Local Participation and Satisfaction with Developmental Projects: Segmentation of Saemaeul Undong Participants in Tanzania

Abstract

Local participation in developmental projects in less developing countries is questionable with empirical results being inconclusive. The  purpose of the study reported in this paper was to cluster local residents basing on their perceived levels of involvement and  satisfaction in Korean funded projects (Saemaeul Undong) in Tanzania. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 171 local residents in the Saemaeul Undong projects in Tanzania. A two-step cluster analysis was performed to explore the possible  actionable segments of local residents. Two cluster solutions were deemed valid as they significantly differ with respect to their perceived levels of involvement in the project, satisfaction, and their perceived impacts on the project. For developmental project success, different strategies related to local involvement should be used for the different groups of local residents. The results offer insights on project management, particularly in the use of segmentation approach to the local residents from project design to evaluation.

Keywords: project management, local residents, involvement, Saemaeul Undong, satisfaction, segmentation, Tanzania