Methodological Challenges in Evaluating Business Incubator Outcomes

Abstract

This research study was undertaken by the University of Michigan Business School in collaboration with the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA), Ohio University, and the Southern Technology Council in response to a request for proposals issued by the Economic Development Administration. The purpose of the study was to determine the best methodologies that could be used by individual incubators to assess the impacts of their programs on their local communities. In addition, we pilot tested the research methods on a representative national sample of 50 incubator programs, stratified by type of incubator.