Investigation of Factors Affecting Implementation of the Nigerian Space Policy
Ibiyemi A. Jesuleyea* and Timothy O. OyebisibThe failures and difficulties that have shown up in the implementation of major public policies around the world have helped to direct attention to the need for explicit planning. Proper implementation of such policies entails giving adequate attention to factors like political variables and institutional capacities. This study attempts to assess the implementation level of the Nigerian Space Policy (NSP) as adjudged by the coordinating and implementing organizations, alongside the factors that might have affected the implementation. Copies of questionnaires were administered to collect data from selected top and middle level managers among the NSP coordinating and implementing bodies. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and relational statistics. The NSP was judged by the coordinating bodies and implementers to have an average level of implementation. The results showed that awareness of the Policy among the stakeholders, interaction/collaboration among the stakeholders and the operations of the NASRDA activities centres were the factors found to have statistically significant (p<0.05) relationships with the level of policy implementation in the operations of the NSP coordinating bodies and the NASRDA activity Centres. Only government support for the development of indigenous competences was found to have statistically significant relationship with the policy implementation level in the operations of the multifarious stakeholders. Improvement on the identified factors could enhance level of NSP implementation, though efforts should be expedited by relevant stakeholders to avert the deterioration tendency of the situation.