Influence of technological innovations on projects performance of non-governmental organisations in Kenya:a case of Kenya Aids Non-governmantal Organisations Oonsortium

Abstract

HIV has been an epidemic that has taken a toll on our communities and our country in general. There are 1.6 Million people in Kenya living with AIDS. This has led to the loss of lives amounting to 36,000 AIDS related deaths in 2016 and not to mention 62,000 new infections in the same year. General productivity of the country has also dwindled (WHO, 2019) because many are sick from HIV related infections. Kenya Aids Non-governmental consortium as a Non-governmental organization itself has been at the forefront in combating this epidemic (KANCO, 2018). KANCO as a membership company was started in Kenya and is operating in the Eastern Africa region. Its membership consists of other Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and Faith Based Organizations (FBOs), Private Sector actors, Research and Learning organs having a focus on health advocacies and implement health programmes. KANCO over the years has implemented and have ongoing key populations programs through various projects that have contributed positively to key populations service uptake as at June 2013. All these projects are measured in scope, time, and quality of delivery as a measure of performance. The study investigated the influences of technological innovations on projects performance of Non-governmental organisations, and in this case, KANCO. The study research objectives focused how Project Management Software can contribute to project collaboration, better scheduling and planning, efficient resource management and project budgeting. It explored how Mobile Communication Networks contribute to remote coverage, increased frequency of communication, variety of data being transmitted and reduced cost of communication. Finally, it explored how Information Databases assist store project data and documents, enable information retrieval, backups and efficient and effective reporting. These were the independent variables of the research. The study explored literature and empirical reviews that will be supported/anchored in theories of Rogers’s innovation diffusion theory, systems theory and theory of change to support the topic of influence of technology on projects performance. The study implemented descriptive survey designs and gathering of data was by way of questionnaire. Moreover, the population of research was KANCOs 71 staff who formed the census population. The census included project managers, project members and office managers. The data analysis for this study was done through Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS) and outputs presented in form of frequencies and inferential statistics, notably bivariate correlation. The study findings were that project management software, mobile communication networks and information databases influence the performance of non-governmental organisation projects. NGOs should embrace the use of project management software for easier collaboration, improve on the use of mobile communication networks and use of information databases in their projects. A study should be done on influence of technological innovations on governmental entities as a further area of study.