INFLUENCE OF NEED ASSESSMENT ON PROCUREMENT PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN EASTERN REGION KENYA.

Abstract

There has been effort by the public institutions in Kenya to improve performance of the procurement function. However, poor procurement performance in terms of delays and poor
quality goods received is still a challenge. The objective of the study was to investigate need
assessment on procurement performance in public universities. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The population of the study was 324 participants, the sample size was
102 and stratified sampling was adopted. Data which was collected by means of questionnaires. Multiple linear regression models aided in analysis to bring out the influence of independent variables on the dependent variable with the help of Statistical Packages for Social
Sciences (SPSS Version 28.0). The significance of the independent variable was tested using t-test. The t statistics and significance level established a statistically significant positive
effect of needs assessment on procurement performance of public universities in Eastern
region at a 5% significance level with coefficient of 0.059, and p-values 0.405. The study
concluded that public universities should encourage effective use of need assessments to
impact positively on the effectiveness of the procurement process of public universities in
Eastern region. The findings of this study are expected to be useful to; public universities, as
it would provide complementary knowledge useful in formulation of policy and a regulatory
framework on procurement planning in the Public Universities. The study will be a key ingredient in the; planning, designing and implementation of a sound public procurement
planning that will align itself to the overall economic strategy.