Determinants of successful completion of donor-funded projects in public universities in Kenya

Donor-funded projects are important to public universities in Kenya because they supplement constrained public resources for infrastructure, research, innovation and institutional capacity development. However, completion can be affected by stakeholder, managerial, monitoring and institutional factors. This study examined the determinants of successful completion of donor-funded projects in Kenyan public universities, focusing on stakeholder involvement, project management skills, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and assessed the moderating role of institutional policies. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among project personnel in 21 public universities implementing donor-funded projects. A total of 115 questionnaires were targeted and 98 usable responses were obtained, representing an 85.2% response rate. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and regression analysis in SPSS version 29 at the 0.05 significance level. All three determinants were positively and significantly associated with successful project completion. In the combined regression model, stakeholder involvement (B = 0.392, β = 0.357, p < 0.001), project management skills (B = 0.344, β = 0.304, p = 0.005), and M&E (B = 0.302, β = 0.269, p = 0.002) were significant predictors, with the model explaining 72.5% of the variance in successful completion (R² = 0.725). The moderated model increased explanatory power to 79.0%, and the interaction between the composite determinants and institutional policies was positive and statistically significant (B = 0.198, β = 0.204, p = 0.005). The study concludes that successful completion is associated with effective stakeholder engagement, project management capability and functional M&E, and that supportive institutional policy environments strengthen these relationships. The findings provide evidence for university managers and project teams seeking to improve delivery of donor-funded initiatives.