International and Cross Cultural Evaluation
Lauren Elreda, PhD
Research Manager
ORB International
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia, United States
Lauren Elreda, PhD
Research Manager
ORB International
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia, United States
Ghazi Ghazi, M.A.
Researcher II
ORB International, United States
Yuliya Dudaronak, Ph.D.
Research Director
ORB International, United States
Location: White River Ballroom A
Abstract Information: The Tony Elumelu Foundation is a philanthropy seeking to empower new African entrepreneurs, catalyze job creation across all 54 African countries, and increase women’s economic empowerment. Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has trained over 1.5 million African entrepreneurs, and disbursed nearly USD$100 million in funding to 18,000 African women and men. To ensure resources are used effectively, rigorous research on the effectiveness of acceleration methods is necessary for accelerators and funders alike. Therefore, in fall of 2022, TEF commissioned ORB International to conduct a large-scale evaluation of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme’s impact on their 2015-2020 cohort. Data were collected via web surveys, phone interviews, and site visits from 3,160 program beneficiaries across 54 countries, and for comparison, from 1,312 non-beneficiaries who had applied to the program but were not selected. Surveys included questions assessing the key targeted outcomes of the program, such as starting a business, business survival rates, revenues, business growth, job creation, and entrepreneurship ecosystem impacts. Conducting impact evaluation research across widely economically, socially, and culturally different environments is incredibly challenging while keeping timeliness and cost-effectiveness of evaluations as important goals. In this roundtable, we propose to discuss the following methodological issues: - Evaluating impact across different economic environments - Standardization vs localization of tools, especially in relation to measuring business "success" and local entrepreneurship ecosystems - Best use of qualitative instruments to supplement quantitative impact assessment most effectively - Creating a narrative encompassing a wide range of contexts
Relevance Statement: The topic of comparative cross-cultural evaluation is receiving growing attention, underscoring the need to develop multicultural and culturally competent evaluation strategies, especially in developmental contexts. This proposal will provide an opportunity for practitioners of developmental evaluation to discuss issues related to standardization vs localization and come up with ‘best practices’ using this large-scale evaluation across 54 countries.