Evaluation of Green Skills for Jobs and Entrepreneurship
“ERS' delivery of this evaluation review was fantastic in terms of working to our fast paced timescales and their in-depth understanding of the social value and impact strands to our aims and objectives of programme delivery and our ambitions to have this equitably reflected in the final report. Their balancing and showcasing of both economic and social impact was of huge value to the project, along with their in-depth knowledge of the region. ERS' findings and improvements will inform future grant applications, bidding activity, impact work, promotional activity and KPI setting for continuous improvement.”
Green Skills for Jobs and Entrepreneurship was funded by the UK Community Renewal Fund (Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities). The project was delivered by UWE Bristol in partnership with Black South West Network (BSWN) and NatWest. Between January 2022 and December 2022, the project provided green skills and entrepreneurship training to young people and recent graduates, particularly focusing on engaging those from Black and Minoritised communities. Learners also had access to internships or enterprise incubations, either with local organisations led by Black and Minoritised communities or businesses with a strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
As part of the initial stages of the evaluation, ERS developed a project logic model to support the team to trace the links between its inputs, activities, outputs and intended outcomes, both for local businesses and young people. We also collaborated closely with stakeholders to ensure that we created engaging, accessible research tools using appropriate language, to ensure the highest possible response rates to the surveys. Primary data for the evaluation was collected through the following methods:
Individual, semi-structured interviews with members of the project team, delivery partners and stakeholders
E-surveys for learners (a baseline learner survey and a follow-up survey) and businesses hosting work placements
Case study interviews with 8 learners
Alongside analysis of primary data, quantitative project monitoring data was also analysed and presented within the report, in order to provide an indication of engagement levels and a quantitative measurement of the outputs and outcomes achieved by the project.
We are proud to say that our evaluation findings are being used by partners to highlight the impact they have made for young people from Black and Minoritised communities, to demonstrate the value in the model they have created and to potentially win further funding in future.