Entrepreneurship support organisations and the development programmes that fund them collect a great deal of data. From surveys, to baseline and follow-up measurements and more: over the life of a programme, this adds up to a substantial amount of information about how entrepreneurs in low- and middle-income countries actually develop and grow, and what helps or hinders them. Some organisations already put this data to good use, drawing on it to report to their funders but also to improve their programmes and to share insights internally. Sometimes much of this data is analysed in relatively standardised ways and discussed mainly within the boundaries of the programme itself, and there is often far more that could be learned from it with deeper analysis, more time and additional expertise.
At Orange Corners, we have worked with a data-driven approach for years. We collect extensive pre- and post-survey and interview data on over 600 entrepreneurs per year, alongside extensive entrepreneurial ecosystem mappings, interviews with entrepreneurs and implementing partners, quarterly and annual reports and more, and we use this data not only to report to our funder the NL Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also to improve our interventions and processes, to hold conversations with implementing partners on themes such as gender equality and job creation, and to learn from what works and what does not.
Over ten years, this has produced a wealth of insight. What became clear, however, is that these insights were shared primarily within the programme, and that the monitoring and evaluation indicators were not primarily designed to answer some of the deeper research questions about how to improve the programme and about entrepreneurship support more broadly. As Orange Corners we came to feel that, with extra knowledge, experience and resources, using our rich data, we could both answer those questions and make a meaningful contribution to the wider academic and practitioner debate. Answering these deeper questions, however, required research.
This guide explains how Orange Corners built a research approach from that starting point, and it is written so that other organisations in a similar position can follow a similar path. It explains what research adds, why a partnership model with universities turned out to be both affordable and effective, and what the practical steps are for moving from M&E data to a structured research agenda that increases programme effectiveness. The approach does not require a large budget or an in-house research department. It requires a clear set of research questions, a good overview of existing and potentially collected data, and a willingness to collaborate and a passion to learn.
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