Influence of Stakeholder Engagement on Completion of Funded Healthcare Projects in Kenya

Abstract

Healthcare programs play a critical role in Kenya to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as outlined in the Vision 2030 and the Kenya Health Policy (2014-2030). The health sector plays a critical role in achieving equitable access to quality healthcare services, improved social welfare, and national development. A significant amount of sponsored healthcare projects, however, continue to experience challenges, including delays, cost increases, mismanagement of budget, stalled facilities, and unfinished implementation despite the national, local governments, and foreign donations of large amounts. Such inefficiencies often contribute to the waste of resources, poor service delivery, and loss of trust by the citizens in the healthcare system. This research sought to fill in the research gaps of prior studies which often viewed stakeholder engagement as a symbolic aspect and not a systematic process of governance, by considering the effect of stakeholder engagement on the completion of funded healthcare projects in Kenya. The concept of stakeholder engagement was to be an accountability-based, participatory measure that fosters ownership, inclusiveness, and transparency in project planning and implementation. The research design was a descriptive and explanatory study of about 223 funded healthcare projects in all 47 counties in Kenya and anchored on the Stakeholder Theory, Agency Theory, and Institutional Theory. Data were collected through structured questionnaires administered to procurement officers, project managers, suppliers, and monitoring and evaluation staff, representing diverse stakeholder categories. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis to determine the relationship between stakeholder engagement and project completion. The results revealed that stakeholder engagement has a significant and positive influence on project completion, explaining 32.9% of the variance (β = 0.547, p < 0.001). Projects with higher levels of stakeholder engagement exhibited superior performance in timeliness, budget adherence, quality of output, stakeholder satisfaction, and sustainability. The study identified inclusivity, effective communication, participatory decision-making, transparency, and accountability as critical elements of engagement. However, weak feedback mechanisms were found to limit the transformative and long-term benefits of engagement practices. The research concludes that stakeholder engagement is a measurable, strategic, and policy-relevant factor of successful completion of funded healthcare projects in Kenya.