Network Transformation and Productivity of Public Sector Institutions in Kenya

Public institutions in Kenya undeniably create a conducive environment for economic development. However, public sector productivity in Kenya remains a concern, hindering socio-economic transformation, global competitiveness, and job creation. There has been a long-term decline in overall productivity from 0.45 in 2009 to 0.40 in 2022 with both labour productivity and total factor productivity falling over several decades. Further, the productivity of government MDAs ranges from 45% - 65% which implies the existence of wastages in the majority of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) assessed. It is against this backdrop that this study assesses the effect of network transformation on the national productivity of public sector institutions. The study population included 432 state departments and agencies that have mainstreamed national productivity as provided by the National Productivity and Competitiveness Centre (NPCC). The unit of analysis of the study was 432 MDAs that had mainstreamed national productivity while the unit of observations was Heads of departments of performance monitoring units in the MDAs. The formula adopted yielded a sample of 204 respondents from the target population. The study established that network transformation also had a significant positive impact on productivity. The findings showed that network transformation was significant, highlighting its role in improving communication, connectivity, and accessibility across public institutions. Enhanced network infrastructure facilitates seamless collaboration and improves response times in service delivery. The adoption of advanced network solutions, such as new architectures, network scalability and network security, was found to be essential for enabling digital transformation hence improving the productivity of public institutions. These solutions create scalable and efficient systems that support productivity