Influence of Strategic Objectives Formulation on the Performance of Service Delivery in North Eastern Counties of Kenya

Purpose: The study aimed to explore the extent to which the strategic objective formulation process affects service delivery performance in the counties of the North Eastern region of Kenya. Methodology: Using a descriptive research design, the study examined how SMART-guided, sector-oriented, and CIDP-directed strategic objectives affect planning, service coordination, and the provision of basic public services in the counties of Garissa, Mandera, and Wajir. To gather data from the target population of 870 members working in the units related to strategic planning and service delivery in the counties, the research applied stratified random sampling, resulting in the selection of 274 members to participate in the scientific data collection process, using both face-to-face and online-administered structured questionnaires based on the Likert scaling method. Statistical analysis using SPSS reveals the strength of the strategic objective definition process in predicting service delivery performance. Findings: The findings show strong consensus that counties are formulating SMART, sector-focused strategic objectives aligned with CIDP. The mean scores range from 3.90 to 4.42, with minor standard deviations, showing positive attitudes among the studied population. The result from the correlation analysis shows that there is evidence of a strong and significant link between the process of formulating strategic objectives and service delivery performance (r = .759; p < .01). The analysis further shows that the process of formulating strategic objectives can predict service delivery in an exemplary manner (B = .414; ß = .390; t = 6.928; p < .001). These individual pieces of evidence imply that well-defined, measurable strategic objectives can significantly improve departmental coordination, resource allocation, and overall service delivery performance in these counties. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Within the outlined analytical framework of Devolved Governance, the research offers significant progress in the practical power of appropriately shaped compact goals in the process of performance acquisition and management, in line with these counties' realities. In terms of policy interventions, there needs to be emphasis on SAT compliance, based on the County Government Act and Public Finance Management requirements, to ensure perfection in accordance with the service-delivery objectives.