Participatory Strategic Planning and Performance of Water Projects in Machakos County, Kenya

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess how participatory strategic planning influences performance of water projects in Machakos County, Kenya. Methodology: The study made use of the pragmatism research paradigm, correlational research design and descriptive cross-sectional survey research design. The target population comprised of 70 water projects located within Machakos County. The unit of observation included the beneficiaries of the water projects represented by five members of the Water management committee, Ministry of water employees, and project managers in Machakos County. Stratified random sampling was used to select 216 respondents and divided into smaller sub-groups referred to as strata which had three groups of respondents, including the ministry of water employees, project managers and water management committee members. Findings: Correlation results indicated that there is a positive linear relationship between participatory strategic planning and the performance of water projects in Machakos County (r =0.578, p-value=0.000). Regression results showed that participatory strategic planning had a positive and significant influence on performance of water projects in Machakos County, Kenya (β1=0.883, p-value=0.000). Contribution to Theory, Policy, and Practice: From the findings, the study provides findings that contribute to policy and practice by providing recommendations on how participatory strategic planning can be institutionalized by governments, organisations and communities to improve planning and management of water projects. This study provides insights on the strategic planning process that should include engagement of key relevant stakeholders, including community members, local leaders, and technical experts, from the initial stages of project design through to implementation and evaluation The Study contributes to how participatory management contributes to enhance participation (E04.2) of key stakeholders leads to sustainability of water projects (E04.4) which contributes to improved water access (E01.0) and better health outcomes (G01) grounded on adaptive learning (L02)