure: the research design,
target population, sampling design and sample size, data collection methods, research
procedures, data analysis methods and lastly the ethical issues
3.2 Research Design
The researcher undertook qualitative research. The study employed a descriptive
survey research design. The design is used to enable researchers to gather
information, summarize, present and interpret for the purpose of clarification
(Orodho, 2002). According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), a survey is an attempt
to collect data from members of a population in order to determine the current status
of that population with respect to one or more variables.
3.3 Target Population
The target population of this study was CBPs managers, Donor agencies (World
Vision, Swedish group, Catholic diocese of Nakuru, Red Cross, Compassion and
Rincord) and targeted beneficiaries from each sampled CBP. The study was conducted
in Nakuru District which has 27 registered CBPs and six donor agencies as per the
District Development Plan 2008-2012. The District is fast growing with many
residents relying on infrastructure improvement, subsistence farming and livestock
rearing to earn a living (Nakuru District Development Plan 2008-2012).
3.4 Sampling Design and Procedures
According to Mugenda (2003) a sample size of 10% - 30% of the total population is
adequate for a study in descriptive research. The study thus applied simple random
and purposeful sampling. The respondents were five senior most project managers in
the selected CBPs purposely sampled for the study.

The researcher further

purposively sampled nine beneficiaries from the sampled CBPs and a respondent

31

from each of the six donor agencies in the district. Therefore the total numbers of
respondents were fifty six as explained in the table below
Table 1: Sample Size
Category
Population
CBP Managers
135
Donor Agencies
6
Beneficiaries
27
Total
168
Source: Researcher (2016)

Percentage
30%
100%
33%
33%

Sample size
41
6
9
56

3.5 Data Collection Tools and Instruments

Secondary data from previous research reports was used to provide a wider
understanding of the issues under research. Primary data was collected through the
use of a questionnaire. The questionnaire had both closed-ended and open-ended
questions. The questionnaires were dropped and picked later from respondents. In
extreme cases, some of the respondents filled the questionnaire with the help
experienced research assistants.
3.6 Data Analysis and Presentation
According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), data analysis is the processing of data to
obtain answers to research questions. The purpose of descriptive statistics is to allow
for meaningful description of a distribution of scores or measurements using a few
indices or statistics. The primary data was then analyzed through Statistical package
for Social Sciences (SPSS) as the most suitable analysis tool. The statistics derived
mean, standard deviation and variance. The findings were presented in form of tables,
graphs and narratives. They covered information on demographics from the study area
and the other objectives envisaged in the study. This will provide information on the
topic.
3.7 Reliability and Validity of the Research Instrument
Reliability is the degree of consistency and precision in which the measuring of the
instrument demonstrates under same circumstances. Same research respondents using the
same instrument should generate the same results under identical conditions (Amin,
2005). In determining reliability of the instrument, the researcher carried out a pretest by
issuing 10 questionnaires to employees of the CBPs in the district and the data obtained
was entered into the Statistical Package for Social Science research (SPSS) to determine
the reliability of the tool. Cronbanchs Alpha Coefficient (2004) was used to assess the
32

internal consistency, where a score of 0.7 and above implies that the instrument was
considered reliable for the study. The researcher used content validity which was done
with the help of experts. A valid instrument should accurately measure what it is
supposed to measure. The research instruments were pretested to ten respondents within
the study area. The selected respondents were not included in the study because they are
similar to the samples used in the actual study. The feedback was used to validate the
instruments in readiness for the study. After administering the instruments to the selected
respondents, the data obtained should be a true reflection of the variables under study.

3.8 Ethical Consideration

According to Mugenda and Mugenda, (2003), ethical considerations are important for
any research. Ethical issues that were taken into consideration included proper
conduct of the researcher and confidentiality of the information obtained from the
respondents. An introductory letter to meet the respondents was obtained from the
institute and County Commissioner. Respondents were encouraged to participate
voluntarily and before administering the questionnaire, the researcher sought
informed consent from respondents. The researcher ensured anonymity and
confidentiality of all the information collected.

33

CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATIONS
4.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the results of the analysis. From the 56 questionnaires
distributed, 43 were collected and used in the study. This shows that the response rate
was 76.8%. The findings are based on these responses as presented in this chapter.
First, the sample characteristics are shown. This is followed by a presentation of the
results based on the study objectives.
4.2 Demographic Information
This section presents the findings on the general information and characteristics of
the respondents.
4.2.1 Gender of the Respondents
The study found that 55.8% of the respondents were male while the remaining 44.2%
were females. This shows that majority of the respondents in the study were male.
The results are summarized and presented in Table 4.1.

34

Table 4.1: Gender.

Gender

Frequency

Percent

Cumulative Percent

Male

24

55.8

55.8

Female

19

44.2

100

Total

43

100

Source: Research data

This is an indication that the community based projects are dominated by men.
However its important to note that the gender ratio as per government regulations
has been surpassed. This should be evident in the quality of decisions made to
support the growth and sustainability of CBPs.

4.2.2 Age of the Respondents

The study revealed that 34.9% of the respondents were aged less than 30 years, 27.9%
were aged between 31 and 40 years, another 14% were aged between 41 and 50 years
while the remaining 23.3% were aged above 50 years. These results are summarized
and presented in table 4.2. The results imply that majority of the respondents were
aged below 30 years of age.
Table 4. 2: Respondents Age.
Frequency

Percent

Less than 30 years

15

34.9

Cumulative
Percent
34.9

Between 31 and 40

12

27.9

62.8

Between 41 and 50

14

76.7

Above 50

10

23.3

100

Total

43

100

Age

Source: Research data

Demographic information on age showed that the community based projects are in
the hands of young and vibrant populations. As shown on the table, over 62.8% were
35

aged below 40 years, a clear indication that they are well informed on the
developments on the community based project issues and challenges. This should
provide candid views on sustainability of CBPs in the district. These findings point to
the fact that most of the respondents are in an age bracket (21-30) which is informed
on most issues concerning the area of study and thus the researcher was confident that
these were the right people to involve in a study.
4.2.3 Respondents Education
In terms of the respondents level of education, the study found that 48.9% had postsecondary levels of education, 32.6% had college education, and 16.3% had
university degree and higher. These results are summarized and presented in Table
4.3. The results imply that majority of the respondents had at least a secondary
education.
Table 4.3: Respondents Education.
Education

Frequency

Percent

Cumulative Percent

20.9

20.9

Education

13

30.2

51.2

College

14

32.6

83.7

Certificate

83.7

University degree
and higher
Total

16.3

100

43

100

Primary
Education
Secondary

Source: Research data

The educational background points to the fact that most of the respondents are
properly educated and thus easily understood the issues raised in the questionnaire
concerning the area of study. Given the level of education the respondents also clearly
understood the ethics of research and thus were expected to give honest and
informative responses which would add to the credibility of the final research
findings and report.
36

4.2.4 Respondents Duration of Work in Nakuru District

The study further revealed that 55.8% of the respondents had an experience of more
than 10 years in the district, 9.3% had an experience of between 5 and 10 years, and
the remaining 34.9% had an experience ranging from 0-5 years. This shows that most
of the respondents had more than 10 years of experience in the district. The length of
time the respondents have worked in the district has a great impact on the responses
they provide as they have a better understanding of what has been the challenges
affecting sustainability of community based projects at Nakuru district. These results
are summarized and presented in Figure 4.1.

Figure 4.1: Working Duration in the Nakuru District

Source: Research Data (2016)
4.2.5 Involvement in CBPs at Nakuru District in Nakuru County
All the respondents indicated that they are involved in community based projects in
various roles including beneficiaries, managers and donors. They confirmed that they
are involved in CBPs as project managers, donors and beneficiaries.
37

4.2.6 The Role Played by the Community in the Sustainability of CBPs

In order to investigate the role played by the community in the sustainability of
Community Based Projects in Nakuru District of Nakuru County, the study used a
likert scale in which 5,4,3,2, and 1represented continuum scores for Very Large
Extent, Moderately large Extent, Moderately Low Extent, Very Low Extent and No
Extent respectively. These enabled the tabulation and interpretation of the responses
from the research instrument. The main statistics derived are mean, standard deviation
and the variance. The mean illustrated the extent to which the respondents agreed or
disagreed with the statements put forth on the role of the community in the
sustainability of CBPs in the district. This is well elaborated in the table and
narratives below which show the respondents and the statistics.

38

Table 4.4: Role Played By the Community in Sustainability of CBPs.

Role Played

Mean

Std. Deviation

Variance

Design of programs

43

3.44

1.181

1.395

Monitoring

43

2.74

.954

.909

Provision of Hunan Resources

43

3.88

1.199

1.439

Part Financing

43

2.49

1.077

1.161

Security

43

4.05

1.133

1.283

Project Implementers

43

3.42

1.139

1.297

Source: Research Data (2016)

We find from Table 4.4 that majority of the respondents felt that their role was in
safeguarding the CBPs with a mean of 4.05. This was followed by those who felt that
the role played by the community in the sustainability of CBPs was provision of
human resources with a mean of 3.88. The next popular role identified was design of
programs. This is interesting considering that non-involvement in the design stage
leads to failure of CBPs as pointed out by other researchers. Some respondents
appreciated the fact that they are project implementers with a mean of 3.42. Project
monitoring and part financing had means of 2.74 and 2.49 respectively. This implies
that the respondents disassociate the two as major roles played by the community in
the sustainability of CBPs in Nakuru District. The table further indicates the standard
deviation (SD) and variance of the findings. It is clear that respondents gave varying
responses as to the role played by the community in the sustainability of CBPs with
monitoring and part financing recording the lowest SD of 0.954 and 1.077
respectively. Their corresponding variances were 0.909 and 1.161 respectively. The
role of security and project implementers had SD and variance of 1.133/1.139 and
1.283/1.297 respectively. Further the respondents had slightly varying responses as to
the role played by the community in the sustainability of CBPs with regard to
provision of human resources which had a SD of 1.199 and variance of 1.439.
This is a clear indication that the community has a great role in the sustainability of
community based projects in Nakuru district. This is very important considering the
high rate of collapse of the community based projects after phase-out stage. The
39

stakeholders involved in the design, implementation and management of community

based projects must engage the community going by the findings of this study. This
will lead to more interest and eventual ownership of community based projects by the
community. By emphasizing that the community has a great role to pay will lead to
higher growth in the projects thereby attaining their objectives which are mainly
income generation.
The there topmost roles by the community as found by the study are security,
provision of human resources and design of the programs. These are very strategic
functions for community based projects to survive. There is need for honesty,
accountability and upholding of high ethical standards to ensure that projects benefit
the intended sections of the community while being available for future generations.
4.2.7 Diversity Factors Affecting Sustainability of CBPs in Nakuru District
The investigation of the geographical factors affecting the sustainability of
Community Based Projects in Nakuru District of Nakuru County entailed the use of a
likert scale in which 5,4,3,2, and 1represented continuum scores for Very Large
Extent, Moderately large Extent, Moderately Low Extent, Very Low Extent and No
Extent respectively. Through these, tabulation and interpretation of the responses from
the research instrument was possible. The Mean, Standard Deviation and Variance
were derived. They show the extent to which the respondents agreed or disagreed with
the statements put forth on the geographical factors affecting sustainability of CBPs in
the district. This is well elaborated in the table and narratives below which show the
respondents and the statistics.

40

Table 4.5: Diversity effect on Sustainability of CBPs.

Geographical Factors

Mean

Std. Deviation

Variance

Natural Resources

43

4.47

1.032

1.064

Environment

43

4.47

0.735

0.540

Climate

43

4.44

0.908

0.824

Topography

43

3.49

1.183

1.399

Stability

43

3.91

0.971

0.944

Infrastructure

43

4.05

0.844

0.712

Source: Research Data (2016)

The Table 4.6 illustrates the geographical factors affecting sustainability of CBPs in
Nakuru District. Majority of the respondents felt that natural resources and the
environment affect the CBPs most in the district with means of 4.47. This was
followed by climate and then infrastructure with means of 4.44 and 4.05 respectively.
Stability had the lowest mean of 3.91 indicating that stability of geographical
conditions had the least popularity among the respondents. The table further indicates
41

the standard deviation (SD) and variance of the findings. This received varied
responses with environment having the lowest SD at 0.540 followed by infrastructure
with a SD of 0.712. This indicates that there was somewhat agreement amongst
respondents on these two as main geographical factors affecting sustainability of
CBPs in Nakuru District. The respondents through the SD also highlighted the
importance of climate with an SD of 0.908 and geographical stability with a SD of
0.971 as major geographical determinants of sustainability of CBPs in Nakuru
District. The general finding is that geographical factors do affect the sustainability of
CBPs in Nakuru District.
The sustainability of community based projects in Nakuru district is a major function
of the geographical factors as shown by this study. There was an overwhelming
agreement that the environment, natural resources, climate and infrastructure play a
key role in the sustainability of community based projects in Nakuru District of
Nakuru County. These hamper the design, implementation and monitoring of the
community based projects to a great extent. This is greatly due to the dilapidated
infrastructure and other vagaries of weather. Access to the community projects is
limited during the year due to poor roads, telecommunication infrastructure and other
basic needed by the community based projects. Mitigation of issues of geographical
nature requires long term strategies in order to have long lasting solution to issues of
sustainability of community based projects in Nakuru District.
4.2.8 The Role of social organizations on Sustainability of CBPs in Nakuru
District
Social organizations also have a bearing on the sustainability of Community Based
Projects in Nakuru District of Nakuru County as indicated by the findings below. The
section entailed the use of a likert scale in which 5,4,3,2, and 1represented continuum
scores for Very Large Extent, Moderately large Extent, Moderately Low Extent, Very
Low Extent and No Extent respectively. The results were tabulated and interpreted
through the Mean, Standard Deviation and Variance was derived. They indicate the
role of social organizations on sustainability of CBPs in the district. This is well
elaborated in table 4.7 and the narratives thereafter.
Table 4.6: The Role of Social organizations on Sustainability of CBPs.
Controllers and Implementers

N
42

Mean

Std. Deviation

Variance

NGOs

43

4.47

0.984

0.969

Government Agencies

43

2.63

1.001

1.001

Religious Leaders

43

2.51

1.055

1.113

Political Class

43

2.93

1.078

1.162

Donors

43

4.58

0.852

0.725

CBOs

43

4.53

0.882

0.779

Source: Research data (2016)

There was overwhelming indications that donors have the greatest role as social
organizations CBPs as shown on Table 4.7. The majority of the respondents felt that
donors control and implement CBPs with a mean of 4.58, a SD of 0.852 and a
variance of 0.725. Being the sole financers of many of the CBPs like in any locations,
its expected that they stamp their authority in safeguarding their resources. This was
followed by those who felt that CBOs had an upper hand in the control and
implementation of CBPs in the district. This collaborates the earlier assertion that
donors are the main social organizations CBPs in the district. The role of CBOs had a
mean of 4.53, a SD of 0.882 and a variance of 0.779 affirming its importance the role
played by the community in the sustainability of CBPs. This was followed by NGOs
which we reckon is a major force in the CBPs network. This had a mean of 4.47, a SD
of 0.984 and a variance of 0.969. This is affirmation if the importance of NGOs in
project control and implementation. Political class, government agencies and religious
leaders had the least role in control and implementation of CBPs in Nakuru district
with means ranging from 2.93-2.51, SD ranging from 1.078 1.001 and variance in
the range of 1.162 1.001.
The sustainability of community based projects lies in the hands of donors, CBOs and
NGOs. As for the donors, being the main financiers of the projects, they need to have
a big vote in order to ensure that their funds are utilized as per the rule and regulations
established between the donor and the community based project managers. Funding
gives them the upper hand in deciding what to do with the funds, when to do it and
how to do it. This goes hand in hand with the CBOs and NGOs who are tasked to
ensure the implementation of the community based projects in Nakuru District. There
43

was an interesting observation that religious leaders and the government were the
least reported as social organizations of community based projects. That would
explain the high rate of failure because by not involving the two agencies, projects are
left in the hands of agents who may not be interested in the long term growth of the
projects. For sustainability of community based projects, there should be a shift from
alienating religious and government agencies and instead entrusting the projects to
them. They deal with issues in the local areas and understand the needs of the people.
They are best placed to better understand the solutions that the p[people need. Their
network is wide and would be an asset in ensuring the sustainability of the community
based projects through educating the people the need to contribute to the growth and
success of the CBPs.

44

CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the summary of research findings, discussion of key findings,
conclusions made from the study and the recommendations for policy and practice.
The chapter also presents suggestions for further research.
5.2 Summary of Findings
The main objective of this study was to find out the social-cultural factors affecting
the success of CBPs in Nakuru District of Nakuru County. Out of the fifty six (56)
questionnaires distributed, 43 were collected representing 76.8% response rate. The
findings showed that majority of the personnel engaged in the CBPs are male at
55.8% while female were 44.2%. This is in line with many researches where male
population dominates the jobs opportunities and positions of responsibility. The
majority of the respondents are less than 30 years of age at 34.9%. This was followed
by those aged between 31 and 40 years at 27.9%, while those between 40 and 50
years and those over 50 years were 14% and 23.3% respectively. Majority of the
respondents had college education at 32.6% followed by those with secondary
education with 30.2%. About 20.9% of the respondents had primary education while
16.3% had an undergraduate degree and higher. No respondent recorded a certificate
level of educations. The study also purposed to establish the duration the respondents
had worked in the district. The majority at 55.8% had worked for over 10 years while
another 27.9% had worked in the Nakuru District for between 1 and 5 years. There
were 9.3% of the respondents who had worked for between 5 and 10 years while 7%
had worked for less than a year. Based on the study results, all the respondents were
involved in CBPs in Nakuru District of Nakuru County.
5.3 Discussion on Findings
This section presents a discussion of the findings and compares and contrasts these
findings with other scholarly studies done on the same topic.
5.3.1 Discussion on Role of the Community in the Sustainability of CBPs
The study findings showed that the role of the community in the success of CBPs in
45

Nakuru District of Nakuru County was mainly security, provision of human resources,
design of programs and being engaged as project implementers. This is because
majority of the respondents are the beneficiaries either through funding or provision
of goods and services to the CBPs. These components scored highly on the likert
scale a clear indication of their importance as factors affecting success of CBPs in
Nakuru District. It became clear from the findings that the community has a very
major role to play in the success of community based projects in Nakuru District as
providers of security to the CBPs. They are also the major source of manpower to the
community based projects. Although these are crucial roles, they may be misused
often leading to collapse of the very projects they are meant to sustain and nurture.
5.3.2 Discussion on diversity Factors Affecting the Success of CBPs in Nakuru
District
The dominant geographical factors identified were natural resources and the
environment. These were followed by climate and the infrastructure in the District.
Finally, topography and weather stability were the least popular although they had
means of over 2.5. The high scores in the responses regarding geographical factors
affecting the success of CBPs confirmed that they were a major reason for concern if
CBPs have to survive after phase out. The study findings showed that donors were the
main social organizations of CBPs. This was backed by findings that CBOs and
NGOs were also ranked highly as social organizations of CBPs in Nakuru District.
The donors, CBOs and NGOs are directly involved in CBPs because they have
committed their funds to uplift the lives of members in their jurisdiction. They have to
take charge of the management of the CBPs. However, does this in any way
contribute to the success of the CBPs? Does this hands on style cripple the
management and eventually the success of CBPs after phase-out? Geographical
factors may make or break CBPs in any setting. In Nakuru District, it became clear
from the study that geographical factors affect the success of CBPs negatively. This is
because they are cited as potential causes of failure of CBPs.
5.3.3 Discussion on Role of Social organizations on Success of CBPs
The results indicate that the community, geographical factors and social organizations
all affect the success of CBPs in Nakuru District. The magnitude may not have been
an objective of this study but it was clear that social organizations recorded much
higher value responses in terms of mean, SD and variance. This confirms the
46

assertions in the study that the success of the CBPs in Nakuru County is a function of
the role played by the community in the projects, geographical factors in the area and
the controller and implementers of the CBPs in the District.
5.4 Conclusion
As the study results shows, it is evident why many CBPs die after phase out. This
section presents a discussion of the findings and compares and contrasts the findings
with other scholarly studies done on the same topic
5.4.1 The Role Played by the Community
The study has shown that the role played by the community is very crucial in ensuring
success of the community based projects. As set out in the study, majority of the
respondents agreed that there is a very major role played by the community in success
of community based projects; the most outstanding role was identified as the
provision of security to the projects. Project managers and directors had more
inclination towards the role of the community on success of CBPs in the District.
5.4.2 The diversity Factors
The geographical factors need to be studied in a bid to come up with avenues of
mitigating their negative effects on the success of community based projects in
Nakuru District. The most pronounced geographical factors involve the natural
resources and environmental aspects. These were identified as major factors
contributing to failure of community based projects in Nakuru District. The
community based organizations respondents had more issues with geographical
factors and social organizations of the CBPs.
5.4.3 The social organizations
The social organisations of the community based projects led by the donors, CBOs
and NGOs have had a major bearing on the success of community based projects in
Nakuru District. Although the responses varied from each category of respondents, it
was clear they all pointed at the same conclusions. The beneficiaries noted that
geographical factors were the most dominant of their worries. This can be looked in
the sense that geographical factors affect many of the projects bearing in mind that the
area is arid and semi-arid.
More measures must be put in place to monitor CBPs and ensure that the factors
identified are addressed in order to alleviate the problems faced by the community
47

based projects in Nakuru District and any other District in Nakuru County. This will
go a long way in ensuring that CBPs are sustainable after phase out.
5.5 Recommendations for Improvement
The recommendations arising out of this study include looking at the value that the
community can bring into the success of CBPs. Right from project design to control
and implementation, the community can play a bigger role. The community should be
aware that any commissioned project is like a debt that needs to be re- paid through
proper management to ensure attainment of stated objectives. More research should
go into finding ways and means of mitigating geographical factors which may remain
constant over the project period. Natural resources and the environment were single
out as important geographical factors. Further study can be done to establish how this
can be mitigated. Donors, CBOs and NGOs need to rethink their models in line with
these findings. Infrastructure was mentioned as an inhibiting factor. Perhaps more
research should link success of CBPs with infrastructure. Funding agencies may have
to apportion some funds to take care of infrastructure in the areas that they operate.
5.6 Recommendations for Further Studies
The study on the success of community based projects in Nakuru District has brought
to light the major causes of failure of many CBPs in Nakuru District. Due to the
similarities of the District to the adjacent ones within the County, it will be very
important that the study is replicated in these other areas. These provide an
opportunity for the region to address the problems together if indeed they are similar.
In the event that they are not, it will be important to have a critical look at the
differences and therefore make better and more informed decisions on handling the
factors affecting success of community based projects in Nakuru District and the
entire catchment area.

48

REFERENCES
Amin, M. E. (2005). Social science research on conception, methodology and
analysis. Kampala: Makerere University Printer.
Amos D. T., (2005). Methods for Active Participation: Experiences in Rural
Development from East and Central Africa. Nairobi university press: Nairobi
Batchelor, P. (2005). People In Rural Development Revised Edition. Prentice House:
New York
Bhati, A.S. 2005b.

Robust Spatial Analysis of Rare Crimes: An Information-

Theoretic Approach, Sociological

Blank, R. M. (2003). Selecting Among Anti-Poverty Policies: Can an Economics Be
both Critical and Caring? Review of Social Economy, 61(4), 447-471.
Carl, A. P., (2006). The Environmental Code Focus and Coordinated Environmental
Legislation For Successful Development.Woodly press: Michigan
Cellesio G. and Jean-Louis A. (2004).Social Funds and Reaching the Poor,
Experience and Future Directions. The World Bank: Washington D.C.
Chambers, R. (2003). Rural Development: Putting the last first. West
publishing company: Trintoria.
David, S.M., (2003).World Without End, Economics, Environment and
Successful Development.Deucht publishers: Edinburgh.
Demarche, E. L., (2001).The Rise and Fall of Community Development in
Developing Countries, 1990-2005 A Critical Analysis and an Annotated
Bibliography. Michigan State University. Michigan
49

Dunham, A., (2001).Community Development, Thomas Crawell Company Inc:

California
Elizabeth W, H. (2006). Urban, Renewal and Social Work, 1991 Foy C. and Helmich
H., Public Support for International Development. Schenkman Publishing
Company. Cambridge.
Freeman, L. and Sherwood, U., (2001).The Design of Rural Development,
International Bank For Reconstruction and Development. Capricon
publishers: Johannesburg.

Gachuki, David (1982). Harambee in Kenya A Case for its Regulation, Occasional
paper No. 19 Comparative Legislative Research Centre, University of Iowa,
Iowa City.
Gil,

O.,(2006).Unraveling

Social

Policy. Schenkman

Publishing

Company:

Cambridge.
Goldsmith, W. W., & Blakely, E. J. (1992). Separate Societies: Poverty and Inequality
in American Cities. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Hall, P., (2003). Growth and Development, an Economic Analysis, 1983. Oxford
Publishing Co Pvt Ltd: New York.
Ismail, E. and Richard. A., (2005) The Slums Challenge and Response. Wilson and
Sons Publishers: New York.
Irwin T, (2006) The Community. An Introduction to Social System. New York:
Ronald Press.
Jalan, Jyotsna, and Martin Ravallion. 2003. Estimating the Benefit Incidence of an Antipoverty Program by Propensity-Score Matching. Journal of Business and
50

Economic Statistics 2

1(1):1930.
Jennings, J., & Kushnick, L. (1999). Introduction: Poverty as Race, Power, and
Wealth. in L. Kushnick, & J. Jennings (eda), A New Introduction to Poverty:
The Role of Race, Power, and Politics (pp. 1-12). New York: New York
University Press.
Jean, M, (2005), Disaster Prevention for Successful Development, Economical
and Policy Issues. World Bank: Washington D.C.
Johnson, B. (1990), Toward a multidimensional model of entrepreneurship: The case
of achievement and the entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship: Theory& Practice,
14, 39-54.
Judy. L., (2001).Southern Africa, Success of CBPsand South-South
Cooperation. Oakland publishers: Johannesburg.
Kothari C.R (2004) Research Methodology. Methods and Techniques (2nd
edition), New Age International Publishers: Nairobi
Lyle, E. S., (2007) Community Organization: Conflict and Reconciliation. McMillan
Publishing Co Inc: New York.
McClelland, D.C. (1961).The Achieving Society, NJ: Van Nostrand,
Princeton
McPherson, S., (2002) Social Policy in the Third World. Wheatshef Books
Ltd: Sussex
Middler, S., Herderson, M., Smith, F., (2006) Methodological Options in Policy
Relevant Social Research.Andijenairo publishers Ltd: Adijenairo
Miller, L., and Riessman, D., (2008).Community Development and Social
Work Practice. Report at Brandeis University: New York.
51

Morris, S., J. Hoddinott, J. M. Medina, and G. Begeron. 1999. Will Rural

Development Enhance Food Security: A Case Study of Western Honduras.
International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, D.C.
Mugenda, O. M. & Mugenda, A. B., (2003). Research Methods; Quantitative and
Qualitative Approaches. Nairobi: Acts Press.
Obbo K, (2003) Methods, Techniques and Skills of youth community work,
Case Work, Community Development and Supervising. Mission Press:
Ndola Zambia.

Pervin, L.A. (1980). Personality: Theory, Assessment and Research. New York: John
Wiley & Sons
Peter Medoff and Holly Sklar (2009) Streets of Hope: The Rise and Fall of an Urban
Neighborhood, South End Press, (Streets)
Poplin, D. E (2009), Communities: A Survey of the Theories and Methods
of Research, McMillan Publishing Co Inc: New York.
Ravallion, Martin. 2000. Monitoring Targeting Performance When Decentralized
Allocations to the Poor Are Unobserved. World Bank Economic Review 1
4(2):33145.
Robert, M., (2003) Humanizing the City, Public Affairs. Pamphlet press: New York.
Roy, L., (2003) Community Development and Social Work Practice.
Reportat Brandeis University: New York.
Schorr, N. (2008). The Theories of Research. Wellington publisher: Toronto.
Schady, Norbert R. 2000. Political Economy of Expenditures by the Peruvian Social
Fund. American Political Science Review 94(2):289304
52

Shaver, K.G & Scott, L.R. (1991), Person, process, choice: the psychology of new
venture creation, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 16, 23-45.
Suchman, R., (2007) Community-Balanced Development, Second Edition. Longman
publishers.: London.
Ssengendo, J,. (2008) Interdisciplinary Approach: Its nature and
contribution to Social Development Training. Unpublished
Material.
World Bank, (2005). Bruntland Commission report Analysis. World Bank press: New
York
World Development Report, (2003).Success of CBPsin Dynamic World. World
Bank: Washington D.C.
World Vision, (2009). Sustaining community based programs. World Vision press:
New York.

53

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Questionnaire
Antony Momanyi,
P.O BOX 60020116,
Gilgil.
Nakuru County.
Introduction Letter
Dear respondent,
I am a Diploma student in the School of Business at Kenya Institute of Management
carrying out research on Social cultural factors Affecting the success of Community
Based Projects, with a case study of Nakuru District in Nakuru County. The purpose
of this letter is therefore to kindly request your voluntary participation in this study by
filling the attached questionnaire. The information gathered shall be treated
confidentially and shall be used for this research only.
Kindly sign this form if you agree to participate in this study.
Sign ..............................Date
Yours sincerely,

Anthony Momanyi

Reg number: KIM/17344/15

Section A: Please answer the following questions as honestly as possible

1. Gender
2. Age category

Male
Less than 30 years

Female
Between 31 and

Between 41 and 50

above 50
3. Highest level of education Attained
Primary Education

Secondary education

University degree and higher.

College

None of the above

4. How long have you been working at Nakuru District?

Less than 1year

Between 1 and 5years

Between 5 and 10 years

Above 10 years

5. Are you involved in CBPs in Nakuru District?

Yes

No

If yes, please specify

how
..
..
..

..

certificate

Section B: Role played by the cross-cultural differences in the success of

CBPs in Nakuru district.
To what extent do cross-cultural differences contribute to the Success of CBPs at
Nakuru district in the following roles? Please tick your corresponding responses that
are in a scale of 1 No Extent, 2 Low Extent, 3 Moderate Extent, 4 Great Extent, and 5
Very Great Extent
cross-cultural differences

Design of programs
Monitoring
Provision of Human Resources
Part Financing
Security
Project Implementater

Others (Please Specify)

Section C: cultural identity effect on the success of CBPs in Nakuru District.

To what extent do cultural identity affect the success of CBPs in Nakuru district?
Please tick your corresponding responses that are in a scale of: 1 No Extent, 2 Low
Extent, 3 Moderate Extent, 4 Great Extent, and 5 Very Great Extent
cultural identity
Natural Resources
Environment
Climate
Topography
Stability
Infrastructure

Others (Please Specify)

..

Section D: The role of ethnic values on the success of CBPs in Nakuru District.
To what extent do the following implement CBPs in Nakuru County? Please tick your
corresponding responses that are in a scale of: 1 No Extent, 2 Low Extent, 3 Moderate
Extent, 4 Great Extent, and 5 Very Great Extent
1
NGOs
Government Agencies
Religious Leaders
Political Class
Donors
CBOs
Others (Please Specify)

appendix 2: Work Plan and Budget

WORK PLAN
NO
1
2

DATE

ACTIVITY

September 2016

Project writing

September 2016

Project defense

October 2016

Field work ( Data collection)

October 2016

Data analysis and editing report writing

October 2016

Finalize report, prepare and submit required copies of

report.

BUDGET
NO

DESCRIPTION

Amount (Kshs)

Data Collection/Transport expenses

20,000.00

Data Analysis (SPSS)

10,000.00

Stationery and printing

1. 4 reams of Printing papers

1,400.00

2. Pens

2,500.00

3. 50 envelops
4. Printing/Binding

5,000.00
10,000.00
1,100.00

Miscellaneous
TOTAL

50,000.00
5