About the Report

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The Self-Employment Training (SET) pilot program was funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to test strategies for supporting dislocated workers interested in starting their own businesses. Unemployed and underemployed workers who proposed businesses in their fields of expertise were eligible to participate. SET participants received free access to 12 months of case management, customized training and technical assistance, and up to $1,000 in seed capital microgrant funds for business start-up costs. The program operated in four sites—Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Los Angeles, California; and Portland, Oregon— between 2013 and 2017.

The report presents results from an evaluation of SET’s impacts on outcomes using survey data collected 18 months after the study enrollees applied to the program. The researchers estimated impacts based on the evaluation’s random assignment design, in which 1,981 eligible applicants were divided almost equally between the SET program group and a control group. Key findings are that, as of the 18-month survey date, SET led to greater receipt of personalized assistance and seed capital, produced a sustained increase in self employment activity, and led to modest increases in the rate of employment in any job (through self employment or a wage/salary job). The researchers also found that the SET program group and the control group earned similar amounts during the year before the survey. Hence, there was no discernable impact of SET on earnings over the period covering 7 to 18 months after study enrollment. In the report, the researchers describe findings for additional outcomes, as well as differences across sites and select demographic and socioeconomic groups.

Research Questions

• Did the SET pilot program work? What was the net impact of the SET program on participants’ overall employment status and total earnings, as well as self-employment? Did it attract participants? Did participants find SET useful? Did local providers think it was worth offering?
• Where did the SET program work, and for whom did it work? Were there differences across study sites, and were these differences associated with key contextual features of those sites? What types of participants did the program attract, and which ones benefited from the program? Did program outcomes and impacts vary by participants’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, work experiences, or attitudes?
• How did the SET pilot program work? How well did key features of the program work? How well did outreach and intake procedures work in practice? Were service providers able to deliver intensive and timely support with fidelity to the program model? Did the program successfully offer financial support through the seed capital microgrants? How did providers and participants perceive and engage with key elements of the SET program?
• What will it take to operate the SET pilot program at scale? What were the lessons learned regarding partnerships and supports needed to implement this pilot program at scale? What are considerations for replicating or scaling this program, or both?

Key Takeaways

• SET led to greater receipt of personalized assistance and seed capital.
• SET produced sustained increases in self-employment activity.
• SET may have been particularly effective in promoting self-employment among new entrepreneurs.
• Additional testing could shed light on how SET supported self-employment.
• SET was moderately successful as a reemployment program.
• The program group stayed connected to the wage/salary job market.
• SET produced similar employment impacts across demographic groups.
• Researchers observed substantial differences in site-level employment impact estimates, but it is not clear what these differences reflect.
• SET did not affect average earnings during the period covered by the survey.
• Assessing impacts over a longer horizon could yield an improved understanding of SET’s effectiveness.

Research Gaps

• Self Employment Training (SET) may have been particularly effective in promoting self-employment among those without recent small business experience. Additional testing could assess options for targeting services or adding an emphasis on credit repair. We observed differences in site-level estimates of SET’s effectiveness in improving business development and work outcomes, but it is not clear what these differences reflect. Future research could also explore how effectiveness was related to provider-level measures of implementation. Policymakers or practitioners who want to expand entrepreneurship training options should consider additional piloting to assess whether the SET model (or adaptations of it) are well suited to their clientele. Evaluating impacts over a longer horizon could provide an improved understanding of SET’s effectiveness. (page xvii)

Citation

Hock, H., Anderson, M. A., Santillano, R. (2018). Mathematica. Supporting Self-Employment as a Reemployment Strategy: Impacts of a Pilot Program for Dislocated Workers After 18 Months. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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This study was sponsored by the Employment and Training Administration, Office of Policy Development and Research, Division of Research and Evaluation, and was produced outside of CEO’s standard research development process.