Executive Summary
The program being evaluated aims to develop the business of African American entrepreneurs and establish networking and cooperation between them. The program included workshops, coaching sessions, and peer learning opportunities. The evaluation was aimed at evaluating the program’s effectiveness in achieving its goals and identifying areas for improvement. The assessment used mixed methods, including surveys and observations. The results of the evaluation show that the program has been generally effective in improving business performance for African-American entrepreneurs. Moreover, the feedback received from program participants demonstrates the high level of satisfaction with the African American Entrepreneurship Development Program and the results obtained. This reflects the necessity and timeliness of AAEDP for its target audience.
However, the evaluation also identified several areas for improvement. These include the need for more personalized learning, more emphasis on the practical application of skills, and a more structured approach to peer learning. Identifying these weaknesses in the AAEDP is an important step to change and improve the program in the future to make it even more effective and, as a result, popular with African American entrepreneurs. Since the program is designed for five years, and this report shows an assessment of the first year of implementation, AAEDP has time and potential for transformation.
Overall, the evaluation results indicate that the program can be a valuable tool to support African American business development. However, improvements are needed to increase the effectiveness and impact of the program. Moreover, given racial discrimination in this area, the AAEDP can begin to address significant social problems and improve the country’s economy (Lang & Spitzer, 2020). The recommendations presented in this report provide practical guidance for program managers and stakeholders to strengthen the program and achieve better outcomes for participants.
Introduction
This report presents the results of an evaluation of the performance of the African American Entrepreneurship Development Program. This program aims to improve the professional skills of entrepreneurs, as well as help self-employed African Americans maintain the stability and growth of their businesses. The program was implemented for 12 months and included mentoring, networking, and several educational events to develop the management skills of participants. The collection and analysis of data related to the program’s implementation showed its strengths and weaknesses and helped determine the prospects for further development.
Purpose of the Evaluation
The purpose of the evaluation is to evaluate the results and effectiveness of the program. Collection and analysis of data on the results of the company’s activities by the end of year 1 are necessary to assess its success and impact on participants. In addition, it will help identify the program’s advantages and disadvantages and outline a plan for further improvements.
Audiences for the Evaluation Report
The target audience for the evaluation is African Americans participating in the program. In addition, the evaluation report is intended for broader audiences, including government, authorities, and policymakers, who can potentially contribute to the development of the program and African American entrepreneurship.
Limitations of the Evaluation
The evaluation has several limitations that must be considered in the report. Firstly, it takes into account only the short-term perspective of the implementation of the program, therefore, long-term outcomes. In addition, the survey results may be subjective and show the opinion and experiences of specific members of the AAEDP target audience.
Report Overview
This report contains an assessment of the performance of the African American Entrepreneurship Development Program. The assessment focuses on critical areas to determine AAEDP’s effectiveness and impact on the participants. One of the main goals of the program is to connect participants with experienced mentors and provide opportunities for networking (Rogers, 2019). Therefore, evaluation includes evaluating the effectiveness of mentoring and networking in helping participants achieve their business goals. In addition, significant racial discrimination in business activities prevents African Americans from developing their business (Lang & Spitzer, 2020). Therefore, the report contains information about the growth of enterprises participating in the program, such as income growth, job creation, and expansion into new markets.
In addition, the report contains data from a survey of African American entrepreneurs about their satisfaction with participating in the program. Another critical focus of the assessment is the sustainability of the AAEDP, as it should have sufficient potential to be used in the long term (Howard, 2019). In addition, the report provides information on social changes caused by the program implementation. In particular, the program contributed to reducing racial discrimination and inequality in business.
Evaluative Questions
The evaluation questions for this report include the following:
- What were the most significant outcomes of the program, and how did they impact participants?
- What were the program’s strengths and weaknesses in achieving its objectives?
- How well did the program address the needs and challenges of the target audience?
- To what extent did the program facilitate the learning and skill development of the participants?
- How well did the program incorporate participant feedback and evaluation to improve its design and delivery?
- How satisfied are the participants with the program, and would they recommend it to others?
Information Needed
To evaluate the program’s effectiveness, it is necessary to clearly understand the goals of the African American Entrepreneurship Development Program, its target audience, and key stakeholders. In addition, the demographic characteristics of the participants and their businesses are essential. At the end of the implementation period, the company needs to collect and analyze data on the growth of enterprises, as well as feedback from participants and stakeholders. This information will help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the AAEDP and identify changes needed to make the program work more effectively in the future.
The Evaluation
Plan and Procedures
First of all, the purpose and objectives of the evaluation were established. After that, an evaluation design was developed, including data collection methods and tools. In this assessment, survey and observation were used as the primary methods. To survey participants, a list of questions was developed to receive feedback on participants’ satisfaction with outcomes (Appendices). Business success data was collected directly from AAEDP members. After collecting the necessary information, it was analyzed and presented in a report.
Evaluation Results and Findings
Evaluation of the effectiveness of the AAEDP showed that during the 12 months of the program’s implementation, it was possible to establish networking between African American entrepreneurs. This contributed to increased interaction with each other for the exchange of experience and the conclusion of business partnerships. Among the strengths of the program were identified an integrated approach to the development of the business of participants and a focus on practical skills and behavior changes. Given the great potential of African American entrepreneurship in a growing market, these strengths are of great importance to the success of participants (Indarti et al., 2021). However, during the evaluation, a weakness was identified, which is the need for an individual approach to each participant in the program. Based on the feedback, most participants were satisfied with the program and results and would recommend AAEDP to other entrepreneurs. This guarantees its stability and demand among African American entrepreneurs.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The evaluation of the African American Entrepreneurship Development Program shows that it has a predominantly positive outcome for participants and their businesses. The main benefit of AAEDP is that it provides entrepreneurs access to resources and tools to grow their companies that may not have previously been available due to racial inequality (Lang & Spitzer, 2020). This, in turn, adds social significance to the program since its implementation contributes to overcoming significant social problems.
AAEDP helps build a community of African American entrepreneurs by providing mentorship and networking to members. According to researchers, this group has significant potential and opportunities for development and can positively impact supporting the country’s economy (Howard, 2019). However, the program needs to be improved to improve the participants’ results. In particular, developing more structured educational programs and focusing on an individual approach to each entrepreneur and their case is necessary. Moreover, the program evaluation results have certain limitations, due to which the findings may be subjective and not universal.
In this regard, to improve AAEDP, it is necessary to follow some recommendations. First, it is necessary to develop an explicit curriculum for participants, completing which, they will learn all the necessary managerial skills and develop their leadership qualities. Secondly, it is necessary to increase the number of participants in the program in order to be able to obtain a more objective assessment of the results. Based on a survey conducted among participants by the end of year 1, many of them are willing to recommend AAEDP to other entrepreneurs, which creates the potential to expand the audience. Finally, we need to attract more partners and investors interested in developing African American entrepreneurship. These recommendations will help improve the program and achieve the highest results for its participants and their businesses.
References
Howard, T. (2019). The state of black entrepreneurship in America [PDF document]. Web.
Indarti, N., Hapsari, N., Lukito-Budi, A. S., & Virgosita, R. (2021). Quo vadis, ethnic entrepreneurship? A bibliometric analysis of ethnic entrepreneurship in growing markets. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 13(3), 427-458. Web.
Lang, K., & Spitzer, A. K. L. (2020). Race discrimination: An economic perspective. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 34(2), 68-89. Web.
Rogers, S. W. (2019). The African American Entrepreneur: Challenges and Opportunities in the Trump Era, 2nd Edition. Praeger.
Appendices: Survey for the Program Participants
- How satisfied were you with the program overall?
- Did the program meet your expectations? Why or why not?
- What did you find most helpful about the program?
- What could have been improved about the program?
- Would you recommend this program to others? Why or why not?
- How knowledgeable did you feel about the program topic before and after participating?
- Were the program materials (e.g. handouts, presentations, videos) helpful and informative?
- How well did the program meet your specific needs or goals?
- How likely will you apply what you learned in the program to your personal or professional life?
- Was the program length appropriate, too short, or too long? Why?