EVALUATING EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION FOR SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

Abstract

Infrastructure projects are backbone for developing countries. The main objective of these projects is to improve the livelihood of the community. The degree to which the beneficiary community is effectively involved in the project life cycle is of paramount importance toward achieving this objective. Involvement of beneficiary communities in all stages of project is crucial for successful completion. The main aim of this study is to identify and prioritize the critical factors for effective participation, asses the importance of community involvement in project lifecycle, and finally to determine the best and effective community participatory approach. For collection of data, extensive literature review and questionnaire survey was conducted. Total 136 responses were received and then data analysis was done. For successful and smoothly execution of project, 27 factors were extracted. The top critical factor for successful completion is ‘availability of resource’ and top ranked strategy for effective participation is ‘community-based strategy’. The findings of the study show that involving community during the project life cycle enhances project sustainability. Finally, a case study is conducted in term of cost and duration, result shows that considerable difference in cost (low) in community based project than government executed project. On the basis of analysis, recommendation has been proposed for all stakeholders to formulate policies and strategies for effective community participation for successful completion of infrastructure projects.