Project Planning, a Key Performance Indicator from the Evaluation of the Green Amayaga Project in Southern Rwanda

The study examined the impact of planning on the performance of the Green Amayaga Project (GAP) in Rwanda’s Nyanza, Gisagara, and Ruhango Districts, focusing on resource planning, scheduling, stakeholder engagement, and risk management. Effective planning is essential for project success, but challenges such as scope creep, capacity constraints, insufficient technical expertise, lack of community input, poor consideration of environmental and social impacts, and unresolved land conflicts hindered GAP’s execution. The 228 respondents out of 230 targeted, including GAP managers, district authorities, workers, partners, and beneficiaries, actively responded to the survey using simple random and stratified sampling. Quantitative methods were applied, using descriptive and inferential statistics, multiple regression, and ANOVA test via SPSS v25. The analysis showed a strong positive correlation (R=0.843) between planning variables and GAP performance, with the model explaining 71.1% of performance variation, with 28.9% of influence from other unstudied factors. Key findings revealed a Strong positive correlation and significant effect of Resource planning on GAP performance, a moderate correlation but no significant effect of Schedule planning on GAP performance, a Strong correlation and significant effect of Stakeholder planning on GAP performance, and a strong correlation and significant effect of Risk planning on GAP Performance, though inadequately implemented. Respondents agreed that resource, schedule, and stakeholder planning were generally well-conducted with minor errors, while risk planning was poorly executed. The researcher concluded that while planning in GAP to positively influence its performance, gaps in risk management, stakeholder engagement, and technical capacity hindered optimal outcomes, underscoring the need for more inclusive, well-resourced, and risk-aware planning approaches. The study recommended enhancing stakeholder consultation to align plans with community needs, strengthening resource planning (human, material, and budgetary), considering scope planning, improving timeline management, fostering communication planning among stakeholders, and refining risk planning with adequate contingency budgets to prevent cost overruns and delays.