Stakeholder Engagement Practices and Project Sustainability: A case of the Nutrition in City Ecosystems (NICE) project in Rubavu, Rwanda

This study examined the role of stakeholder engagement practices in enhancing the sustainability of nutrition initiatives within the Nutrition in City Ecosystems (NICE) project in Rubavu, Rwanda. The primary challenge faced by nutrition projects in rapidly urbanising secondary cities is ensuring long-term benefits amidst urban growth pressures, resource constraints, and socio-economic complexities. Stakeholder engagement is critical for fostering active participation, conflict resolution, effective communication, expectation management, and participatory decision-making, which collectively influence project sustainability. The study employed a mixed-method design with a descriptive and correlational approach. A sample of 313 stakeholders was selected through simple random sampling from a population of 2,256 involved in the project. Data were collected via structured questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analyses with SPSS. 29.0. Key regression results showed that conflict resolution mechanisms (β = 0.129, p = 0.012), stakeholder communication (β = 0.162, p = 0.004), managing stakeholder expectations (β = 0.237, p = 0.000), and decision-making facilitation (β = 0.193, p = 0.005) and regression statistics indicated that the model explained 31.2% of the variance in project sustainability (R² = 0.312), with all variables significantly predicting sustainability (p < 0.05). The strongest predictor was managing stakeholder expectations, with a coefficient of 0.237. The results significantly predicted project sustainability, with expectation management being the strongest predictor. The findings indicated that effective stakeholder engagement practices positively influenced the long-term success of nutrition projects, emphasising the importance of inclusive, transparent, and conflict-sensitive strategies. The study highlights that strengthening stakeholder participation can improve project resilience and sustainability in urban food systems, providing valuable insights for policymakers, development agencies, and project managers working in dynamic urban environments. This approach could help build trust, align goals, and adapt interventions to changing urban dynamics, ultimately improving the resilience and sustainability of nutrition outcomes.