The transition of Kenya's pioneer Competency-Based Education (CBE) cohort from Junior Secondary School (JSS) to Senior Secondary School (SSS) requires classrooms, laboratories, learning materials and teachers that many schools in marginalized counties lack. The purpose of this study was to examine how resource adequacy affects transition from junior to senior secondary school in Garissa County, Kenya. The study was anchored on Schlossberg's transition adaptation theory and supported by distributed leadership theory. A qualitative, descriptive phenomenological design was adopted. The target population comprised 82 respondents, namely 57 JSS heads, 21 SSS heads and 4 sub-county education officers in Dadaab, Fafi, Balambala and Garissa Township sub-counties, all of whom were targeted through a census. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis; 78 participants took part, a response rate of 95%. Data were analyzed thematically using NVivo 14. Only 35% of participants rated their infrastructure as adequate for the new system, 40% reported sufficient financial and material resources, and 35% reported inadequate teacher deployment. Inadequate funding was the most cited challenge (45%). Overcrowded classrooms, shortages of textbooks and laboratory equipment, and teacher vacancies pushed schools to simplify competency-based activities. The proposition that inadequate resources constrain effective transition was therefore supported. The study concludes that resourcing, rather than planning intent, is the binding constraint on the transition. It recommends needs-weighted capitation, dedicated transition grants, hardship incentives for teachers and formalized inter-school and community resource-sharing arrangements.

Climate change is presenting severe environmental and socio-economic challenges for rural people in sub-Saharan Africa; however, livelihood-specific environmental exposures often are overlooked in conventional vulnerability assessments because households are grouped in administrative units. This study examined the environmental and socio-demographic factors influencing climate vulnerability of smallholder agriculture households, artisanal fishing households and artisanal gold mining households in Migori County, Kenya. The study used a desktop design, reviewing secondary data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (2022), Kenya population and housing census (2019), Migori County integrated development plans (2018-2022;2023-2027), CHIRPS rainfall data, Lake Victoria fisheries organisations reports, and literature review. Livelihood vulnerability index-IPCC (LVI-IPCC) was used to assess households' vulnerability to climate change. The study clearly revealed the existence of livelihood-specific factors in the climate vulnerability of these households. The result indicates that fishing households were the most vulnerable (0.008), followed by the mining households (-0.003), whereas agriculture households were the least vulnerable (-0.047). Fishing households were vulnerable due to the degraded ecosystem of the lake, insecurity of food and water, high dependency ratios, female headed households, and low level of education. Mining households' vulnerability was influenced by variability of hydrology, environmental health hazards attributed to mercury, weak tenure security, and weak social connections. Agricultural livelihoods were least vulnerable due to a high level of institutional support and easier access to Information despite dependence of agriculture on rainfall. These socio-demographic patterns point to an institutional leadership gap: county climate governance structures currently reach agricultural households more effectively than fishing and mining households, and closing this gap requires leadership and coordination capacity to extend information, tenure, and adaptation support to these structurally excluded groups, and not livelihood-specific technical interventions alone.

The purpose of affordable housing is to make quality, safe, affordable housing available for low and middle-income households. Rapid urbanization, rising population and the growing housing shortage has positioned affordable housing as a national priority in Kenya through the Affordable Housing Programme and the Big Four Agenda. But the challenges in implementation of affordable housing projects still remain like under allocation of resources, weak governance system, ineffective stakeholder participation and ineffective risk management practices etc. The study examined the impact of strategic decision-making strategies on the implementation of affordable housing projects in Kenya, with the Pangani Affordable Housing Project as a case study. The study employed a descriptive-correlational research design with the participation of 100 respondents to the project. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data which were then analyzed using SPSS version 27. The results showed that the variables of resource allocation (beta = 0.276; p<0.005), risk management practices (β = 0.188; p=0.008), stakeholder engagement (β = 0.313; p<0.005) and governance practices (β = 0.277; p<0.005) significantly positively affected project implementation. Stakeholder engagement proved to be the most successful predictor of successful implementation. The study finds that projects in Kenya's affordable housing market are more likely to be successful and sustainable when they utilize resources effectively, engage stakeholders in a participatory way, adopt a proactive approach to risk management, and are well-managed by transparent governance structures.

Public Private Partnerships are increasingly used to deliver infrastructure, but the existence of a formal framework does not necessarily guarantee effective project performance. This study examined how the legal, contractual, financial, and risk allocation frameworks were associated with the performance of the Nairobi Expressway. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was adopted. The target population comprised 240 professionals from the PPP Directorate, the Kenya National Highways Authority, and Moja Expressway Company. Stratified purposive sampling was used, with a target sample of 160 respondents and 149 completed questionnaires included in the final analysis. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire containing 16 closed ended Likert scale items and eight open ended prompts. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression, while qualitative responses were independently verified and analysed thematically. The contractual framework had the strongest association with project performance, r = .804, p < .001, and the strongest unique regression contribution, β = .377, p < .001. The financial and risk allocation frameworks also made significant unique contributions, while the legal framework did not make a significant unique contribution after the other predictors were controlled. The regression model explained 74.0% of the variation in project performance. The study recommends stronger operational guidance, clearer contractual obligations, more predictable financial arrangements, active risk monitoring, and independently verified performance reporting.

Community-driven development (CDD) projects in Kenya face persistent sustainability challenges, particularly following the withdrawal of external funding. Feedback mechanisms the structured channels through which stakeholders communicate concerns, share inputs, and receive project updates are widely recognised as critical enablers of adaptive management and long-term project viability. This article examines the effect of feedback mechanisms on the sustainability of community-driven projects in Kiambu County, Kenya, with a focus on the GRAFCO Savings Co-operative Society Agri-Business Value Chain Hub Project. The study is theoretically grounded in Stakeholder Theory, Social Capital Theory, and Resource Dependence Theory. A descriptive survey design was employed, with structured questionnaires administered to 523 respondents drawn from 24 community-driven projects. Data were analysed using SPSS version 30, employing descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and regression analysis. Findings indicated that feedback mechanisms demonstrated a moderate positive correlation with project sustainability (r = 0.38, p < 0.01) and were a statistically significant predictor of sustainability in the multiple regression model (β = 0.136, p = 0.030). Regular stakeholder meetings and competent follow-up visits were identified as strengths, while the lack of clear and accessible communication channels was the most critical weakness. The study concludes that while feedback mechanisms contribute meaningfully to sustainability, their impact is optimised when integrated within comprehensive stakeholder engagement frameworks anchored by strong project planning. Recommendations are offered for implementers, policymakers, and future scholars.

The study analyzed human resource management practices focusing on employee performance in public institutions, particularly KRA; HRM practices include workplace culture, training, career development and leadership style. It was established HRM practices and organizational performance had a positive correlation following 85 percent response rate out of the 150 questionnaires distributed to employees. The study was anchored on Resource-Based theory developed by Penrose (2000). Other theories considered in the circumstances were Fielders Contingency theory advanced by Prof Fred Fiedler in the 1960s and AMO (Ability, Motivation, Opportunity) theory developed by Eileen Appelbaum with the support of Daniel Beiley, R. Berg and Arthur Kalleberg in 2000. The pilot study validated the research instrument since all fifteen questionnaires dispatched were returned duly filled. Descriptive research methodology was applied; comprehensive data were collected and in-depth descriptive and inferential statistical analysis of the data conducted and displayed study results using relevant tables. Purposive sampling method, non-probability sampling, was used in the study. It was established that career development and training led to improvements, whereas leadership style and workplace culture followed suit. Further, the study discovered training and career advancement exerted significant positive impact on employee and organizational performance with leadership style and workplace culture as well playing significant roles. The study established good HRM strategies make people more motivated, satisfied, and productive in public organizations. The study recommends further enhancement of career development frameworks, advocating for continuous training, fostering participatory leadership, and creating research units for routine performance evaluations.

Kenya's Competency-Based Education (CBE) requires school leaders to steer the pioneer cohort of learners from Junior Secondary School (JSS) to Senior Secondary School (SSS), yet many schools in marginalized counties such as Garissa remain underprepared for the shift. The purpose of this study was to determine how leadership training level influences transition from junior to senior secondary school in Garissa County, Kenya. The study was anchored on transformational leadership theory and supported by Schlossberg's transition adaptation theory. A qualitative, descriptive phenomenological design was adopted. The target population comprised 82 respondents, namely 57 JSS heads, 21 SSS heads and 4 sub-county education officers in Dadaab, Fafi, Balambala and Garissa Township sub-counties, all of whom were targeted through a census. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis; 78 participants took part, a response rate of 95%. Data were analyzed thematically using NVivo 14. Only 40% of participants reported having been adequately trained to manage the transition, while 35% reported no such training. The training available was brief, generic and not followed by in-school support, leaving leaders with theoretical knowledge of the CBE but limited practical implementation skill. The proposition that inadequate leadership training constrains effective transition was therefore supported. The study concludes that the deficit lies less in leaders' commitment than in converting that commitment into consistent practice. It recommends practice-embedded leadership development through county-level coaching, professional learning communities, peer mentorship and short certifications in change management and competency-based assessment.