Critical success factors (CSFs) of MIDA compact I road transport project in Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the critical success factors (CSFs) of a quasi-public institution in the delivery of projects, including the institutional structure of MiDA, processes and procedures affecting the successful implementation of the transport project under the MiDA Compact 1. In order to identify the critical success factors the study was planned and performed in two stages. The first stage of the approach was to subject the set of success factors identified in preliminary evaluation to expert group of respondents involved in the MiDA Compact 1 project. The second stage of the process was to subject the selected CSFs to full scale evaluation by expanding respondents to determine their relative importance. To determine the relative importance of the CSFs based on the expanded survey data, two statistical analysis, namely ranking and factor analysis were performed. The results of the study show that seven (7) critical success factors affected the N1 highway. These include; clear donor guidelines on disbursement of funds, strong national ownership of the project, pre-project design consultation with stakeholders, senior managers understanding of the project, clear understanding of project environment by contractors, competencies of project designing and planning team and access/ adequate resources. The Pearson's correlation coefficient revealed a statistically significant strong positive relationship between the critical success factors and project performance indicators. Key recommendations arising out of these findings include the need for design of future such project to pay attention to strong national ownership of the project, pre-project design consultation with stakeholders, and inclusion of clear guidelines in the disbursement of funds. It is also important to ensure that project managers to identify and address critical success factors at every stage of the project cycle to ensure effective delivery. Competent and experienced supervisory and coordination team should be a pre-requisite for the implementation of future projects as it has proved to be efficient in the implementation of the MiDA Compact 1 road project.