Started in 2021, EPOP is a multi-year initiative conducted by a team of researchers at NORC at the University of Chicago with funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The EPOP initiative is unique in that it directly asks individuals along all parts of the entrepreneurial pathway about their experiences.
By understanding the challenges facing all potential business owners, the EPOP Survey can help local governments and organizations better identify the issues facing their own communities and how to release the stored economic potential of promising entrepreneurs in their area.
EPOP data is nationally representative. Both public and restricted use data are available from each annual survey. The annual EPOP Survey sample design supports the following estimation objectives:
More precise estimation is possible to support specific research needs by adding an oversample to an annual national EPOP Survey by conducting an extra customized survey tailored to specific research objectives:
If you’re interested in having an oversample of a particular geographic area for more in-depth analysis, increased coverage of a particular demographic group of the population, or conducting a separate, customized EPOP Survey, contact us to discuss the details of your research needs and to get a cost estimate.
We’re happy to discuss the current EPOP project and what we can do to support the unique research needs of independent researchers, state and local governments, or other research organizations.
Please contact the EPOP research team at EPOPresearch@norc.org.
We want to hear about your research and analysis using EPOP Survey data. Let us know about your presentations, reports, and publications, and we will add them to Publications.
Contact us at EPOPresearch@norc.org.
The CEO of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) calls attention to findings from the EPOP-IN Survey about the entrepreneurial landscape in Indiana.
The Kauffman Foundation continues to recognize, with urgency, the significance of the role new and existing businesses play in local, regional, and the national economy. This report continues their series of sharing the state of capital access for entrepreneurs highlighting the need for innovative products and models to improve capital delivery systems.
Based on the national EPOP Survey, the Entrepreneurship in the Population: Indiana (EPOP-IN) project focuses on experiences with and interest in entrepreneurship in Indiana. The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) conducted EPOP-IN to learn about self-employment and business formation issues specific to residents in their state. The study collected data from August to November 2022. Click here for EPOP-IN information, data, and reports about the study.
If you are interested in learning more about conducting an EPOP study at the state, regional, or local level, please contact us at EPOPresearch@norc.org.
A peer-reviewed article utilizing the EPOP Survey dataset has been published in the Journal of Business Venturing Insights. The article examines current and former entrepreneurs to provide insights into why individuals exit business ownership and what predicts entrepreneur success.
The Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) analyzed Black business ownership using US Census and EPOP Survey data. The AEO report covers the growth achieved and challenges remaining for Black entrepreneurs.
The EPOP Survey Project released a second year of data, collected in 2023, on entrepreneurship in the U.S. Now two years of EPOP public use data are available for understanding business ownership, freelancing, gig work, and related employment activities. Besides comparing 2022 and 2023 results, NORC’s latest research brief “Entrepreneurial Background and the Path to Business Ownership: Evidence from EPOP:2023” examines serial entrepreneurship—owning multiple businesses either previously or simultaneously. This research presents intriguing findings on pathways to entrepreneurial success, particularly among those with prior business ownership experience.
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