Ten years after its launch, the Incredible Impacts Programme has demonstrated how international meetings can strengthen communities, influence policy and advance social change. New research, however, suggests that much of this potential remains untapped.
Released by BestCities Global Alliance and ICCA, the new Incredible Impacts Programme 10-year anniversary report identifies a disconnect between associations’ ambitions and how legacy is understood, planned and measured by the wider meetings industry.
The findings reveal that:
- 49% of associations are placing greater emphasis on legacy;
- only 14% of respondents systematically measure it;
- just 7% follow up six months or more after an event; and
- 67% of associations would consider an otherwise overlooked destination if it offered a compelling legacy opportunity.
Yet only 3% currently include impact as a formal criterion when selecting a host destination.
Since 2017, Incredible Impacts has received 264 submissions and awarded US$250,000 in grants. Projects recognised by the programme have ranged from training hospitality workers to welcome visitors with Down syndrome in Glasgow to supporting rural healthcare policy and workforce development in Ireland.
Loren Christie, Managing Director of BestCities, said: “The new research reveals important gaps between ambition and action, but also tremendous untapped potential.”
The report reveals that legacy can no longer remain an aspiration added to an event after the programme has been designed.