Models of Event Evaluation - Assignment Example

Event Evaluation: EVENT EVALUATION INTRODUCTION. Events are designed experiences created in order to achieve a given purpose or objectives. All organisations and people plan events every day. Organising and managing an event is complex and time consuming and usually has costs associated with it. Events may be corporate or private. The practice of project management normally applies in event management. It involves various stages as shown in the diagram below. Factors to Consider During Planning Of an Event All event managers should consider certain factors during the planning for an event: a) Aim of the event The reasons for holding an event may vary. It is important first to establish the objectives that one wants to fulfill. The aims of a public engagement event are usually about changing something in the minds of the members of the public attending the event (the audience) or the people taking part in generating the content of the event (the participants) . In summary, the aim of the event is targeted at the awareness, attitude, skills and empowerment of the participants or audience as illustrated below;   Awareness Attitudes Skills Empowerment Participants (i.e. staff)         Audience (i.e. publics)         b) Audience/Participants There is no particular event that supposedly appeals to everyone. When designing an event, a careful selection of whom the event is targeted at is necessary. The kind of audience that will enable the planner to achieve the aims of the event perfectly and fulfill the intended achievements should be selected. Audiences are usually defined demographically (people of a particular age) or as a community of place, interest, and shared activity. One should try to find ways to define the audience in a similar way. c) Type of event A format of an event is based on aims of the planner and the aims of the intended audience. In order to determine the type of the event one needs to hold, prior consultation should be done with similar event planners as well as going through previous event evaluation reports. These may give an insight on the strengths and weaknesses of previous events thus determining the best way possible that an event can be carried out (Glenn Bowdin, 2006) Characteristics of the selected audience will play a major role in determining the type of event for instance, an event for children should not involve giving long lectures, as their concentration span may be shorter. Types of events could vary from lectures arts event, conferences, trainings festivals, exhibitions, debates etc. D) Venue The venue of an event may determine the success of that event. It is required that the venue of an event be as neutral as possible. Before selection of the venue, one should consider the characteristics of the audience or participants, the number of participants /audience, the length of the event and the costs implications (Glenn Bowdin, 2006) d) Marketing How does one determine how the information will reach the potential participants/audience? The most effective means of notification should be selected. Events can be marketed through mass media, word of mouth; internet etc .The content of the information passed during marketing should be carefully selected. It should have the required purpose and should be short. Some events may require prior booking or may have a ticketing system. Details of these should be clearly included in the advertisements. Running the Event Event Management in the course of the event includes: a) Early planning b) Clear definition of the roles of those assisting in planning of the event c) Time Keeping: The importance of keeping time in events cannot be overemphasized. A schedule should be created and be followed to the latter. Time should be allocated to each speaker (both speaking time and questions time.) d) Housekeeping/customer care: Clear directions to different areas in the venue during the event are a mandatory requirement. Small events should involve badges to facilitate easy interaction between the participants. e) Language /Jargon: Dependent on the audience or participants of the event. All speakers in an event should bear in mind the characteristics of the participants/audience and ensure they use the kind of language that is understood by all the participants so that the aims of the intended event are achieved. f) Technical Issues: Ensure all the technical requirements are up to date and running. g) Beware of the interests of the audience /participants Evaluation of the Success of Event Management Including Impact Analyses and Development of Legacy Event evaluation is concerned with assessment. It usually involves measuring a set of key variables as well as monitoring those variables to determine any negative or positive outcomes. (Berridge, 2006). Data from an event evaluation may be descriptive or numerical depending on the approach of evaluation. Conducting an evaluation involves the following: a) Determine the purpose of the event evaluation exercise including whether the evaluation is necessary. b) Identify the focus of the evaluation c) Select the most suitable approach for conducting the evaluation. d) Select model(s) for evaluation as a framework for data collection based on suitability, practicability, and relevance. e) Develop appropriate instruments and data collection strategies based on the methods selected. f) Collect the data and analyze the data and findings g) Prepare and Disseminate the event evaluation report h) Formulate and implement decisions for improvement based on the findings of the event evaluation report Depending on the objectives, the items measured in an evaluation may vary depending on the objectives that the planners aimed at fulfilling. These may range from: Profile of attendees – age, organization, occupation, whether they came individually or in groups, Transport or parking statistic, Attendees expectations and satisfaction levels and their suggestions for improvement including how they heard about the event – this is important for your future marketing strategy planning (Getz, 1997). Development of Legacy The term event legacy has been used to refer to the aggregate of planned and unplanned, both positive and negative outcomes that outlast the event itself . It is distinct from the term impact as the latter refers to immediate, short-term results. Event legacies are often intangible and take many years to reach fruition. Researchers have distinguished several dimensions of legacy outcomes including : Infrastructural legacy, educational legacy, public life and cultural legacy, urban legacy, symbols life and history legacy (Oldenboom, 2006). Models of Event Evaluation There are various models of event evaluation. Evaluation methods depend on the nature of the event and the requirements of the stakeholders. a) Impact Assessment: Focuses on measuring the economic, social and cultural impact of the event. Particularly in areas where significant justification for the event is required (Glenn Bowdin, 2006). b) Cost -Benefit Analysis : Identifies and measures the costs and benefits of an event and takes into account externalities and spill over benefits to the host community (Berridge, 2006). c) Triple Bottom Line Evaluation: A systematic framework for measuring event performance and measuring the performance against economic social and environmental parameters to determine positive and negative effects on the host community (Fredline, 2005). d) Ethnographic profile: typically used in evaluation of cultural festivals and special events Ethnography provides an assessment of these experience related events through a process of analysis that includes participant observation, interviewing and documentary resources (Wendroff, 2004). Accurately apply the analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the specific area of event. REA EVALUATION METHOD STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES WHEN AND WHO TO USE IT WITH Experience Individual Interviews Focus Groups Poster Exercise Great in understanding peoples experiences post-event Allows one to explore in-depth reflections and can uncover surprising findings. Interviews are staff intensive. The results may be skewed depending on the selected participants. Useful at the end of the event. Used on any person that you require more in-depth opinion. Useful for small events (with few participants Operations and production of the event Questionnaires Transport or Parking Statistics Use of checklists or sign in sheets for the attendees Information can be obtained from everyone who attended the event even for large or groups One can obtain as much information as required. Numerical data can be easily obtained thus give statistics Questionnaires cannot further explain the whys and hows (the reasons for the responses) Only interested people will respond When information is needed from a large number of participants. Human resource management – personnel and volunteering Observation Surveys Observation may easily tell what goes on during an activity. Only useful for participatory and interactive events Results obtained from an observation may be very subjective. Used for interactive sessions Risk management Observations Individual Interviews Observation may easily tell what goes on during an activity Participants best placed to assess the risk management of an event Very difficult to assess the preparedness ; Used when many people who can do the assessment. Evaluation of Finance of an Event While one may be eager to put your planning documents and files away and move on, right after the event is the time to evaluate the finance of the event. Other areas may be easier to evaluate and may involve collecting information from the participants. Financial evaluation is necessary for future event improvement. It can also jumpstart preparations for your next event (Coates, 2012). The days of a simple follow-up survey of delegates and little internal accountability are well and truly over. Organisations spend up to 1.5 % of revenues on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), which is equivalent to up to 60 per cent of travel spend, yet no one has, got visibility of that spending (Coates, 2012). The importance of financial evaluation of events cannot be overemphasized. In broad terms evaluation can be separated into two distinct groups; quantity and quality (Raj and Musgrave, 2009). Quantity: Is factual and largely based on figures i.e. number of people attending, money generated or contacts made. This can be measured using methods such as head counts, financial reports and surveys. Quality: Is more subjective and based on opinions and observations. This data can be gathered using interviews, small group discussions (also known as focus groups), comments boxes and observations. The table below provides a summary of the methods of evaluation the finance of an event FINANCIAL ITEM Aim Measurables/Sources of Information Marketing /Promotion Determine how much was used in marketing the event against the outputs obtained Attendance sheets give information on enrollment. numbers Number of tickets sold Number of website hits or the number of flyers distributed. Human Resource The cost of allowances per diems and any payments for additional staff obtained for purposes of the event. Observation methods and Surveys may be used to determine whether the staff was useful. Event report, Minute, and minutes from the planning meetings where roles are defined. Employee engagement after an event; job satisfaction Social Benefits There may have been benefits that may not me tangible yet costs were incurred to achieve them e.g. Increased awareness. Surveys could be among the participants or audience to determine the extent of awareness. Tangible Products Some events may aim to generate certain products or even promote sale of a product Physical counts of the number of products sold or generated as a result of the event Calculating the profit margins obtained from the products sold References BERRIDGE, G, 2006, Events Design and Experience, Taylor & Francis. COATES, P, 2012, Events Must Justify Expense. The Australian Financial Review, Australia: Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd. FREDLINE, E, 2005, DEVELOPMENT OF A SCALE TO ASSESS THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF TOURISM WITHIN COMMUNITIES CRC for Sustainable Tourism Pty. GETZ, D, 1997, Event management & event tourism, Cognizant Communication Corp. GLENN BOWDIN, J. A., WILLIAM OTOOLE,ROB HARRIS, IAN MCDONNEL. 2006. Events Management. OLDENBOOM, E. R, 2006, Costs and benefits of major sports events: a case study of Euro 2000, MeerWaarde Onderzoeksadvies. PREUSS, H, 2007, The Impact and Evaluation of Major Sporting Events, Routledge. RAJ, R. & MUSGRAVE, J, 2009, Event Management and Sustainability, CABI. WENDROFF, A, L, 2004, Special Events: Proven Strategies for Nonprofit Fundraising, Wiley.  Read More