Stakeholder Participation in Project Planning: Prerequisite to Effective Completion of Urban Road Transport Infrastructure Projects in Kenya

Stakeholder involvement in the project planning process should include a variety of actors with different roles and responsibilities at the planning phase of the project life cycle. Failure to adequately plan greatly reduces the project’s chances of successfully accomplishing its goals. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of stakeholder participation in project planning on the completion of urban road transport-infrastructure projects in Kenya. Pragmatic research paradigm was utilized for this study to facilitate mixed research methods. The study adopted descriptive survey and correlational research design. The target population was 1593. A sample size of 309 respondents was drawn utilizing purposive and simple random sampling procedures. A five point Likert type scale questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data while interview guides were used to collect qualitative data. The study found that stakeholder participation in project planning had a positive and significant influence on the completion of urban road transport infrastructure projects in Kenya (r = 0.838, R2 = 0.703, F (4, 209) = 123.43, p < 0.001 < 0.05). R2 = 0.703 indicating that stakeholder participation in project planning explains 70.3% of the variations in the completion of urban road transport infrastructure projects in Kenya. The study concluded that stakeholder participation in project planning significantly influences completion of urban road transport-infrastructure projects in Kenya. The study recommends the need to increase training and awareness on participation in project planning. The study also recommends the need to develop a guiding policy document detailing the importance of stakeholder participation in road construction life cycle in order to curb any future misgivings in implementation of these important socio-economic projects.