Measuring the Level of Community Participation in a Demand Driven Development Project: Case of Hazina Ya Maendeleo Ya Pwani Approach in Coastal Kenya

Abstract

While active participation of beneficiary communities in development initiatives is often considered critical, its value however, cannot be empirically determined without a good measure of the level of community participation. The objective of this study was to determine the level of community participation in the implementation of projects financed through a community grant facility referred in Kiswahili as Hazina Ya Maendeleo Ya Pwani (HMP). The HMP project adopted a Community Driven Development (CDD) approach in engaging coastal communities in development initiatives. The research was carried out at the Kenya coastal region comprising six counties namely, Mombasa, Taita Taveta, Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu and Tana River. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive (frequencies, standard deviation and mean) with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The study revealed that there was a high (2.81) Community Participation Index (COPI) in the overall implementation of the HMP projects signifying a high level of participation. There was a relatively lower COPI during proposal development stage—an indication of lack of skill in proposal development probably due to the high illiteracy level among coastal communities. The study concludes that the CDD approach is effective in actively engaging communities in the implementation of development initiatives. Based on the findings, the study recommends that the CDD approach can be used to develop contextualized strategies of enhancing community participation in development projects. The study also recommends that to optimize community participation in development initiatives, the twin challenge of high levels of illiteracy and inadequate skill in proposal writing among coastal communities needs to be addressed by the County Governments, Non Governmental Organizations and other agencies involved in development work.