Start Up with The Prince’s Trust Programme Evaluation

ERS was appointed by The Prince’s Trust (East Midlands) in April 2006 as retained consultants to assess the progress and evaluate the outcomes of the Start Up with The Prince’s Trust (SUWPT) programme until 2008.

The Prince’s Trust is a national charity supporting disadvantaged young people aged 14-30 years. The organisation helps young people overcome barriers and get their lives working through practical support including training, mentoring and financial assistance. SUWPT is a region-wide enterprise development and start up programme designed to raise awareness about opportunities for enterprise and to promote business start up and self employment as a viable career option for young people.

The mid term evaluation of the programme has recently been completed and was informed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, including:

• Data analysis and policy positioning;

• Desk based enterprise support mapping exercise;

• Face to face consultations with key stakeholders in the region (including EMDA and GOEM);

• Face to face consultations with beneficiaries of SUWPT (stratified by sub region and objective 2/non objective 2).

The evaluation found the SUWPT to be a unique regional enterprise offer. It is a programme that is ambitious, has energy and is very much in tune with socio-economic priorities of regional partners. The mid term report also identified a series of recommendations for consideration by The Prince’s Trust for implementation during the remaining period of the programme delivery. These recommendations will be followed up in the final evaluation of the programme in 2008.

ERS Contact: oallies@ers.org.uk