Community Engagements and Public Projects Success and Effectiveness in Benin City, Nigeria

This study examined the influence of community engagement on public project effectiveness in three selected Local Government Areas in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Specifically, it examined the direct effects of three core dimensions of community engagement: information transparency, participatory decision-making, and community empowerment/monitoring, on public project effectiveness. The study further tested the mediating role of perceived government accountability in the engagement-effectiveness relationship, the moderating role of community capacity, and whether the engagement- effectiveness relationship varied across LGAs and project types. Employing a cross- sectional survey design, primary data were collected through structured questionnaires from 333 respondents comprising residents/users, community leaders, project committee members, business owners, and other stakeholders involved in public projects. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, Baron and Kenny mediation steps with Sobel test, moderated regression, and subgroup analysis. The results revealed that neither overall community engagement nor its individual dimensions (information transparency, participatory decision-making, and community empowerment/monitoring) had a statistically significant positive effect on public project effectiveness (p > 0.05). Perceived government accountability did not mediate the relationship between community engagement and project effectiveness, while community capacity did not moderate the relationship. Subgroup analyses by LGA and project type similarly showed no significant heterogeneity in the engagement-effectiveness link. These findings indicate that, in the context of Benin City, current community engagement practices are largely superficial and have not translated into measurable improvements in project outcomes. The non-significant relationships may reflect inadequate depth of participation, weak institutional accountability mechanisms, and limited community capacity to influence project processes. The study therefore recommended a deliberate shift from tokenistic to genuine, power-sharing engagement models; institutionalisation of transparent and responsive accountability mechanisms; sustained capacity-building programmes for community structures; and the adoption of clear, measurable indicators for monitoring both engagement processes and project effectiveness. Implementing these recommendations will help unlock the potential of community engagement as a driver of successful and sustainable public projects in Edo State and similar contexts.