People working in evidence-based management can sometimes feel like they are swimming against the tide. But they are part of something much larger.

In this episode we hear from science journalist Helen Pearson about her new book Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works.

The conversation steps back from evidence-based management to look at the much wider evidence movement that has been unfolding across disciplines over the past few decades. From medicine and social policy to policing, conservation and business, researchers and practitioners have been grappling with the same question: how do we know what really works?

Helen traces the origins of the modern evidence movement, beginning with the pioneers of evidence-based medicine in the late twentieth century, and explains how ideas such as randomized trials and systematic reviews spread across many other fields.

The discussion explores:

• The origins of evidence-based medicine and the role of pioneers like Iain Chalmers and David Sackett
• How ideas from medicine influenced other domains including policy, policing and management
• Why early advocates of evidence often worked in isolation across different disciplines
• Why evidence-based management faces particular challenges in bridging research and practice
• The current “crisis of evidence” and the forces shaping trust in science today
• Why teaching evidence literacy and critical thinking may be one of the most powerful tools for the future

Helen also shares practical advice for anyone wanting to think more critically about claims and evidence in everyday life.

For students and teachers of evidence-based management, the episode offers a reminder that they are part of a much broader international movement seeking to improve decisions through better use of evidence.

Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works will be published in April 2026.

Host:

Karen Plum

Guest:

Helen Pearson, Senior Editor, Nature, Honorary Professor of Practice, UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies

Click here for more details about Helen's book.

Contact:

Eric Barends, Managing Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management

Working with evidence-based management can be uncomfortable. It asks people to sit with uncertainty rather than reach for certainty — something many of us are rewarded for in organisational life.

This conversation explores what that discomfort looks like in practice, and how uncertainty shows up when people engage seriously with evidence — whether they are managers making decisions, students learning to apply evidence, or educators supporting that learning. The discussion ranges across research, teaching, and organisational decision-making, touching on credibility, confidence, risk, and the realities of working with evidence in complex, high-stakes environments.

Rather than offering tools or prescriptions, the episode stays with the experience of uncertainty itself — including where it becomes personally or professionally risky, and where it can open up better questions, more careful judgement, and new possibilities when people are willing to stay with it.

This is not a “how-to” episode. It’s an opportunity to listen in as experienced educators and practitioners think together about uncertainty, without rushing to certainty.

Host:
Karen Plum

Guests:

• Eric Barends - Managing Director, Center of Evidence-Based Management
• Denise Rousseau, H J Heinz University Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania, USA
• Preston Davis, Clinical Assistant Professor of Management, Coles College, Kennesaw State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Contact:

Eric Barends, Managing Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management

This episode was recorded live with three evidence-based management experts, Denise Rousseau, Rob Briner and Eric Barends, answering and discussing questions sent in by teachers and students of the subject.

During the disucssion, we touched on many aspects of evidence-based management, including:

• Starting with basic principles rather than complex frameworks makes evidence-based management accessible to busy professionals
• Problem identification is the most critical and often overlooked step in the evidence-based management process
• AI tools can support evidence-based decisions but require specific prompting and critical evaluation of outputs
• Evidence-based management works best as a team sport where colleagues help identify each other's blind spots - including biases
• Rather than trying to build a whole evidence-based culture, start with your sphere of influence and share evidence supportively
• Building evidence-based practices requires social networks of support within and outside organizations

If you have questions about evidence-based management that you'd like addressed in future episodes, please send them to us. We're planning to make "Ask the experts" a regular feature of the podcast.

Host:

Karen Plum

Guests:

• Eric Barends - Managing Director, Center of Evidence-Based Management
• Denise Rousseau, H J Heinz University Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania, USA
• Rob Briner, Professor of Organisational Psychology, Queen Mary University of London; Associate Research Director at Corporate Research Forum

Contact:

Eric Barends, Managing Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management

The gap between management research and practice remains stubbornly wide, but a growing movement of dedicated educators is working to change that by embedding evidence-based management into university curricula. This episode explores their journeys, challenges, and successes.

We hear from three university teachers who have pioneered different approaches to teaching evidence-based management - from introducing elements into existing courses to creating entire programs centered around evidence-based decision-making.

Christina Rader from Colorado College shares how she gradually incorporated the approach into her classes and now has students working on real-world projects with local organizations.

Kemp Ellington from Appalachian State University explains how their department created a dedicated evidence-based management course as part of a curriculum overhaul focused on critical thinking and data literacy.

Mary Foster recounts how Morgan State University, a historically Black college, integrated evidence-based management as a core competency across multiple courses to develop skills that wouldn't be replaced by automation.

Eric Barends, Managing Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management, provides perspective on how his organization supports these "lone wolves" and curriculum champions, offering online course modules, consulting, and a network for teachers to share resources and experiences. He outlines the spectrum of implementation approaches, from introducing basic concepts in existing courses to fully embedding the methodology across entire programs.

The episode highlights both the challenges these educators face - from skeptical colleagues to administrative hurdles and financial considerations - and the profound rewards they find in equipping students with a structured approach to making better decisions. As AI and automation reshape the business landscape, these professors argue that the critical thinking skills at the heart of evidence-based management may be the most valuable assets graduates can bring to their future careers.

Whether you're an educator looking to incorporate evidence-based approaches into your teaching or simply someone interested in how management education is evolving to meet contemporary challenges, this conversation offers valuable insights into bridging the gap between research and practice in management.

Host:

Karen Plum

Guests:

Eric Barends PhD, Managing Director, Center of Evidence-Based Management

Kemp Ellington PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Management, Walker College of Business, Appalachian State University, North Carolina

Mary Foster PhD, Professor, retired from Morgan State University, Maryland

Christina Rader PhD, Associate Professor with Tenure, Department of Economics and Business, Colorado College

Mentions:

• Center for Evidence-Based Management
• CEBMa Teachers Network
• CEBMa Online Course
• CEBMa Evidence-Based Management Podcast

Contact:

Eric Barends, Managing Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management

In teaching students how to gather and appraise evidence from scientific literature, it's important to guide them through the process step by step. Commonly referred to as a Critically Appraised Topic (or CAT), it's quite obviously a difficult process to do, let alone to teach.

Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management Eric Barends takes us through the process of teaching students how to run a CAT, drawing on many years experience and his own learning of what helps. Acknowledging right up front that "it's hard" and that students (along with everyone else) will make mistakes, Eric stresses the importance of adopting a learning approach, where people learn from mistakes, rather than a performance approach where the emphasis is on doing a perfect CAT.

We also hear from other teachers who share their insights on the process, and how they've helped students navigate this tricky territory, while acquiring a highly important, valuable skill. This is a valuable episode if you're looking for insights, tips and options for how to help your students with their CATs.

Host:

Karen Plum

Guests:

• Eric Barends - Managing Director, Center of Evidence-Based Management
• Tatiana Andreeva – Associate Professor at Maynooth University School of Business
• James O’Brien - Associate Professor at Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary's University
• Xander Lub - Professor Organizations in Digital Transformation at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands
• Denise Rousseau, H J Heinz University Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania, USA

Mentions:

• Center for Evidence-Based Management
• CEBMa Teachers Network
• Guidelines for REAs and CATs
• CEBMa Online Course

Contact:

Eric Barends, Managing Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management

Why do students choose to study evidence-based management, and what do they value about the way it's taught and the skills and experience they acquire? Here we spotlight the stories of five students who have transformed their approach to learning and working through evidence-based management.

We explore the tangible benefits of evidence-based management for students of different life stages - discovering how critical thinking becomes a valued approach, leading to better outcomes in teamwork, recruitment, data analysis and how evidence is defined and sourced.

The guests share the creative teaching strategies that helped them connect with the topic - making this essential skill engaging and relevant, bridging the gap between theory and real-world application. Through personal anecdotes and expert insights, they illustrate how evidence-based management not only equips students and professionals with vital life skills but also enhances communication and trust in diverse environments.

And in a world increasingly full of misinformation and disinformation, discover how challenging what you know becomes the first step in a journey of better informed decision-making.

Host:

Karen Plum

Guests:

• Sharon Sanchez – studied at James Madison University, Virginia
• Aaron Whear – studied at James Madison University, Virginia
• Justin McCarthy – studied at Kennesaw University, Georgia
• Luca Bugelli – studied at University of Malta and the Center for Evidence-Based Management
• Dr Joumana Haidar – studied with Professor Denise Rousseau

Mentions:

• Center for Evidence-Based Management
• CEBMa Teachers Network

Contact:

Eric Barends, Managing Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management

This episode explores the teaching challenges and rewards of Executive Doctorate or DBA (Doctorate of Business Administration) programmes. Executive Doctorate / DBA students may be pursuing a move to academia - in which case the task for their professors is to make them better teachers by adding a research component to their practitioner expertise. Alternatively they may be seeking the research component to supplement and deepen their existing expertise, in which case the teacher's role is to help develop already good managers and executives into better ones.

We explore the power of fostering a community of practice within DBA programs, the importance of using a cohort model for the teaching phase, and the challenges of matching professors with students in terms of their experience and expertise during the dissertation or project phase. This calls for different skills from the teachers and a willingness from both learners and teachers to share strengths and reveal weaknesses - all in the pursuit of learning, developing and tackling real world problems.

Our guests have years of experience supporting expert practitioners in organisations to challenge their thinking and approaches through evidence based management practices. They share their experiences and teaching methods, including advice for the next steps that could take teachers or learners to the next stage.

Host:

Karen Plum

Guests:

• Denise Rousseau, H J Heinz University Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania, USA
• Lars Mathiassen - GRA Eminent Scholar, Regents Professor, Computer Information Systems, Center for Digital Innovation, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University
• Jo-Louise Huq - Assistant Professor (Teaching), University of Calgary, Cumming School of Medicine | Community Health Sciences, Haskayne School of Business |Entrepreneurship and Innovation Haskayne University Calgary
• Doug Gilbert - College of Management and Human Potential, Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Mentions:

• Center for Evidence-Based Management
• CEBMa Teachers Network
• Executive DBA Council (EDBAC)
• EDBAC Engaged Management Review
• Engaged Management Scholarship Conference - Henley-on-Thames 5-7 September 2024

Contact:

Eric Barends, Managing Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management

Teaching evidence-based management to executive students (those who are already experienced managers within organisations) requires a different approach to the teaching of students at undergraduate level.

With executive students, we are presented with people who have seen it all, done it all, and have certainly got the scars on their backs to prove it. These people carry the weight of organizational experience and preconceived notions from management trends they've tried, with varying degrees of success. So armed with examples and a rich understanding of IO psychology, it's the educator's job to help students rise above the noise of past practices, and engage these pragmatic learners in an ultimately liberating approach to evidence-based decision-making.

The guests share their experiences and approaches when teaching executive students - blending academic rigor with the nitty-gritty of the business world. They also talk about how they personally judge the success of their teaching methods and share some advice to those thinking of taking the plunge with executive students, including a warm invitation to contact the Center for Evidence-Based Management!


Host:
Karen Plum

Guests:

• Eric Barends, Managing Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management
• Preston Davis, Assistant Professor of Management, Coles College, Kennesaw State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• Dr Gary Latham, Professor of Organizational Psychology, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Canada
• Neil Walshe, Associate Professor of Organizational Psychology, School of Management, University of San Francisco, California , USA

Mentions:

Center for Evidence-Based Management

CEBMa Teachers Network

CEBMa’s Online Course Modules

Dr Gary Latham's book: Becoming the Evidence-Based Manager - Making the Science of Management Work for You

Organizational Dynamics Journal - edited by Dr Gary Latham

Contact:

Eric Barends, Managing Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management