Capacity Building and Service Delivery among National Administration Officers in Embu County, Kenya
| dc.contributor.author | Towett, Lucy Jemutai | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-07-24T09:40:11Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-07-24T09:40:11Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-05 | |
| dc.description | A Research Thesis Submitted to the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts in Public Policy and Administration of Kenyatta University, May 2025. Supervisor Heather Eddah Kipchumba | |
| dc.description.abstract | Kenya government continues to enhance service delivery to the public through improved coordination and optimal resource utilization. To do so the government relies on the expertise of national government administration officers (NGAOs) mainly deputy county commissioners (DCCs), assistant county commissioners (ACCs), chiefs, and assistant chiefs to deliver its mandates to the public. The government also engage chiefs and assistant chiefs on regular capacity building to ensure their skills remain at per. Besides these efforts NGAOs still demonstrate inadequate skills necessary to deliver effective services implying a potential disconnect between capacity building (resources, training, and adaptability) and their needs. This study investigated the effect of capacity building on service delivery among NGAOs in Embu County, focusing on the influence of training, resource availability, and ability to adopt change. Employing a social survey design with mixed methods, the research involved questionnaires and interviews with NGAOs. 148 NGAOs from anticipated 226 participated in the study responded. It was established that only (57, 38.5%) of participated NGAOs have attended capacity building in the last 3 years with the main focus being leadership (92, 64.3%). Personal security (73, 49.3%) and technology (45, 30.4%-very difficult; 52, 35.1%-difficult) were among the most critical resources reported that restrains NGAOs capacity to deliver effective services. Participated NGAOs were unsure the type of capacity development training provides necessary skills (e.g., use of communication technology, paralegal) tailored to their role (3.28 ± 1.119) and perception was similar across the four categories [X 2 =13.852 (8); 0.086]. Ordinal regression analysis revealed that work experience, level of education, job title mutually explains a moderate proportion (15.1%) (Pseudo R-Square values, Nagelkerke = 0.151) of variance regarding participated NGAOs satisfaction in their involvement in the development of capacity building program. Moreover, level of education showed a significant effect on satisfaction levels (p = .039), specifically, postgraduates demonstrated significantly lower odds of satisfaction compared to those with high school education (odds ratio = 0.013, 95% CI [0.000, 1.630], Wald χ²(3) = 7.219, p = .065) suggesting that individuals with higher educational qualifications may have different expectations or perspectives regarding stakeholder involvement in capacity building initiatives. Work experience also played a significant role, with NGAOs having 5-10 years of experience showing significantly higher odds of satisfaction compared to those with less than 5 years (odds ratio = 5.320, 95% CI [1.738, 16.287], Wald χ²(4) = 12.368, p = .015). It was concluded that recent capacity building training opportunities were lacking, which has had a noticeable impact on service delivery. NGAOs expressed widespread dissatisfaction with their limited involvement in shaping capacity training programs. There is a need to develop and implement more frequent and up-to-date capacity building training opportunities that focus not only on leadership development but also on enhancing technical skills relevant to the duties of NGAOs. Additionally, further research is imperative to explore other factors that could substantially influence NGAOs' satisfaction with capacity building training. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/30791 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.title | Capacity Building and Service Delivery among National Administration Officers in Embu County, Kenya | |
| dc.type | Thesis |