Governance, Quality and Operating Environment Contagious in Sustainability: Understanding Project Sustainability from Youth Empowerment Perspective in Kenya

Abstract
The youth empowerment projects have been a strategic asset towards the growth of the economy as the youth constitute the most productive resource in the near future; Kenya has or will ever have. The Kenya vision 2030 recognizes the importance of youth empowerment in its socio- economic pillar through several implementations to empower the youths. However concerns have been raised concerning the sustainability of youth empowerment projects as most of the projects fail to live up to their expectations. The sustainability of projects, as indicated in literature, hinges on the effective governance of projects. However, studies have shown evidence of both significant and insignificant effects of project governance-sustainability outcomes but such studies lack empirical justification in Kenyan context. It is against this backdrop that this study investigated the effect of project governance, quality and operating environment on project sustainability from youth empowerment perspective in Kenyan context. From a survey of 196 respondents who were project managers and youth leaders involved in Youth Empowerment Projects, data were collected and thereafter analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings from the analysis indicated that project governance significantly predicted Projects sustainability of Youth Empowerment perspectives in Kenyan context (R = .863, R2 =.745, p = 0.000). In addition, project quality had significant effect on sustainability of Youth Empowerment Projects (R = .664, R2 =.661, p = 0.000). Moreover, Project operating environment had significant effect on project sustainability in Kenya (R = .732, R2 =.728, p = 0.000). The study concludes and recommends that stakeholders in Youth Empowerment Projects such as county governments in Kenya and Non-Governmental Organisations to put in place effective project governance structures, ensure high project quality standards and stable project operating environment as these aspects significantly enhance sustainability of the established projects.
Description
Article
Keywords
Governance, quality, operating environment, project sustainability, youth empowerment projects, non-governmental organisation, Kenya
Citation
Kaumbulu, A. K., Muathe, S. M., & James, R. (2020). Governance issues, quality and sustainability: Fact or fallacy in youth empowerment projects in Kenya. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management. 2020c, 8(10), 426-437.