Glossary

A group of cyclists ride past Big Ben in London - the roads are closed and banners line the streets at a cycling event.

Activation

The process by which event attendees may become involved, or more involved, in an activity related to the event they have attended

Advanced Impacts

Impacts, the assessment of which is likely to require a significant piece of work        using a specialist contractor/research company, and possibly over a long                duration. Likely high cost.

Audience profile

A description of the type of people who attend an event, expressed in terms such as gender, age, ethnicity, disability, place of residence, socio-economic group, educational attainment, or employment status

Audience representativeness

The extent to which the audience profile reflects the profile of a given population (eg. local, regional or national)

Basic Impacts

Impacts, the assessment of which can probably be undertaken reasonably easily using existing 'in-house' or event organiser data. Cost likely to be minimal.

Behaviour change

The adoption of new ways of doing things as a direct result of attendance at an event or its ancillary programmes.

Carbon footprint

The total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organisation, event or product.

Carbon offsetting

Where individuals and organisations mitigate their emissions by investing in projects that contribute towards removing carbon from the atmosphere.

Casual visitor

A visitor for whom the event is not the primary motivation for being in the host economy.

Commercial Stayers

Event-specific visitors staying overnight in the host economy and making use of hotels or other paid accommodation. Anyone staying commercially outside the host economy should be regarded as a day visitor.

Convenience sampling

The practice, where random sampling is not practical, of surveying as large a sample of an event population as possible in order that (i) it should represent the wider population as reasonably as possible and (ii) the size of the sample minimises any potential biases

Day Visitors

Event-specific visitors not staying overnight either commercially or non-commercially in the host economy. This group includes people staying at home / commercially / non-commercially outside the host economy.

Deadweight

Economic activity that would have occurred regardless of an event being held in the host economy, for example, expenditure by residents of the host economy with local suppliers linked to the event.

Detractors

Detractors is a term used in calculating Net Promoter Score where respondents rate between 0 and 6 in a ranking of 0 to 10.

Direct Economic Impact

The amount of additional expenditure generated in the host economy by way of the spending by event-specific visitors and organisers that is directly attributable to the staging of the event.

Displacement

The volume of normal activity displaced by an event, for example, normal tourists to an area may be crowded-out by event related visitors. This is more relevant for mega events and / or in the case of popular tourist destinations.

Event population

The total number of people attending or engaged in an event, including spectators, athletes or performers, support staff, media, sponsors, officials and volunteers

First-round Spending

Another term for Direct Economic Impact.

GDP

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure of economic added value which takes into account leakage relating to inputs sourced from outside the host economy.

GVA

Gross Value Added (GVA) measures the economic added value created when producing a good or providing a service. GVA is the grand total of all revenues, from final sales and (net) subsidies, which are incomes into businesses. Those incomes are then used to cover expenses (wages & salaries, dividends), savings (profits, depreciation), and (indirect) taxes. To simplify, it is the difference between the price paid for a good or service and the cost of inputs used up in its production, and is mainly measured by profits plus wages. 

Host Economy

The geographical area under consideration for economic impact assessment. The criteria used to define the host economy will usually vary based on the scale of the event and the organisation responsible for commissioning the research.

Indirect Expenditure

Net increased expenditure by businesses and workers within an area (referred to as ‘secondary impact’) as a result of new money coming into the area once ‘leakages’ have been taken into account.

Induced Expenditure

Increased consumer spending within an area (referred to as ‘tertiary impact’) as a result of the new money coming into the area.

Leakage

Event-related activity that results in money being expatriated from the defined host economy, for example, expenditure by local residents made with non-local vendors working at an event.

Local Resident

Someone who is normally resident within the confines of the defined host economy.

Longitudinal research

Research that tracks the attitudes, viewpoints, behaviours etc. of selected individuals over a period of time

Mass participation events

Large-scale events designed to attract a significant number of participants from the general public. In sport, such events often permit recreational participants to take part alongside elite competitors.

Multipliers

Multipliers are used to assess the secondary impacts of the first round of visitor and organisational spending ('Direct Economic Impact') in the host economy. An output multiplier measures the impact of the initial visitor and organiser spend on the total business turnover in the host economy. An income multiplier measures the overall increase in household income of local residents.

No-stadium methodology

A method of estimating attendance at an event that takes place at a venue other than a stadium or other clearly enclosed space

Non-Commercial Stayers

Event-specific visitors staying overnight in the host economy but not paying for their accommodation, for example, people staying with friends or relatives. Anyone staying non-commercially outside the host economy should be regarded as a day visitor.

Net Promoter Score

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a calculation based on customers rating their likelihood to recommend an organisation, product or service to a friend or colleague. The NPS score is made up of the percentage of Promoters minus the percentage of Detractors from a population sample.

Objective

A specific statement relating to the overall aim of staging an event. Objectives should go into detail and should explain the steps to be implemented to deliver the aim.

Omnibus surveys

A survey covering a number of topics, usually for different clients. The samples tend to be nationally representative and composed of types of people for which there is a general demand. Clients are charged by the market research agency on the basis of the questionnaire space or the number of questions required. (Market , Social & Opinion Research – see http://www.mrs.org.uk/mrindustry/glossary.htm)

Open access methodology

A method of estimating attendance at events that provide spectators with free and generally unrestricted viewing access

Organiser Spend

Expenditure made by organisers with suppliers operating in the host economy net of event revenue generated from within the host economy.

Passives

Passives is a term used to describe respondents who rate 7 or 8 in a ranking of 0 to 10 to a question relating to the calculation of Net Promoter Score.

Primary research

Primary research (also called field research) involves the collection of data that does not already exist. This can be through numerous forms, including questionnaires and telephone interviews.

Promoters

Promoters is a term used in calculating Net Promoter Score where respondents rate 9 or 10 in a ranking of 0 to 10.

Qualitative research

Research that involves the use of methods such as in-depth interviews or focus group discussions and which is designed to help establish how people feel (eg. about their attendance at an event) and why they feel as they do. Samples tend to be smaller than those used in quantitative research.

Quantitative research

Research that involves the use of sampling techniques (such as surveys of event attendees or participants), the results of which can be expressed numerically

Random sampling

The practice of surveying a population in which every element in the population has an equal chance of being selected, and in which the resulting sample is representative of the population from which it has been drawn

Secondary impacts

Economic impact resulting from Indirect Expenditure.

Visitor

Someone who is normally resident outside the defined host economy.