Stakeholder Collaboration and Performance of Peat Power Plant Projects in Gisagara District, Rwanda

This study assessed the effect of stakeholder collaboration, an Agile project management practice, on the performance of the Gisagara peat power plant project in Rwanda. The plant has operated below its installed capacity because of implementation challenges, including weak coordination among stakeholders, yet little context-specific evidence links stakeholder collaboration to the performance of peat power projects. A cross-sectional descriptive and correlational design with a mixed-methods approach was used. From a population of 267 staff and stakeholders, a sample of 160 was determined using Yamane’s formula and drawn through purposive and stratified random sampling. Questionnaires (132 of 148 returned; 89.2%) and interviews with 12 key informants were analyzed using SPSS version 23 (descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regression) and thematic analysis. Stakeholder participation, meeting frequency and use of stakeholder feedback were rated highly, whereas communication between project managers and stakeholders was rated very low (M = 1.45). Stakeholder collaboration correlated strongly with project performance (r = .631, p < .001) and had a significant positive effect on it in the regression model (β = .481, p < .001); the model explained 55.1% of the variance in performance. Conclusion: Stakeholder collaboration is a significant driver of project performance, but its benefits are constrained by poor communication. Project managers should establish structured communication channels and strengthen feedback mechanisms.