This study was carried out by Michlol- the Evaluation and Measurement Unit of the Shalem Fund
The Sparks project was developed with the aim of training entrepreneurs working in the authorities, for the development of outreach initiatives, exposure and integration of people with disabilities in the community. The entrepreneurship training, led by the “Rothschild Cube” (Ben Gurion University) and the Shalem Foundation, was accompanied by a two-stage evaluation: the first stage, the evaluation of the training itself, and the second stage (after a year), the evaluation of the development and implementation of the initiatives in practice. This evaluation report presents the evaluation of the implementation phase, which was based on quantitative and qualitative data obtained in online questionnaires filled out by the entrepreneurs. As part of the ‘Nitzotsot’ project, 10 special and diverse initiatives managed to weave skin and tendons and come to fruition, in various cities and towns across Israel. The evaluation findings indicate a high satisfaction of the entrepreneurs with the initiatives they developed, their perception of the initiative as very successful, a very positive effect of the process they went through as part of the project on other areas of their work, a desire to continue developing additional initiatives, and more. A summary, insights and recommendations for further action were written at the end of the evaluation.
Keywords : Shalem Fund study, Sparks project, training, entrepreneurship, information, authorities, developmental intellectual disabilities