1.

0 THE ROLE OF PROJECT GOVERNANCE AS AN ENABLER OF PROJECT SUCCESS: THE CASE OF

HEALTH SERVICES PROJECTS OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN CAMEROON (PCC)
2.0 Problem Statement: The primary concern of this study is to assess the impact of proper project
governance as an important component of any project success within the Health Services of the PCC.
There exists some form of project governance already within the organization, but based on pilot
interviews of some staff, observations and review of project documents by the researcher it was
noticed that, many managers struggle to define, validate and quantify the returns on investment in
establishing project governance, as well as determine how to ensure the project governance
framework adheres to best practices. Moreover, there exist a general consensus at the
departmental level that one of the factors responsible for project failure is the lack of governance.
With the prevailing difficult business climate in the country, the risk of project failures is on the
increase; thereby necessitating the development and implementation of project governance
framework that mitigates risk, and secures stakeholders trust and continuous support. This study will
be helpful to the Presbyterian Health Services and all vital stakeholders in understanding the
components necessary for project success.
3.0 Research objectives
General objective: The main objective of this paper is to investigate the existence of any causal
relationship between project governance and project success of health services projects of the
Presbyterian Church in Cameroon.
Specific Objective (s)
1. To assess the factors that determine project success of health services projects of the PCC.
2. Understand the impact of project governance on project success of health services projects of the
PCC.
3. To determine the project governance orientation or paradigm currently employed within the
health services 0f the PCC.
4.0 Research Questions
General Question: ‘‘What is the relationship between project governance and project success of
health services projects of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon?’’
Sub questions
1. How do respondents evaluate levels of project success of health services projects of the PCC?
2. What is the effect of project governance on project success of health services projects of the PCC?
3. How do respondents evaluate the orientation of project governance (flexible economist,
conformist, versatile artist or agile pragmatist paradigms) prevalent within health services of the
PCC?
5.0 Definition of Terms
Project Governance: For the purpose of this study, the definition of project governance that will
guide us in our study is that proposed by Bekker and Steyn (2007), which holds that project
governance ‘’is a set of management systems, rules, protocols, relationships, and structures that
provide the framework within which decisions are made for project development and
implementation to achieve the intended business or strategic motivation”.
Project Success: Project success is a dependent variable that assesses the attainment of the
intended outcomes of a project. Though this would mean different things to the different
stakeholders of a project (owner, contractors, managers, client, users, community), our approach
will be to view it based on the work by Khan et al., (2013), which encompasses four elements,
namely: Project efficiency, Organizational benefits, Project Impact, Shareholder satisfaction, and
Future Potential.
Project Success Factor: These are the few key factors or variables that the manager should prioritise
in order to achieve his/her goals for current or future areas of activity (Amade et al., 2015). That is,
these are those independent variables (influences, elements, set of circumstances, facts) of a project
that can increase the probability of achieving the project success.
Project Governance Framework: Project governance is the management framework within which
project decisions are made. It provides a structure for decision making that is logical, robust and
repeatable in steering the organization’s projects.
6.0 Model Specification: This study examines the relationship between projects governance and
projects success; project governance being the “independent variable” which affects projects
success “dependent variable.” The nature of the independent variable [Project governance] could
be expressed in its different dimensions within an organization, namely: contractual governance,
relational governance, governance of projects orientation and governance of project management.
It’s impact on the dependent variables is manifested in five dimensions: project efficiency,
organizational benefits, project impact, future potential and stakeholder satisfaction.
7.0 Method of data collection: Building on the nature of the study and the objectives it attempts to
achieve, the researcher intends to make use of a two-tier design. First, the literature review will
establish the need for this study, and will generate the variable for building a hypothesis of the
study. The second tier deployed a survey to assess the project governance structures within the
health services of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon.
The data collection process will be carried-out in two phases. First, structured questionnaire will be
designed and used to collect data relating to the respondent’s assessment of the project governance
structure using 15 indicators and their assessment of the project’s performance in terms of delivery,
time and other criteria used by the study. The second phase of data gathering will cover archive
examination and solicitation by the researcher. Solicitation was used to collect specific and sensitive
data on the different projects. Solicitation involves application for requested information and signing
of necessary register to affirm the intended use of the data.
8.0 Analytical Tool: At the end of the data gathering phase of the study, the data from all sources
will be checked throughout the different steps (editing, coding, data entry and data analysis). The
quantitative data analysis technique will be employed with the use of the SPSS statistical software.
This approach was followed in line with the guidelines from (Hair, Black, Babin, & Rolph, 2010).
Analysis will be done in three steps:
• A varimax rotated factor analysis (principal component analysis) with eigenvalue of 1 will be
used to establish the factors representing each of the three constructs (Field, 2009).
• Finally, a regression analysis will be used to test the correlation between the independent
variable (project governance) and the dependent variable (project success).