Organizational Review Systems and Sustainability of Community Development Projects; A Case Study of Hospitals in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Purpose: There has been a long debate on the relationship between organizational review systems and sustainability of community development projects. This study focused on organizational review systems and sustainability of community development projects; a case study of hospitals in   Nairobi County, Kenya.  The study specifically assessed the effects of assessment meetings, multi-stakeholder dialogue workshops and review sessions on community development hospitals projects’ sustainability in Nairobi County. The study was anchored on theory of Change and Freirean Theory of Dialogue and Society. Methodology: The study employed descriptive survey design which combined both quantitative and qualitative methods. The target population of this study was 3600 respondents. Yamane (1967) formula was applied to sampled 360 respondents consisting of 15 Project Steering Committee (PSC) Members, 15 Project Coordinators and 15 Heads of Departments in charge of health projects from 8 hospitals in Nairobi County.  Construct and content validity of the instruments was ascertained through counterchecking by the supervisors while the reliability of the instruments was ascertained through test retests method. Quantitative data was analyzed and presented in frequency distribution tables, pie charts and bar graphs (SPSS version 25). Qualitative data was analyzed thematically according to each research questions and presented in a narrative form. Findings: Findings revealed that assessment meetings in community development hospitals projects in Nairobi County gives the foundation on effective measures both substantive and operation to improve the project design, manner of implementation and quality of results for the sustainability of community development hospitals projects. Multi-stakeholder dialogue workshops were found to be assisting in the perfection of practices and provide a platform for liability so as to ascertain whether the objectives have been achieved for the sustainability of the community development projects. Review sessions assists influence project sustainability in that it ensures that project results at the levels of impact, outcome, output, process along with input can be quantified so as to offer a framework for accountability and in assisting in making informed decision at program and policy levels. Unique contributions to theory, practice and policy: This study recommended that there is need for managers of community development hospitals projects in Nairobi County to establish multi-stakeholder dialogue workshops roles at a departmental level in order to strengthen the consistency of project management across the various community projects. This will improve the project development.