Cédric Velghe - Ghent University & The VIGOR Unit (co-founded by Prof. Frederik Anseel, King's Business School London)

Date: Thursday, March 15, 2018

Time: 11:00

Location: 5414-0103

Title: A university spin-off taking up an intermediate role by supporting organizations in evidence-based decision-making 

Abstract: More than a decade has passed since Denise Rousseau suggested evidence-based practice could bridge the research-practice gap (Rousseau, D. M. (2006). Is there such a thing as “evidence-based management”?. Academy of management review, 31(2), 256-269). Today, academics in Work and Organizational psychology are still incentivized to prioritize basic research and teaching over directly supporting practice. Practitioners indicate lacking time, resources and expertise for integrating scientific knowledge and thinking in their decision-making. Yet, we believe favourable attitudes for evidence-based practice are growing among managers, HR professionals and policy-makers. A Ghent University spin-off was created in January 2015 which supports decision-makers with identifying evidence-based insights and solutions for HR challenges through systematic reviews, data-analysis and intervention studies. Since then, we have collaborated with SMEs, large corporations, public institutions and nonprofit organizations. These early adopters are willing to invest in research activities to inform their policies and actions. We will illustrate several of these projects in order to demonstrate how we have taken up an intermediate and sustainable role in bridging the research-practice gap. In addition, we will discuss lessons learned, as well as challenges and opportunities we are facing, relevant to both practitioners and academics. Herein, we identified a need for intermediaries which put scientific knowledge and skills at the service of organizations in order to support evidence-based decision-making. In sum, we will provide a novel example of how evidence-based management is actually being applied today and the intermediate role scientist-practitioners can play in this approach.

For more information contact:  Bart Verwaeren b.verwaeren rug.nl  or Thom de Vries thom.de.vries rug.nl