Project governance practices in the Saint Lucian public sector

Saint Lucia is a small independent state located within a cluster of open economies collectively referred to the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The governments of these developing countries incorporate many public sector projects as new initiatives or continued projects within their annual national budget. Many of these many projects are funded by loans or grants from regional and international donor agencies. Many of these projects require the establishment of Steering Committees as a pre-condition to the funding agreement, which in turn will trigger the release of funds. This qualitative study sought to critically assess the effectiveness of a project Steering Committee in the governance of a public sector project in Saint Lucia. The research was framed within a critical realism philosophy with a view to explore the cause (s) for the ineffective performance of Steering Committees on public sector projects in the Saint Lucian environment. Drawing from the perceptions and lived experiences of public sector officers within one case ministry the study identified and explained the contributing factors for the inefficiencies. Semi structured interviews were utilised for a purposive sample of twenty-eight participants. The findings indicated that factors such as the level of donor influence, the composition and size of the committees, and the absence of clear terms of reference for the Steering Committee were significant contributory factors to the ineffective oversight of projects. The study concluded that the responsibilities of Committee members should be clear, and that the committee should allow for representation by most if not all stakeholders. The study will create a greater awareness of how projects are governed, provide recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of project Steering Committees in the public sector and contribute to the growing research on project governance.