Thomas, Agnes Nailantei2025-01-302025-01-302024-09https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/29493A Research Project Submitted to the School of Business, Economics and Tourism in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of Master of Business Administration (Project Management) of Kenyatta University, September 2024. Supervisor Kenneth IlokaThe health sector in Kenya has been on turmoil for years orchestrated by inadequate focus on the sector by the relevant stakeholders. The projects in this sector are instrumental in steering it success. However, even after the devolution, the sector has seen minimal progress as key projects aimed at enhancing access to quality healthcare remain incomplete. Machakos County despite being one of the counties selected for piloting the universal healthcare coverage programme, has also faced key challenges in its healthcare, as most of healthcare projects in the county remain incomplete. Available empirical evidence shows that managing stakeholders is integral in enhancing success of projects. However, this has inadequate evidence in Kenyan context, particularly in healthcare projects in Machakos County. This motivated the study’s main objective to assess the influence of stakeholder management practices on performance of Healthcare projects in Machakos County in Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to establish Stakeholder identification, stakeholder communication, stakeholder engagement, and stakeholder monitoring and evaluation on performance of healthcare projects in Machakos County. This study was anchored on stakeholder theory, systems theory and theory of change. A descriptive approach was utilized. The study’s target population comprised of project managers drawn from 341 healthcare projects in Machakos County. The projects were spread across the 8 sub-counties which include Machakos Town, Yattaa, Mavoko, Kangundo, Masinga, Matungulu, Kathiani, and Mwala sub counties. Using a sampling formula, 184 respondents were sampled. The respondents were picked using a stratified random sampling, where the sub-counties were the strata. A structured questionnaire was utilised for data collection, which was analysed using descriptive and inferential approaches. Descriptive statistics included mean scores, standard deviation, percentages and frequencies. Inferential statistics included Pearson correlation coefficients, R-Square, regression coefficients, t-values and p-values. Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used as the analysis tool. Through frequency tables and bar-graphs, the results were captured. The findings revealed that stakeholder identification significantly influenced performance of healthcare projects in Machakos County. Stakeholder communication was also found to significantly influence performance of healthcare projects. The study further revealed that stakeholder engagement had a significant influence on performance of healthcare projects. The results portrayed that stakeholder monitoring and evaluation had a significant influence on performance of healthcare projects in Machakos County. The study concluded that stakeholder identification, communication, engagement, monitoring and evaluation were not effectively embraced in most of the healthcare projects at the County, and this affected the projects’ performance. It is recommended that project managers upholds managing stakeholders through effective identification of stakeholders, and engagement of stakeholders through effective communication, and monitoring the stakeholders to strengthen projects’ success. The study suggests that future studies expands the scope to healthcare projects in other counties. The results from this study can be significant to key stakeholders in the health sector like devolved governments, central government, project management practitioners and future researchers and academicians.enThesis