Abstract
Projects remain the instruments of choice for policy makers in international development. Yet, paradoxically, the poor performance of projects and the disappointment of project stakeholders and beneficiaries seem to have become the rule and not the exception in contemporary reality. Kenya is one of the countries that receive a lot of donor support to set up nutrition projects for the purpose of improving the nutrition status of its population. Despite enormous resources channeled by donors in setting up these projects, little impact has been realized as trends in mortality rates continues to surge as a result of malnutrition. This study sought to establish the influence of training in project management and project identification on the performance of Mercy USA nutrition project. The researcher adopted descriptive research design. Census method was used for this research. The study instruments used were questionnaires with both closed and open ended questions. Statistical analysis was carried out using the Statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20). The study established that the performance of MUSA nutrition project was being affected by other factors other than training in project management. Project identification was also established to be a critical factor in performance of donor funded project. The results of this study can assist donors, donor supported agencies and other stakeholders to understand issues that support or inhibit the performance of nutrition projects.
Highlights
Since time immemorial, human civilizations have used various types of projects to deliver change or benefit to societies
Majority of the respondents held that it was difficult for them to execute project activities due to lack of training in project management. This finding is in agreement with the findings of Swanson (1995) who argued that transfer of training is a core issue with respect to linking the individual change to the requirements of the organizational system
The research project established that only 8.1% of those involved in the implementation of MUSA nutrition project in Mwingi had undergone training in project management with the remaining 91.9% having not undergone any form of training in project management
Summary
Human civilizations have used various types of projects to deliver change or benefit to societies. Other scholars have observed that projects are influenced by a multiple of factors which can be external or internal to the organization responsible for its management and execution (Chauvet, Collier, Fuster, 2007). The external or macro-economic factors relate to high interest rates and prices, tariff barriers, embargoes and shipping restrictions, among other influences, of which the project manager has no control over (Ika, 2009). This assertion is supported by Khan (2000), when he stated that several factors were responsible for poor performance of donor funded projects. This study investigated the effect of project training on project performance
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