Engaging stakeholders adds value, but too many involved early on can derail the legacy development process. Photo Credit: Adobe stock/MarekPhotoDesign.com
MeetDenmark and the Danish Congress destinations have released
information based on six years of research and testing on international
congresses held in Denmark. The new report focuses, among other things,
on the intervention process, measuring impact and resourcing.
The MeetDenmark legacy report highlights the increasing importance of
legacy for both associations, delegates and host destinations. The
pandemic has left a lasting impact and coupled against a backdrop of the
growing focus on sustainability there is going to be a laser focus on
the value of in-person meetings and their role. The value should be
higher than the cost, the time spent and the negative impact on the
climate and environment, it stated in Wonderful Copenhagen’s “New Legacy
Insights for Associations and Host Communities” report.
Legacy intervention
Thus, legacy can be an important element in growing the value. This
is where legacy intervention makes a difference. In every case of legacy
intervention undertaken for this study, it showed that engaging
stakeholders in strategic legacy planning added value:
· Bids were strengthened
· New stakeholders met and collaborated
· New value adding activities were identified
· Measurement processes were established
· And in some cases, common legacy goals continue to be pursued independently after the events.
Some major points in the report:
· Too many stakeholders involved early on can derail the legacy development process.
· Success depends on the level and continuity of leadership, particularly by the local host.
· High alignment and engagement with the local host and organiser yields greater impact.
The MeetDenmark legacy research was conducted together with Aalborg
Convention Bureau, Aarhus Convention Bureau, Destination Fyn Convention
Bureau and Copenhagen Convention Bureau.
It was done in collaboration with the international consultancy
Gaining Edge, and supported by The Danish Board of Business Development
and The Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs.