Assessing organizational capacity in housing provision : a survey of public housing agencies in Ogun state, Nigeria

Organizational capacity is essential for effective implementation of policies and programmes. Consequently, assessment of organizational capacity helps organizations to identify their strength and weakness in order to make informed decisions about how best to address challenges they face. The goal of this study was to assess the status of organizational capacity of public housing agencies in housing provision in Ogun State Southwest Nigeria. It was motivated by a gap in literature on the specific areas that contribute most to organizational capacity of public agencies in housing provision in Nigeria. Using questionnaire as the principal data collection instrument, primary data were collected from randomly selected 90 staff members involved in the design, planning, implementation and management of public housing projects in four public housing agencies in the study area. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and the result showed that most respondents felt that the overall organizational capacity of the agencies in housing provision was adequate. Management capacity was found to be slightly higher than resource capacity with the agencies having most strength in leadership style and weakness in the methods of administration of funds for housing projects. Substantial need and capacity building was found in critical areas such as funding, staff motivation and methods of dispensing of funds for housing projects. The paper suggests that partnerships with private sector organizations, robust staff well-fare schemes and re-training of staff can enhance organizational capacity of public agencies in public housing provision in Nigeria and other developing countries.