Levels and interconnections of project success in development projects by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand and identify the nature of evaluation criteria, levels and associations among levels of project success in development projects by NGOs in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach The setting for this study is Sri Lanka, a country currently recovering from civil war and natural disasters and host to a large number of national and international NGOs involved in development projects. Data collection was conducted using a quantitative survey which obtained 447 responses. Multivariate analysis of data was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings The study confirmed that overall project success in NGOs could be assessed in three levels: project management (PM) success, project success and NGO success. The results conclude that there are strong associations among the three levels of project success; moreover, PM success and project success are indispensable for achieving NGO success. Originality/value This study extends existing research to confirm the presence of the three levels of project success and the interconnections among them. These findings can support subsequent research on development projects and also support the design of holistic evaluation tools to support project practices in NGOs.