Tools for Assessing Social Impact of Events John Tibbitt and Amanda Benjamin The University of Glasgow

Types of Events  Mega/Hallmark (Large, Extended) Commonwealth Games, Olympics, Celtic Connections  Major Events (One-off, Short Duration) UEFA Cup Final, World Piping Championship  Smaller (One-off, Short Duration) Concerts  Programme (Series, Over period of time) Community learning programme  Facilities (continuous availability) Museums, Stadia/Sports facilities

The Focus of Analysis  Engagement of the Community  Satisfaction of the Community  Benefits to the Community  Legacies (Long term post-event, Sustainable, On-going)  Economics

What are Impacts? Changes in Behaviours  But Also… Attitude Perceptions Beliefs Knowledge

Impacts are in Different Domains:  Employment  Learning/Skill  Cultural  Social Relations/Capital  Well-Being

Impacts can be measured at:  Planning Stage  Development or Construction  Delivery  Immediately after an event  Legacy or long term impacts

Impacts Can Be…  Direct or Indirect  Positive and Negative  Process or Outcome

Impacts on Whom?  Within the Community (Immediate impact area, local residents)  Within the Wider Community (Those who live in the locality)  External to the Community (Visitors, Tourists and Business Stakeholders)

Methods for Examining Social Impact  Longitudinal Studies (Qualitative and Quantitative)  Before/After Comparisons  Secondary Analysis (Existing Surveys, Time Series)  Panel Studies  Household Surveys  Group Interviews/Focus Groups  Participant Satisfaction Surveys  Observation  Propensity Score Methods  Case Studies

Some of the Existing Approaches  Social Audit  Social Return on Investment (SROI)  Social Capital Theory  Tourism Impact  Linkages Model  Social Exchange Theory  Contingent Valuation

Research Concerns  Adequacy of indicators  Adequacy of theories of change  Measuring unanticipated change  Value and Quality  Self-reported Data  Financial Proxies  Scale and Generalisability

Questions to Consider  Are we clear about what we want to know?  What is the focus of the analysis?  How good are the available indicators?  Are the research tools robust for our purpose?  Do the methods fit the question?