Community Participation and Success of Development Projects in Borama, Somaliland

ABSTRACT The study investigated the community participation and success of development projects in, Somaliland. The study focused on three objectives namely; examining the level of community participation towards success of development projects, examining community perception towards the successful implementation of development projects and investigating the obstacles to successful participation and implementation of development projects. The study used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The crosssectional research design was applied in carrying out the study. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. A sample size of 80 respondents was taken which was selected using the stratified and simple random sampling and purposive techniques. The findings revealed the community members participated in various forms in success of projects through monitoring and evaluation, and designing and implementing project activities. The findings further revealed that the community had a positive perception about the projects for instance; they addressed community needs, people willingly to take part in implementing activities though transparency and accountability were found not to be in existence. The study concluded that well planning projects in which active participation of community is evident are more likely to be successful since community’s roles are considered during identification, designing and implementation as well as monitoring and evaluation.