UROP Project

social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial growth, African descent, societal impact

Research Mentor: Dr. Eric Liguori,
Department, College, Affiliation: Entrepreneurship, Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship
Contact Email: eliguori@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Michael Cedeno
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: mac19f@fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators: Dr. Susana Santos
Faculty Collaborators Email: ssantos@jmc.fsu.edu

Looking for Research Assistants: No
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors, but students studying (or interested in) Business, Entrepreneurship, Psychology, Sociology, Social Work, International Relations, Public Administration, and/or Urban and Regional Transformation may find a particularly strong alignment.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 8,
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Friday, September 6, 12:30-1:00pm
Zoom: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/8257454875
Meeting ID: 825 745 4875

Project Description

This exciting research project emerged from a U.S. Department of State grant that sought to identify, understand, and help eliminate the barriers faced by social entrepreneurs of African Descent from across the globe. The data on which this project is based is highly novel and completely proprietary; drawn from a network of 55 Founders, Co-Founders, Presidents, or Executives of high-impact organizations working to address social issues across the globe. These founders span a diverse array of countries including Ghana, Liberia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Algeria, Morocco, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. All of the founders were of African descent, enabling us to better identify and explore opportunities and barriers faced by this unique population of change makers. Preliminary data analysis has yielded some very promising early results and informed the development of a working model we now seek to further refine and validate with your help. Given the current state of this project, we feel confident it is well-positioned to result in both a successful conference presentation and a peer-reviewed journal publication. We also expect our findings to be of interest to policy makers at a variety of levels and believe there is potential for our results to garner media attention.

Research Tasks: The most immediate next step is the completion of a literature review to best frame out the work. After that is completed, it is likely some additional interviews will be needed and/or a survey developed and disseminated. Then we will analyze the new data, frame out the remainder of the manuscript, and more forward towards presentation and publication.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required Skills: strong written and verbal communication skills; high attention to detail
Recommended Skills: critical thinking; collecting and analyzing data; conducting literature reviews; digital information literacy