Monitoring, Evaluation and Public Project Success: THE Role of Professional Ethics

Purpose: This study examined the role of professional ethics in the relationship between monitoring and evaluation, and project success among metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) in the Central Region, Ghana. Design/methods/approach: To achieve the study objectives, a survey was conducted among 154 planning officers, heads of works, auditors, budget officers, finance officers, social welfare and community development officers among MMDAs in Central Region, Ghana. The data processing software was SPSS version 25 and SmartPLs version 3; and the data analytical tool was the partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings: The study found that monitoring had a negative significant effect on public project success; and evaluation has positive significant effect on public project success. Also, the study found that professional ethics plays a moderating role in the relationship between monitoring, evaluation and public project success. Practical Implications: The study has developed a new integrated model to enhance public project success in the public sector through monitoring, evaluation and professional ethics. Originality/value: The study successfully applied the agency theory and theory of change in the context of Ghanaian public sector. More precisely, these theories have been integrated to form a new model for explaining the role that professional ethics play in the relationship between monitoring, evaluation and project success in the context of the Ghanaian public sector. This newly developed integrated model has a wider predictability as compared to the individual theories.