Center For Strategic Entrepreneurship
Excel Project
JULY 1, 2024: Excel Project Report Release!
Excellence in Entrepreneurial Learning (EXCEL) is a follow-up research project to the 2017 Annie E. Casey Foundation report, "Reshaping Workforce Development in Baltimore: Ensuring Community Voice and Expertise Guide Us." This 2017 report revealed that teens and young adults in Baltimore, ages 16 to 29, "crave entrepreneurship and resources to build businesses that are free from discrimination and benefit their communities."
Learn More Here: EXCEL Download | Greater Spaces (greaterspacesandplaces.com)
Project Overview
The Excellence in Entrepreneurial Learning (EXCEL) Research Project in collaboration with the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) was focused on fostering and improving the ecosystem for youth entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial learning in Baltimore City.
A cross-disciplinary team of faculty and students from Coppin State University examined current entrepreneurship training programs for youth and young adults between the ages of 16 and 29 and provided recommendations on ways to improve conditions for youth entrepreneurship. Researchers with the EXCEL project worked in phases to collect survey responses throughout 2023, with the final report released July 2024.
Unique Elements of EXCEL Project
- Spearheaded by Coppin State University Center for Strategic Entrepreneurship
- Student researcher involvement
- Current Coppin State University Undergraduate Students
- Open to All Majors
- Registered Members of Coppin Entrepreneurship Organization for Students (CEOs)
- Alumni involvement
- Center for Strategic Entrepreneurship Alumni Advisory Board participating on the EXCEL Project Advisory Board (led by the Annie E. Case Foundation)
EXCEL Project Progress Timeline |
|
|
September 1, 2022 |
Proposal Submission Approved |
|
September 13, 2023 |
Weekly Stand up Meetings Begin |
|
October 14, 2022 |
CSU Institutional Review Board Approval |
|
December 11, 2022 |
Initial Annie E. Casey Foundation Award |
|
January 14, 2023 |
EXCEL Researchers Recruited |
|
March 28, 2023 |
Initial Request to Youth Training Organizations |
|
February 9 & 10, 2023 |
Research Team Development & Orientation |
|
April 27, 2023 |
EXCEL Panel Discussion @ EICAC 2023 |
|
April 27, 2023 |
EXCEL Kickoff Reception |
|
June 22, 2023 |
Data Collection Begins |
|
July 17 – August 7, 2023 |
Undergraduate Researcher Training |
|
August 14, 2023 |
Graphic Designer Meeting |
|
August 15, 2023 |
10 Interviews Completed |
|
August 17, 2023 – January 31, 2024 |
40 Interviews |
|
September 1, 2023 |
Finalize EXCEL Communication Plan with CSU Comms Director |
|
September 1, 2023 |
Launch of COB/CSE Website including EXCEL info |
|
September 28, 2023 |
First Convening of the EXCEL Advisory Board |
|
September 29, 2023 |
Tentative visit to Early Charm Ventures, Inc. |
|
October 1 – October 31, 2023 |
Data Analysis Began |
|
November 1 – December 31, 2023 |
Phase I Report Draft |
|
November 2, 2023 |
Baltimore Together Panel Discussion |
EXCEL Project Future Milestones |
|
|
December 7, 2023 |
Launch of COB/CSE Website including EXCEL info |
|
December 7, 2023 |
Second Convening of the EXCEL Advisory Board |
|
January 31, 2024 |
Identification of Phase II Programs & Processes |
|
February – March 2024 |
Data Collection in Identified Organizations |
|
March 2024 |
Phase II Analysis |
|
March 1-April 30, 2024 |
Final Report Draft |
|
April 25, 2024 |
EICAC 2024 |
|
May 1-30, 2024 |
Report Editing |
|
June 1 – 30, 2024 |
Finalize Report Release Plans |
Project Researchers
Faculty Researchers
Dr. Nicole Anthony
Assistant Professor
Department of Teaching and Learning
Dr. Mona Calhoun
Associate Professor and Chairperson
Department of Health Information Management
Dr. Aerian Tatum
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Information Management
Dr. Vanessa Jackson
Associate Professor
Department of Humanities (Dance)
Dr. Irma Johnson
Assistant Professor
Department of Instructional Leadership and Professional Development
Seth Forrest
Assistant Professor
Department of Humanities (English)
Professor Sherida Morrison
Instructor
Department of Management and Marketing
Dr. Johnny Rice
Associate Professor and Chairperson
Department of Criminal Justice
Dr. Harriett Kargbo
Assistant Professor and Chairperson
Department of Instructional Leadership and Professional Development
Dr. Claudia Thorne
Assistant Professor
Department of Social Work
Dr. Ronald C. Williams
Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Strategic Entrepreneurship
EXCEL Research Project, Principal Investigator
Student Researchers
Desiree Jenkins
Bria Johnson
Joe-Christopher Smith
Deshauna Alexander
Amer Williams
Jordan Goings