Event management research and evaluation

ObjectivesRecognise the importance of

integrating a research and

evaluation component in event

management.

Understand the different

characteristics of impacts in doing

an event impact evaluation

Objectives

Understand the stages of the event evaluation process

Describe common research methods and tools used for evaluating events.

Describe the evaluation of the different factors that are part of tourism event.

RESEARCH AND

EVALUATION

APPROACHES

TECHNIQUESCan be carried out on events, prior to,

during and after the event.

Important to determine whether an

event’s objectives have been

reached, and give valuable input to

make any necessary amendments to

an ongoing event or future ones.

IMPORTANCE OF

RESEARCH AND

EVALAUTION EVENTS MAY OR MAY NOT BE RESEARCHED

- if they are, this may yield only partial bits of

information.

- the event organiser or client may lack a research

culture or determine it is better to allocate

resources elsewhere.

- Not establishing a research agenda can leave

outcome gaps and inability to reply specifically to

criticism or queries from the client, media,

community or other government entities.

IMPORTANCE OF

RESEARCH AND

EVALAUTION EVENTS MAY OR MAY NOT BE RESEARCHED

- Not establishing a research agenda can leave

outcome gaps and inability to reply specifically to

criticism or queries from the client, media,

community or other government entities.

IMPORTANCE OF

RESEARCH AND

EVALAUTION Event organiser may conduct research as part of

the event brief or as a value-added component.

The research must have the purpose of producing

results that are usable.

IMPORTANCE OF

RESEARCH AND

EVALAUTION Research on the impacts and effects of the event

must be tailored to the specific event.

- event tourism evaluation should be focused on

the impacts on the destination.

- a performer at a series of concerts will judge

sales of merchandise, albums or songs from CD

purchase or downloads.

IMPORTANCE OF

RESEARCH AND

EVALAUTION Evaluation of an event’s sustainability should

focus on a holistic or “processual” evaluation at all

stages of the event process, not just the outcome.

(Clarke, 2004).

- evaluation should take place not only when the

event commences, but prior to that-during its initial

and formative phrases.

IMPACT

EVALUATION Impacts differ depending on the event type,

offering varying degrees of economic and social benefits.

In conducting event impact research, the following information should be considered:

- Impacts of dynamic

- Impacts can snowball

- Impacts can be disproportionate

- Impacts must be measurable

- Impacts are political

- Impacts can be benchmarked

- Impacts can be long-term

Impacts of dynamic

Impacts of an event held this year may differ in

degree the following year.

An event can take some time to plan and stage,

and during this impacts could change.

Impacts can snowball

Viewed in isolation, several families leaving a

location to escape the noise of the event may not

have any major impact.

But adding on destruction to the environment,

pollution, leakages through importing event

infrastructure and negative media reporting can

swell the impacts.

What these critical levels are will depend on the

event venue setting and environment.

Impacts can be disproportionate

The nearest that one community neighbourhood

gets to being part of the event may be viewing a

poster or advertisement, while another

neighbourhood may have the most volunteers and

feature in part of the event.

Impacts may not be equally distributed throughout

the destination.

-one participant might spend a day visiting a

museum or local shopping district, while another

participant remains in the hotel.

Impacts can be disproportionate

Therefore, there are problems calculating direct

and indirect economic impacts as a result of the

event.

Impacts must be measurable

Being able to measure event impacts is critical in

the evaluation process, yet there can be problems

in measurement criteria.

The interpretation and prioritisation of the various

quantitative and qualitative data sets will be

important in understanding the degree of overall

event success and as decision-making criteria in

future events.

Impacts are political

Objectives of governments when investing in an

event strategy are often destination image

enhancement and tourism and trade development.

Impacts can be open to interpretation as a result

of a limited policy on what should be measured

and the criteria that should be used.

Impacts can be benchmarked

Limits of acceptable change (LAC) acknowledge

that human-induced changes will occur but set out

standards on how much change is acceptable and

what actions should be taken to control changes if

these capacities are exceeded. (Stankey and

McCool, 1984).

What is acceptable, how to measure the changes,

and what measurement system to use would have

to be determined.

Impacts can be benchmarked

These benchmarks can be politically determined

or lack general consensus from the event

stakeholders.

Impacts can be long-term

Event impacts that are measured are

predominantly immediate impacts.

-this may be due to cost and complexity research.

- calculation is done on spending on

accommodation, tickets, restaurants,

transportation, souvenirs, entertainment and retail.

Evaluation reports must be presented in the most

measurable and relevant terms possible

EVENT EVALUATION PROCESS

Evaluation of event outcomes should be “fit for

purpose”.

An economic figure of the net revenues generated

solely from the event could reveal limited

information on the overall success of the event.

To have a sustainable event strategy,

environmental and social impacts should be

factored in.


The limitations to event evaluation are that they

are outcome-based rather than process-oriented,

looking at short-term economic benefits rather

than long-term temporal impacts ( Carslen, 2004).

Key questions need to be asked prior to an event,

including questions on the possible risks that

could result from failure.


Event or its repackaging and repositioning should

have a purpose.

A feasibility study will determine whether the event

is the right one and has adequate resources to

achieve its objective.

Feasibility study should question the additional

use of resources required for taking the event to

this new level of magnitude.


Event fit

Direct and indirect

impacts

Stakeholder

involvement

Location and

sufficient supporting

infrastructure

Legacy planning

Bid success or failure

Critical path

Construction projects

Contracted services

Staffing

Resident involvement

Client

Media

Event fit

Given the increasing number of event types,

identifying the right one for the destination or

corporation means focusing on target

audiences.

Direct and indirect impacts

Calculation of overall possible net benefit

through hosting the event should be carried out.

This include:

-projections on economic incomes based on

visitor numbers and expenditure (and yield per

visitor)

- other resources such as sponsorship

amounts, media coverage, etc.

Stakeholder involvement

Event will often require additional support beyond

just the organisers.

Several services may need to be contracted or be

in place in the location to support the number of

arriving participants.

Location and sufficient supporting

infrastructure

Venues and infrastructure may already be in place

to host the event, they need to be upgraded, or

the venue may require completely new facilities.

Having necessary skilled labour and experienced

venue management teams will also be factors.

Legacy planning

Training programs can be developed for

staff and volunteers.

Based on the resource commitment to

these and their subsequent upkeep or

dismantling, what to do with venues and

infrastructure afterwards should be

factored into a feasibility study.

Bid success or failure

The bid process or pitch could be political

or e based on a rotation of choosing

different venue locations each year.

Throughout the planning and staging of the

event, feedback system will help monitor

and control the process.

Critical path

Event must follow a critical path, time

frame and systematic sequence tasks.

Construction projects

Venues, hotel, roads and other

supporting infrastructure may need to be

constructed for a particular upcoming

event.

These projects need to be constantly

reviewed to see whether they are on

schedule and whether further action is

required.

Staffing

The event organiser can have numerous

staff working at the event.

They will perhaps be front line staff

meeting delegates, spectators,

performer, sponsors and government

officials and they can influence

participant views towards the event.

Resident involvement

Research could be conducted on how

prepared the local trade is to capitalise

on the sudden influx of visitors.

There will also be interaction between

event visitors and residents that can

influence the success of the event.

Client

The organiser need to communicate

with a committee and will need to

constantly ensure that everybody is kept

happy and understands what is

happening

Media

Can enhance the event image through

publicity generated.

Involves direct discussion with the

media and doing a content analysis of

media output, whether it be print,

broadcast or online.

RESEARCH METHOD

Poorly conceived research will most likely

produce incorrect findings.

If these flawed findings are acted on, they

have the potential to greatly harm event

strategy.

In writing an event research strategy

there are several factors to consider

Measurement criteria to be used

- the measurement terms should be

similar.

- mix of qualitative and quantitative data

can give greater insight into responses.

RESEARCH METHOD



What is considered of value to the evaluation

-research has limited amount of time to collect info.-respondents to questionnaires devote only a certain amount of time of it- research should pinpoint those areas that will answer specific reasearchobjectives.

RESEARCH METHOD



Where to set benchmarks.

- research needs to predetermine the

level of acceptance and assess whether

these are under or over achieved.

- benchmarks should correlate with

expectations and profile.

RESEARCH METHOD



When to undertake the research

- time is important

-asking a spectator what they thought of

the event before and on leaving the

venue can yield different responses.

-researcher must establish the optimum

time frame to implement evaluation

RESEARCH METHOD



Most appropriate research and evaluation method

- there are several ways to collect data, such as face to face survey, online, focus groups and expert panels.-research does not need to be costly and lengthy to yield important results.- research by observation can provide instant feedback and identify problems

RESEARCH METHOD



Event concept

- event manager can keep notes and

samples from other events through

collecting eye-catching advertisements,

brochures, souvenirs, etc.

RESEARCH METHOD



Event walk through

- means going over what the participant

will experience form the moment they

arrive at the location.

RESEARCH METHOD



Action research

- researching how participants feel by taking part in a sporting event can mean having someone from the event team join a team or race and experience the event from the perspective of participant.- event professional may need to remain anonymous to receive average spectator treatment.-this form of research can add further insight to formal event evaluation report.

RESEARCH METHOD



Site inspection

- checklist can be used for the walk

though; at the start of the event to

ensure that this could include a visual

and sound check that all is well

RESEARCH METHOD

Evaluation of Tourism

Events Event can provide direct and indirect benefits and

costs to the destination in a number of ways.

Tourism event is an event that can motivate an

increase in the number of visitors to a destination

Reflection on event objectives will provide a

weighing on the significance of each of these

factors and their importance in the destinations

event strategy.

Evaluation of Tourism

Events One objective within the event marketing

programme can be to heighten destination

awareness and image.

DESTINATION AND LEGACY

PLANNING To host an event, venues and facilities must be

built, and their continued use after the occasion

will be based on legacy planning.

An event strategy can act as a catalyst for urban

regeneration and rejuvenation by helping to shift

image perceptions of the city towards the media,

investors, trade and travel segments.

DESTINATION AND LEGACY

PLANNING Legacy planning will impact beyond venues.

International companies may invest to support

tourism event development through airline and

other transport presence, hotel structures,

restaurants, colleges, health care, event

companies and production houses.

There can be substantial knock on effects from

tourism events

VISITORS ARRIVALS

Number of visitors to an event is often exaggerated.

Estimate should differentiate between visitors who are at the destination as a direct consequence of the event being hosted, and those who upon arrival at the destination have decided to attend the event.

Internal promotion campaigns may persuade visitors with no intent or awareness of the event to participate during their stay.

Visitor segments, motives and profile

Feedback from event visitors can be channelled

into the marketing programme and economic

impact assessment.

- the feedback can determine who the event

visitors are, their behaviour, their spending

power, their reason for travelling and their future

intent, as well as give a sense of event loyalty.

Service quality This will influence participants satisfaction.

Perceptions and expectations will differ depending on

the event visitors profile and reason for being

involved.

Is a part managerial responsibilities.

Event research must understand the reasons for

being involved in an event from the participant’s

viewpoint.

Morgan2008, found that the key to a successful

festival event was creating a space or event

environment where social interactions with others and

personal experiences could be felt by participants.

Benefits for visitors

Participants look for various meanings,

experiences and self-benefits from attending an

event.

The outcomes of an assessment of participant

benefits and degree of value participants felt they

received can help the organisers adapt future

event content to better align to participant needs.

MARKETING STRATEGY

Effectiveness of the marketing

communications programme

- during the decision making process,

participants are constantly bombarded by

sources of influence through induced or overt

means.

-This information can be defined as

controllable or uncontrollable media

MARKETING STRATEGY

-This information can be defined as

controllable or uncontrollable media

Controllable media include paid broadcasts,

print, etc.

Uncontrollable media is publicity generated

from journalistic reporting or word-of-mouth.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Economic impact can be calculated based on

ticket receipts and booth incomes.

This does not does not take into consideration

additional expenses on external items such as

airfare, local transportation, spas, restaurants,

bars, souvenirs and other leisure and sporting

activities that participants might get involved in

during the day.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

There can also be a ripple effect in the economy.

-Local residents may get employment in hotels,

restaurants, the event venues and working on the

actual event.

- further tax revenue can be created through

tourism tax, salaries tax, goods tax or taxes on

other commodities and services.

A person employed for a short period of time

during the event may earn a lump sum of money,

how this new sum of money is used and its impact

on the local economy also need further analysis.

Education

Event management research and evaluation