Organisers across the UK are now better equipped to calculate the overall impact of their events, following the Phase 2 launch of the eventIMPACTS online toolkit.
First established in 2010 as a toolkit for the events industry, eventIMPACTS comprises key guidance and good practice principles to help event organisers improve their evaluation of the outcomes associated with staging sporting and cultural events.
As well as exploring Attendance, Economic and Environmental impacts, as set out in Phase 1 of the initiative, the enhanced eventIMPACTS website provides updated guidelines relating to Social and Media impacts, allowing organisers to measure how events positively impact peoples’ behaviour and quantify exposure across a range of media platforms.
Additional resources, which have been developed for Social impacts, will allow event organisers to measure impacts in areas of Satisfaction, Identity and Image, Participation and Volunteering and Skills. Advice on how to measure the Media impacts of events has been extended to include Volume of Coverage, Engagement and Tone and Value.
The initiative has been delivered in partnerships by the Department for Culture Media and Sport, Tourism Northern Ireland, EventScotland, London & Partners, the Welsh Government and UK Sport.
A pilot survey of the new resource has revealed overwhelmingly positive feedback from the events industry. In particular, it was widely agreed that EventIMPACTS.com provides a clear structure for assessing the benefits from events. Over 60% of respondents at the time of survey indicated they had used the website on four or more occasions.
The resource has been created out of the belief of all partner organisations that no event should be staged without an accompanying commitment to measure its success against the objectives initially set. It has been designed to cater for events of all sizes and categorises all impact into groups based on their potential complexity and cost to measure.
Stuart Turner, Head of EventScotland, said:
“From the experience of our partners across the UK events industry, it was clear that there was a clear appetite among event organisers for a consistent and comprehensive set of guidelines with which to measure various impacts.
“The second phase of the eventIMPACTS resource provides a user-friendly yet detailed overview of each impact measurement tool, how they should be used and to which kinds of events they apply.
“Before setting any objectives for upcoming events, I would encourage all events organisers to familiarise themselves with the new site, which will be invaluable when it comes to ensuring they achieve the level of impact desired.”
Simon Morton, Chief Operating Officer, UK Sport, said:
“Major events continue to be the key platform for showcasing the multi-faceted benefits of sport. eventIMPACTS gives event organisers the tools to measure these benefits, from the economic impact and media value of events, to the wider benefits such as mental wellbeing, individual development and social and community development. The resources available on eventIMPACTS have been adopted as best practise across the UK and are a great starting point for any event organiser looking to evaluate their event in a consistent and realistic way.”
Neal Thompson, Co-founder FOCUS Wales Festival, said:
"The eventIMPACTS Toolkit is now even easier to use and reveals much more information on the actual overall contribution our events make. It is such an important resource for highlighting how integral events are, both to the economy and society itself in the UK as a whole."
Iain Edmondson, Head of Major Events at London & Partners, said:
"We have worked closely with stakeholders across the industry to develop these guidelines, which now provide a more robust way to quantify and compare the social and media impact of events. The phase two launch of the eventIMPACT online toolkit, will now provide greater clarity to event organisers, allowing them to measure the popularity, reach and social impact of the major sporting and cultural events that they have staged."