Evidence-based decision making is a dynamic process through which evidence is obtained, interpreted, and used as a basis for decision making. The basic idea of evidence-based practice is that good-quality decisions should be based on a combination of critical thinking and the best available evidence. Evidence may come from scientific research suggesting generally applicable facts about the world, people, or organizational practices. Evidence may also come from local organizational or business indicators, such as company metrics or observations of practice conditions. Even professional experience can be an important source of evidence, for example an entrepreneur’s past experience of setting up a variety of businesses should indicate the approach that is likely to be the most successful.
The Center for Evidence-Based Management (CEBMa) advocates that this is done by:
- Asking: translating a practical issue or problem into an answerable question
- Acquiring: systematically searching for and retrieving the evidence
- Appraising: critically judging the trustworthiness and relevance of the evidence
- Aggregating: weighing and pulling together the evidence
- Applying: incorporating the evidence in the decision-making process
- Assessing: evaluating the outcome of the decision taken
By following these steps decision makers can increase the likelihood of a favorable outcome.
