counterpoint
social responsibility support services
Proposal Brief for the Economic, Social and Environmental Evaluation of 6 Ministry of Tourism supported Special Events • to examine tourism yield • to detail triple bottom line impacts • to identify effective strategies for the development of a high-yield special events portfolio • to produce guidelines for the improvement of sustainable management of future special events • to streamline special events related procedures
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MINISTRY OF TOURISM SPECIAL EVENTS EVALUATION PROPOSAL BRIEF
What types of events should be developed and promoted? What types of events should receive government support? How can an accurate performance forecast be made in order to inform decision-making prior to an event happening? Was the event better this year than previous years in terms of economic, social and environmental impacts? Which areas need to be improved for the next event? Background and Rationale With 898 million international tourist arrivals in 2007 and receipts averaging USD 2 billion a day in 2006, tourism is one of the world’s largest industries - representing around 35% of the world’s export of services, and one of the fastest growing economic sectors - where forecasts suggest 1.6 billion international tourist arrivals by 2020 [figures from UNWTO]. Special events refer to one-time or infrequently occurring events that provide business, leisure or social opportunities for a fixed and limited duration. They include business conferences and fora, trade shows, conventions, art, drama and musical events or festivals, and sporting events. These events form an important component in tourism marketing and development strategies, and there has been tremendous growth in the number of special events being staged worldwide. Special events have the ability to produce: •
economic benefits through providing opportunities to increase direct and new expenditure at a destination by attracting visitors, and by retaining the expenditure of the local community who may travel elsewhere in pursuit of leisure activities,
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social benefits for local communities by providing important recreational opportunities for residents, new facilities and stimulating infrastructure development, and
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intangible benefits in the enhancement of destination reputation by contributing to the range of tourist attractions offered by the host country, and by promoting awareness of the host destination for future visitation through media coverage of the event.
Special events are often initiated with high expectations of these gains. However, not all events may live up to these expectations - some have the potential to result in economic loss, provide minimal or no tourism yield, create conflict within the host community, and tarnish the reputation of the destination or host country. The ability to discern high-yield events is an increasingly important skill amongst stakeholders, and the increasing popular demand for special events which has escalated competition amongst event organisers for funding, has further heightened the need for funders to demonstrate appropriate resource allocation and a credible return on investment. As well as possible economic and social benefits, special events have an ecological footprint, with environmental and climate impacts. In the current business climate of a growing awareness of the need to minimise environmental and climate change impacts of economic activity, there is an urgent call to establish a suitable balance between the economic, social and environmental dimensions of tourism development to guarantee its long-term growth. Support for special events in terms of the narrow perspective of their possible economic contribution to the host economy is difficult to justify given the importance currently being placed worldwide on the need to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity, mitigate global warming, ensure the optimal use of environmental resources and deliver viable long-term socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders. In recognising the importance of a high-yield special events portfolio for tourism development and the need for a return-on-investment analysis incorporating economic, social and environmental impacts, this proposal suggests that independent holistic evaluations of a number of special events would provide invaluable data and be an important tool for the Ministry of Tourism in its continuing mission to develop Malaysia into a leading tourism nation.
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MINISTRY OF TOURISM SPECIAL EVENTS EVALUATION PROPOSAL BRIEF Holistic Evaluation of Special Events Holistic evaluation refers to the systematic determination of the quality, value and importance of special events to the Malaysian tourist industry as it relates to its economic, social and environmental impacts. Note: The call to action in the recent Davos Declaration on Climate Change and Tourism (October 2007) speaks of the need to adopt a range of policies that reflect a quadruple bottom line that incorporates environment, social, economic and climate considerations. This proposal reflects the traditional triple bottom line approach where climate considerations form part of the environmental dimension. The methodology employed to measure the economic, social and environmental impact of special events is a combination of ‘best practices’ developed by Sheffield University in its work with UKSports, the International Olympic Committee and various organising committees (in particular the Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Games) and the considerable work done in this area by the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre in Australia. Details of the range of issues addressed under each of the 3 categories and the methodology that will be used to assess these are available in the full proposal (see Suggested Next Steps below). Scope This proposal suggests the evaluation of 6 single-venue special events of different types - for example - 2 sporting events, 2 business events, and 2 cultural events. The advantage of multi-event analysis using a set of standardised measurements consistency in the type and of data collected, methodology of collection, and uniform methods for analysis - is that it will enable meaningful comparisons to be made across a range of different types of events, and the opportunity to benchmark the performance of one event against others, thus maximising the value of this initiative. Benefits to the Ministry Higher accountability. Documenting the social, environmental and economic benefits of ministry-supported events will demonstrate to internal and external stakeholders that these benefits are real and deliver tangible value. Independent evaluation will mitigate the suspicion that impact assessment performed by event organisers legitimise rather than examine actual impact, and succumb to the temptation not to disclose economic impacts that may be unevenly distributed within the host region if this is the case. Better decision-making. As a holistic approach to event evaluation will provide a more complete understanding of the impacts of particular events, the cost-benefit analysis reports generated by this initiative will inform the decision-making process in determining which special events merit support and continued investment, and assist in the development of a balanced score-card approach for future pre-event assessment. Easier identification of solutions to improve tourism yield for each event. Different events will inevitably have different strengths and weaknesses. Identifying these accurately will help identify the measures that could be put in place to improve performance across each dimension, and standardised assessment across a range of events will allow the relative strengths of one event to be ‘cross-pollinated’ to another thereby progressively improving tourism yield. Increased confidence in building an annual events portfolio through policy development. Incorporating triple-bottom line evaluatory data into sustainable policy development will be invaluable in identifying and pursuing a high-yield special event portfolio that has the capacity to draw international visitors and major sponsorship.
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MINISTRY OF TOURISM SPECIAL EVENTS EVALUATION PROPOSAL BRIEF Increased conformity with international tourism development trends and synergy with the wider business community. The Davos Declaration on Climate Change and Tourism (October 2007) is the latest international document to urge greater integration of sustainability principles in tourism development. Not only will this project meet this call to action in the area of special events, but it will also bring this area in line with trends in the wider business community where social and environmental impacts are being measured more frequently alongside financial performance. Better stakeholder management. Evaluatory data can be fed into the development of a set of guidelines for event organisers and other stakeholders which will encourage future events to be managed in a more sustainable manner, help manage national expectations of tourism yield and event impacts (economic, social and environmental) across all event stakeholders, and streamline procedural aspects related to special events. Deliverables Reports The project will generate 7 reports: •
A separate post-event report for each event detailing it’s economic, social and environmental impacts to be delivered within 3 months of the end of the event or within 3 months of required data from the event organiser being made available.
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A final project report which will incorporate: •
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the individual data reports from each event with an overarching executive summary looking at findings from the global dataset across the range of events. detailed impact comparison between each event across a range of criteria. detailed methodological assessment of the processes and evaluative tools used, with recommendations on the suitability of the model. implementation guidelines for other event organisers and other event stakeholders taking into account the key success factors and major problems identified during the course of the project, and the methodological parameters that should be used by any end-user in implementing the model in the future. copies of all evaluation tools used in the project, including all data, multilingual data capture forms, and associated databases provided in full-access electronic format.
The ministry project management team shall be given sight of drafts of all reports 14 days before presentation deadline. Upon delivery of the reports, the ministry shall retain full ownership of all intellectual property and copyright of all outputs of the work including results, reports, evaluative tools and methodologies designed for use as part of this project. Counterpoint will not use the data generated by this project for any other purpose other than generating the detailed outputs and these outputs shall remain wholly the property of the Ministry. Counterpoint shall retain the rights to showcase the work as part of its portfolio, and to adapt or re-use conceptual items, evaluative tools and methodologies it has developed for this project for work with other clients. Presentations •
2 full presentations of each report to the ministry and meetings of wider stakeholders as required.
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MINISTRY OF TOURISM SPECIAL EVENTS EVALUATION PROPOSAL BRIEF Suggested Next Steps leading to project confirmation (see Project Flow below) 1. Review and Q&A meeting to clarify points arising from this document. 2. Presentation of Draft Full Proposal following a letter of intent to proceed with project development. Draft Full Proposal includes the complete Evaluative Framework to assess the impact of events against a range of key business drivers and desired outcomes, and includes: • A full explanation of the approach to be used in the project • Impact areas; Outputs; KPIs; Measures; and Methodology for each of the 3 dimensions (Economic, Social and Environmental) • Examples of data capture forms (mono-lingual) • Data processing and analysis methodology • Assessment and justification of methodological choices • Methodological parameters and definitions around their use, including sample sizes, data collection practices etc. • Estimated fieldwork timeframe and scale Note: An initial project development fee, reflecting the work of this phase, is applicable at this stage. This fee shall be offset against the final fee upon final confirmation of the project. 3. Presentation of Full Proposal following identification of actual events and a period of familiarisation. The Full Proposal includes budget indication data (which cannot be produced until the scale of the actual events are known). The familiarisation period serves to gather important and relevant information so that generic evaluative framework can be specifically tailored to each specific events in question. Information includes: • The strategic and organisational framework within which each event is located • Strategic objectives of each event • Details of resources being invested to achieve these objectives • Intended, presumed or estimated outcomes and/or impacts of the event • Peripheral event-related activities and programmes that might be assessed and captured • Previous data of this event (if any) • Evaluation programmes run independently by other stakeholders (if any) The Full Proposal shall include: • •
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Modifications (if any) in response to 1st presentation Indications of modifications in the evaluative framework as indicated by relevant information on the specificity of each event gained during the familiarisation period Detailed data capture forms (monolingual-lingual) Detailed fieldwork timeframe and scale Suggestion of long-term monitoring mechanisms for long-term outputs/ impacts as identified and as relevant for each event A proposed budget and detailed justification, including: • the time (in days) to be allocated to each aspect of the study • the cost per day of the personnel to be involved • the cost for all major aspects of work • an indication of administrative costs • a suggested framework for the charging of expenses
Note: A secondary project development fee, reflecting the work of this phase, is applicable at this stage. This fee shall be offset against the final fee upon final confirmation of the project. 4. Project Confirmation, Implementation and Reporting. Project confirmation is based on reaching agreement over the evaluative framework, the project budget, the implementing framework, reporting lines, and report presentation deadlines.
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MINISTRY OF TOURISM SPECIAL EVENTS EVALUATION: PROJECT FLOW - PHASE: PROJECT DEVELOPMENT 1
MINISTRY ACTIVITY
Recognition of possible benefits of suggested approach
Decision to proceed: Identification of projects from ministry’s events portfolio
Decision to proceed: Project Development
First Meeting • Q&A Review of Proposal Brief • Explanation of Procedures • Exploration of Expectations
Second Meeting • Presentation of Draft Full Proposal • Clarification Q&As • Feedback and suggestions
COUNTERPOINT ACTIVITY
Proposal Brief
Draft Full Proposal Development Complete Evaluative Framework, including: • Full explanation of the approach to be adopted • Details of Outputs, KPIs, Measures, and Methodology for Economic, Social and Environmental dimension of special events • Examples of data capture forms (mono-lingual) • Details of data processing and analysis methodology • Assessment and justification of methodological choices • Methodological parameters and definitions, including sample sizes and data collection practices • Estimated fieldwork timeframe and scale
INPUT
Strategic Drivers • Sustainable Development (Davos Declaration on Climate Change and Tourism etc.) • Triple Bottom Line Accountability • Increase Special Events yield • Broaden Special Events scope and portfolio • Efficiency gains through streamlining of procedures
Previous ministry evaluations and international ‘best practices’
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MINISTRY OF TOURISM SPECIAL EVENTS EVALUATION: PROJECT FLOW - PHASE : PROJECT DEVELOPMENT 2
MINISTRY ACTIVITY
Identification of projects from ministry’s events portfolio
GO Decision
Third Meeting • Presentation of Full Proposal • Clarification Q&As • Feedback and suggestions COUNTERPOINT ACTIVITY
Event ‘Familiarisation’ Research and gathering of relevant information so that the generic evaluative framework (full draft proposal) can be specifically tailored for each event.
Full Proposal Development Complete Evaluative Framework, including: • Modifications of the Draft Full Proposal in response to 2nd meeting • Modifications to the evaluative framework to meet event specificity • Detailed data capture forms (monolingual-lingual) • Detailed fieldwork timeframe and scale • Suggestion of long-term monitoring mechanisms for long-term outputs/ impacts as identified and relevant for each event • A proposed budget and detailed justification, including: • the time (in days) to be allocated to each aspect of the study • the cost per day of the personnel to be involved • the cost for all major aspects of work • an indication of administrative costs and expenses
INPUT
Information from Event Stakeholders (Including but not limited to): • Organisational framework within which each event is located • Strategic objectives • Details of resources being invested to achieve these objectives • Intended, presumed or estimated outcomes and/or impacts • Peripheral event-related activities and programmes • Previous data (if any) • Evaluation programmes planned by other stakeholders (if any)
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MINISTRY OF TOURISM SPECIAL EVENTS EVALUATION PROPOSAL BRIEF: PROJECT FLOW - PHASE : IMPLEMENTATION AND REPORTING
MINISTRY ACTIVITY
Ongoing Systems Development and Management •Balanced Scorecard and use of metrics to track positive change •Special Events Stakeholder Guidelines and ‘best practices
GO Decision • establish team
Pre-Event(s) Meeting • Review Expectations
Event(s) Report Presentation • Presentation • Clarification Q&As • Feedback
COUNTERPOINT ACTIVITY
Evaluation of Event(s) • as indicated in the work-plan
Preparation of Event(s) Report
Final Report Presentation • Presentation • Clarification Q&As • Development Opportunities • Marketing Plan
Preparation of Final Report
Provide ongoing support and marketing counsel
INPUT
Fieldwork • Data capture at sites (event and pre-event activities • Data capture on-line etc.
Stakeholder Input • Event organiser(s) • Sponsors • Suppliers • Other stakeholders (eg participants)
Further developments in the field and ‘best practices’ worldwide
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