Research + Evaluation Plan
Research and Evaluation Plan
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THE RESEARCH & EVALUATION MODEL IN-‐KIND FUNDING
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USE OF RESEARCH
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LEAD RESEARCH/ EVALUATION PARTNER
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RESEARCH ACTION PLAN
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Research and Evaluation Plan
The Research & Evaluation Model Elevate Entrepreneurship Systems has developed a relationship with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and Extension University of Arkansas System (U of A). Through this partnership The U of A will provide Elevate with research and evaluation services. These services will insure that the program has developed a research model that accurately monitors, measures, and synthesizes the critical information on the results and impact of the Elevate Entrepreneurship Systems. The research model will measure and monitor the following: • • • • • • • •
The relationship between applied entrepreneurship and educational outcomes The relationship between expanding social networks and educational outcomes Ability to launch businesses w/ applied vs. traditional entrepreneurship training Projected tax implications/ gov’t revenue as a result of applied entrepreneurship training Impact on student opinion related to education The impact on the quality of local workforce The development of entrepreneurial mindsets Improved skills
This research model will provide Elevate with a comprehensive method for evaluating the efficacy of the program in terms of educational development, economic impact, employability skills development, and overall socio-‐economic development of participants. Upon completing each phase of the research project Elevate will work with the U of A and MSCC to publish research findings. These findings will be distributed throughout the academic, research, and entrepreneurship community through: • • • •
Blogs National Association of Community Colleges for Entrepreneurship (NACCE) Publications Trade publications and Legislative reports
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Research and Evaluation Plan
In-‐kind Funding Elevate has negotiated a partnership with the U of A to receive these services free of charge on an in-‐kind basis. A formal agreement will be developed between the U of A and MSCC to insure that the research and evaluation model properly represents the work and gives credit to all key parties. Elevate and the U of A will keep timesheets to measure the in-‐kind contribution that the U of A is making to the DRA Project. This information shall be used to demonstrate a leverage of federal funds.
Use of Research The research and evaluation model will be used to: • • • •
Recruit corporate and foundation funding Generate support from state legislators Prove the academic efficacy of applied entrepreneurship to other community college leaders and Demonstrate how public and private resources can be used to develop human capital through applied entrepreneurship education
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Research and Evaluation Plan
Lead Research/ Evaluation Partner
Stacey McCullough, Ph.D.
Community & Economic Development / Public Policy Center / Arkansas Procurement Assistance Center University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture-‐Extension Dr. Stacey McCullough is an assistant professor of community and economic development with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Her area of expertise is economic development with an emphasis on entrepreneurship. Dr. McCullough has provided leadership in developing, implementing, and evaluating multiple programs to support entrepreneurial development. Because Extension programs must be research based, she has reviewed an extensive number of entrepreneurship programs and evaluation studies from around the country. She has applied this research to Extension-‐sponsored programs and advised communities interested in starting entrepreneurship programs of their own. Dr. McCullough is responsible for the development of Extension’s introductory youth entrepreneurship program. Utilizing her knowledge of other youth and adult entrepreneurship programs, she followed a logic model approach in this process, a practice which she encourages others to utilize. In this approach, desired outcomes are pre-‐determined and guide the program development process. This allows for the creation of an evaluation plan that captures the information needed to determine a program’s success. A comprehensive evaluation plan will assess both quantitative and qualitative impacts and provide for the analysis of both short and long-‐term impacts of the program. Dr. McCullough has a B.B.A. in economics from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, an M.A. in agricultural and applied economics from the University of Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Arkansas. Prior to joining the Cooperative Extension Service in 2004, she served as a senior economist at Christensen Associates, an applied microeconomic consulting firm, in Madison, Wisconsin. In this capacity she provided leadership in economic modeling and the design and implementation of numerous surveys and studies to determine the impacts of policy and operational practices of public entities, including the United States Postal Service and Wisconsin Department of Transportation. 5
Research and Evaluation Plan Research Action Plan The following provides an outline of the research and evaluation plan of Action: • Internal Partner Meeting • Establish research and evaluation standards • Integrate research strategies with MSCC Activities and Elevate Plan of Action • Build Research documents and tools • Delivery of Research documents and tools • Participant Pre-‐Interviews / Pre-‐Testing / Assessments • Interim Interviews/ Testing / Assessments • Post Project Interviews / Testing / Assessments • Editing and Publication of Assessments • Distribution of Assessments and Reports
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Research and Evaluation Plan
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