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Marian Evans joined the Business School in 2014. She gained her first degree at Cambridge University, returning back into Higher Education to study for an Executive MBA in 2012, winning the best student performance award. She then explored small business opportunity-related decision-making for her PhD and her research interests today still focus on small business growth and entrepreneurial cognition, as well as enterprise education and apprenticeship pedagogy.

Prior to joining ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ, Marian taught in schools and Further Education colleges in London, Huntingdon and Peterborough, before starting a SME retail and electronic manufacturing business and later, a  manufacturing company. Currently, she is  director of a company that specialises in innovative design packaging for the chemical adhesives industry.  Marian has also worked extensively in industry as a trainer for Business Improvement Techniques (Lean Manufacturing) apprenticeships and CMI Level 3, 5 and 7 Diplomas in Leadership and Management.  She has written and moderated international qualifications for City and Guilds in quality control and operational processes for engineering qualifications.  She is an moderator for CMI Diploma qualifications for her local FE college.

Marian developed the new Senior Leader Apprenticeship programme  (SLA-E) at ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ and delivers the final module 'Reshaping the Future of Work',  which prepares apprentices for leading future change in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambigious (VUCA) business environment. This module provides apprentices with time to reflect on and consider future  strategic leadership opportunites in their own organisation, supporting  progress towards their End Point Assessment (EPA) preparation. As well as this, Marian is the module leader for the MBA top-up programme, which develops the students' ideas and research approaches for a strategic business proposal and project based dissertation. She also delivers several modules of the 'Help to Grow Management' programme and the 'Crucible Project' at ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ.

In addition, Marian is key member of the DBA team, delivering the second module on 'Research Methods and Paradigms'.  She supervises  several DBA students, providing support for thesis writing and personal development. As she is still a director of her company, Marian's business knowledge helps to guide and direct students along their DBA journey. Thus, working across a variety of programmes and modules allows Marian to share her expertise and experience  for enhancing and  developing the personal and professional skills and competences of students, apprentices and  business leaders in the local community.

Evans, M. and Cloutier, M.C. (2024) Examining perceptions of the Tripartite relationship in higher degree apprenticeship programmes, Education + Training, DOI 10.1108/ET-01-2024-0011

Evans, M. and Cloutier, M.C. (2022) Integrating Higher Degree Education with Practice: Exploring the Value Proposition of Executive MBA Apprenticeships, Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, DOI 10.1108/HESWBL-10-2022-0207

Evans, M. (2021) Conversations across the table: shared cognition in top management, teams, Team Performance Management, Vol. 27 No. 5/6, pp. 406-424.

Evans, M. (2019) Exploring decision-making: an information processing perspective, in Higgins, D., Jones P. and McGowan, P. (eds) Creating Entrepreneurial Space: Talking through Multi-voices, Reflections on Emerging Debates, Bingley, Emerald Publishing, pp45-71.

Entrepreneurial cognition

Creative problem-solving and strategic decision-making

Small business growth

The Entrepreneurial Mindset

Group Concept Mapping

 Doctorate of Business Administration DBA

Senior Leader Apprenticeship (Executive) SLA-E

Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship CMDA 

Leadership in Clinical Practice (Masters)

Gambia Programme Module 3,  STEM in Entrepreneurship and Solution Protyping

Help to Grow Managment Programme

Mentoring (Crucible and Help to Grow)

PhD 'Exploring how entrepreneurs make decisions on the growth of their business: A cognitive perspective' (¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ)

MBA (Distinction) Dissertation: ‘Why do entrepreneurial SMEs fail to grow?' (¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ)

CMI Diploma in Strategic Direction and Leadership, Level 8 (CMI)

CMI Chartered Manager (CMI)

Bachelor of Education B.Ed. (Cambridge University)

Projects and Consulting Live. (BA) honours

Future of Work, Relationship Management, SLA and SLA-E

Research Methods, (DBA)

Operations and Project Management, (CMDA)

End Point Assessment, (SLA-E)

Help to Grow Management Programme modules - Strategy and Innovation, Winning New Markets,  Organisational Design, Operations

Crucible Programme - Project Design and Planning, Reflective and Reflexive Practice

Fundamentals of Leadership and Change Management, Concepts of Education,  (Masters in Clinical Practice)

ISBE conference, Birmingham, November 8-10 November 2023, Best paper award, Practitioner Learning Track

Excellence in Research Informed Teaching, July 2020

¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ Best Student Performance, Executive MBA, 2012

Smart Award for Innovation, Business Link, 2002

Institute of Small Business & Entrepreneurship (ISBE)

British Academy of Management (BAM)

Fellow, Chartered Management Institute (FCMg)

Fellow, Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

NLP Licensed Education Practitioner

A1 Assessor Certificate

National Skills Academy for Manufacturing Certificate for Advanced Learning Practice

Cloutier, M. and Evans, M. (2025) Mentoring higher degree apprenticeships: a collaborative relationship using a non-metric multidimensional scaling comparison, ISBE conference, Glasgow 5-6th November 2025, accepted for presentation, Methods track.

Evans, M. (2025) Looking forward, looking back: the duality of a start-up entrepreneurial mindset, accepted for Practitioners Learning Track, ISBE conference, Glasgow 5-6th November 2025, full paper.

Evans M. and Cloutier, M.C. (2024) Developing self-confidence for leadership through a senior leader degree apprenticeship programme: perceptions and challenges,ISBE conference, Sheffield, 6-7 November 2024.

Evans, M. (2024) Help to Grow Management Programme: Does it do exactly what it says on the tin? ISBE conference, Sheffield, 6-7 November 2024, Finalist in Practitioner Learning Track.

Evans, M. and Cloutier, M.C. (2023) Examining perceptions of the tripartite relationship in Higher Education apprenticeship programmes, ISBE conference, Birmingham, November 8-10  2023, Finalist in Best Research Paper.

Cloutier, M. C. and Evans, M. (2023) Convergence and Divergence in Conceptual Representations Between Apprentices, Staff and Mentors’ Conceptualisations of the Value Proposition of Apprenticeship Programmes, ISBE conference, Birmingham, November 8-10  2023, presentation.

Evans, M. (2023) Stick or Twist? Evaluating small business opportunity for sustainable growth, ISBE conference, Birmingham, November 8-10  2023, Best paper award, Practitioner Learning Track

Evans, M and Cloutier, M.C. (2022) Are there Differences in Apprentices’ and Mentors’ Value Proposition of Executive MBA apprenticeship Programmes? An Application of Group Concept Mapping, presentation, Research methods track,ISBE conference, York October 23rd-25th, 2022.

Evans, M and Cloutier, M.C. (2022) Integrating Higher Degree Education with Practice: Exploring the Value Proposition of Executive MBA Apprenticeships, ISBE conference, York October 23rd-25th, 2022.

Evans, M. (2021) Evaluating Opportunities: Closing the Gap between Identification and Exploitation,ISBE conference, Cardiff, October 28th-29th, 2021.

Evans, M. and Cloutier, M. (2021) Collective Explorations of Value Proposition Dimensions of Apprenticeship EMBA Programmes, ISBE conference, Cardiff, October 28th-29th, 2021

Evans, M. (2019) Conversations across the table: team decision-making, ISBE conference, Newcastle, November 14th-15th, 2019.

Evans, M. (2018) Making Decisions for Small Business Growth: A Cognitive Style Approach, ISBE conference, Birmingham, November 7-8th, 2018.

Evans, M. (2018) Learning by doing: using experience to develop expertise, Organisational Learning, Knowledge and Capabilities (OLKC) conference, Liverpool, April 25-27th, 2018.

Evans, M. (2017) Developing cognitive versatility; Thinking it through.  Institute of Small Business & Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference, Paris, October 27-28th, 2016. Nominated for award in Entrepreneurial Practitioner Learning Track.

Evans, M. (2016) Exploring how Entrepreneurs make Decisions on Growth:  A Cognitive Perspective.  Nominated for award in Entrepreneurial Practitioner Learning Track.

Evans, M. (2016) Exploring how Entrepreneurs make Decisions on Growth:  A Cognitive Perspective.  Institute of Small Business & Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference, Paris, October 27-28^th, 2016. Nominated for award in Entrepreneurial Practitioner Learning Track. 

Entrepreneurship and small business decision-making

Current availability :Yes

PhD second supervisor

Associte Editor International Journal of Organisational Analysis, Jan 2023-present

External  Examiner Salford Business School, MSc Entrepreneurship, November 2021-September 2025

Track chair, IEEC 2024, 2025, Supporting Start-up, Growth and Scale -up.