INFLUENCE OF PROJECT PLANNING AS A MECHANISM OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICE ON PROJECT DELIVERY IN SELECTED GOVERNMENT INSTITUIONS IN PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA.

This paper seeks to examine project planning as a crucial instrument of project management practices and its effect on the success of the project in the public sector in Nigeria using selected government institutions in Plateau state. The study was inspired by the desire to investigate the level of contribution of project planning to successful project delivery in public institutions. A quantitative survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 100 staff of the procurement and works department of selected tertiary institutions in Plateau state and a sample size of 80 respondents was selected with the aid of the sampling formula, Taro Yamane. A questionnaire was used to gather data and multiple linear regression techniques were employed to test the relationship between project planning and project success. The empirical results show that the project planning has positive and significant effect on successful project delivery in the public institutions selected at the selected public institutions, that is, β = 0.442, t = 10.517, p < 0.001. For this reason, the study suggests that the public institutions in Plateau State can improve project planning practices to ensure that the project planning process in the public institutions are realistic, inclusive and have to do with the resource and organisational capacity of the public institutions. In addition, focus needs to be given not just to the development of project plans, but also their implementation, tracking and regular review throughout the project life cycle to improve projects' results.