Operationalizing Results-based Management through Stakeholder Engagement in Faith-based Poverty Reduction: Insights from ADRA-Kenya

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23474384

Collins Kipkoech Togom¹, Mary Mogute², and Eric Blanco Niyitunga³ (Institute of Policy and Development Studies, Daystar University, Kenya¹,
Institute of Policy and Development Studies, Kenya², and Department of Development Studies, Daystar University, Kenya³)

Faith-Based Organizations are critical to Kenya’s socio-economic progress, yet their solid contribution to Results-Based Management (RBM) is poorly understood. This study, which critically reviews research from 2014 to 2024, examines how stakeholder participation enhances the efficacy of RBM in ADRA Kenya’s poverty reduction efforts. Drawing from empowerment theory and RBM literature, it employs PRISMA to synthesize 58 findings from peer-reviewed research, policy documents, and internal reports. Strong stakeholder engagement largely boosts accountability, promotes ownership, and leads to sustained, resilient RBM outcomes through participatory monitoring, building trust, and cultivating ethical leadership. Ongoing challenges, however, include resource constraints, politicization, and potential dependency risks. This paper contends that stakeholder participation is a vital tool for successful RBM within faith-based poverty reduction initiatives and advocates for institutional integration of participatory tools, integration of programs with Kenya’s Vision 2030 and SDGs, and capacity building for staff and stakeholders. This study contributes meaningfully to both academic literature and practice by grounding RBM implementation in FBOs with empowerment theory more effectively than most theoretical discussions.