How Councils can support events to increase their benefits for the destination
By rEVENTS Academy and Oregional Collective
Following the recent years of COVID turbulence, festivals and events are re-emerging across Australia presenting a positive social and economic opportunity for destinations and communities.
There are many big and small ways Councils can support their region’s events to thrive through this period, whether they are leisure, business, sports, or community events.
Reduce compliance barriers
With so much fatigue in the sector and such a big loss of volunteers and event staff, it is so important for Councils to invest effort now into looking at how compliance can be made easier for event organisers - reducing paperwork and going back and forth with different Council teams.
Case study: Fraser Coast Regional Council
Under guidance from Tilma Group, Fraser Coast Regional Council reviewed and streamlined their event approval application process and set up all the forms on Smartygrants.
A bonus for Council is that the online process saves heaps of staff time and the various teams within Council associated with event approvals are much happier with the process.
Build the skills of event organisers
Start by asking your local event organisers what training would help them deliver a successful and sustainable event.
Provide training, such as how to promote an event effectively and cost-effectively
Facilitate guest speakers at networking functions to bring event organisers together and support collaboration and skill-sharing
Develop a practical toolkit to support events, such as a guide to how to run events like this guide by Mildura Rural City Council
Provide event management templates to make event planning simple
Provide help with developing some event management plans such as risk management, accessibility, or sustainability plans
Support volunteer recruitment
Consider how Council could help event committees access more volunteers.
For example, could Council
Develop a database list of volunteers and community-minded organisations like Lions and Rotary, and the skills they are happy to share with event organisersFacilitate event volunteer networking to encourage them to help each other out
Connect events with organisations that are looking for work experience for students, such as TAFE and high schools that teach hospitality, or for others in the community such as those in the disability or retirement community who are looking for meaningful engagement with the wider community
Help event organisers break down tasks so they can access volunteers who don’t want to sit on a committee or sit through committee meetings!
Provide grant writing support
Help event organisers access funding, by
Identifying suitable grant opportunities for events
Training or help with writing applications
Reviewing and providing feedback on draft applications
Writing letters of support showing how the event aligns with local strategic plans, such as Council’s Community Plan or the region’s Destination Management Plan
Providing supporting documentation such as economic or social impact reports
Provide financial support
Create a strategic and transparent funding program to support events that have growth potential and are prepared to help Council meet its objectives, such as its objectives for tourism or community inclusion. (Councils do not have to fund all events in their community.)
Tie this sponsorship partnership to KPIs for funded events to deliver. If event organisers do not want to commit to KPIs or do not deliver them, then Council can say no to providing funding for reasons that are transparent to all.
If Council provides training and resources to event organisers but they don’t deliver on Council objectives, then why does Council fund them?
Extend event (and destination) marketing reach
A cooperative approach to marketing shares marketing costs between event organisers and the destination marketing organisation.
Consider running an event-focused marketing campaign, such as a seasonal or monthly or thematic campaign, such as a ‘Garden Festivals of the Southern Highlands’ campaign or a ‘Spring into Festival Season in the Lockyer Valley’ campaign.
Plot out your region’s events, then look for themes. Look beyond your Local Government Area for opportunities across boundary lines, such as a marketable tour of school holiday events.
Provide destination content that is relevant for their target audiences for their website and social media, such as family-friendly itineraries.
Engage a photographer / videographer to capture event content that can also be used for destination marketing. Consider engaging a relevant influencer to play this role and treat it as a marketing campaign – just be sure that both the event organisers and Council (or the destination marketer) have full rights to use all the content captured.
Provide event organisers with relevant keywords and hashtags so event organisers can optimise their search engine advertising and organic posts on social media.
Collect data to drive continual improvement
Work with events on their data collection strategy, and help them understand and draw on visitor feedback to improve their events and make them relevant to their audiences.
For example,
Help event organisers set measurable targets and KPIs
Provide an attendee survey template
Provide access to data, such as ID Profile, REMPLAN, or Localis to help with the event’s post event review and analysis
Provide help in analysing and interpreting data, if needed
The bonus here is that Council can use such data too for its own benefit.
Help events improve their sustainability
Events are a great way to engage and educate the public on Council’s sustainability goals. Councils can help events save money and boost their credibility as being good for the community by helping the organisers reduce the event’s environmental impact.
Examples include
Providing glass crushers, FOGO bins for compostable takeaway containers and food waste, or water refill stations (permanent additions to event venues or mobile temporary ones)
Having Council’s waste management staff at the event to help educate about Council’s waste reduction initiatives
Providing event organisers with contact details of sustainable suppliers, such as venues that implement sustainable practices, or suppliers of compostable food containers.
Provide a free shuttle bus service during the festival
Facilitate asset sharing
Many events need certain infrastructure just once a year, and the most efficient use of resources is to have one shared library that meets common needs rather than each event buying its own and storing it all year.
Examples of assets that can be shared include generators, Variable Message Signs (VMS boards), signage, fencing, a trailer for transporting equipment, water dispensers, marquees, and AV equipment.
Event organisers also need suitable event infrastructure to host events such as event-friendly parks with power, water, toilets, open space, and event-friendly noise regulations.
They also need sufficient services and facilities in the community to support their event, such as enough accommodation, public transport, and waste management services that enable them to meet their sustainability goals.
Provide suppliers contacts and licenses
Provide a user-created portal of supplier and food vendor contacts and their required documentation, such as public liability insurance, food handling licenses, and Responsible Service of Alcohol certification.
Engage businesses to leverage and support events
Teach businesses and community groups how to leverage events to get more economic benefit from attendees – or encourage your local Chamber of Commerce to do so.
Our consultancy Tilma Group recently developed a series of toolkits for event organisers for East Gippsland Shire Council on how events can be leveraged by businesses, community groups, and event organisers to maximise the economic benefits for the community and for the business or community group.
Facilitate collaboration
Host networking sessions that bring events from across your region together, and inspire them to collaborate to improve efficiencies and outcomes.
Event organisers can collaborate by
Skill sharing e.g. having one person develop risk management plans for several events
Sharing volunteers e.g. for set up and pack up
Cross promotion
Sharing assets such as fencing and marquees
Develop the events that have potential
Invest in those few events in your region that really have the potential to grow, such as by providing a mentoring program to help event organisers one-on-one, providing significant financial support over multiple years so the event organisers can instigate changes to increase appeal, and introduce event organisers to your networks - who know what sponsorship, funding or cross promotion may come of it.
Case study: Bass Coast Shire Council
Bass Coast Shire Council signed up to rEVENTS Academy’s event management training program as a way to build the capacity of the region's event committees.
Council provided the training to help events attract more visitation from outside the region, particularly in the off peak season (producing a return on Council’s investment through increased economic benefit), and become viable for the long-term.
Commercialise Council-run events
If Council is delivering free tourism events, with costs increasing, it may be time to sit down and consider a pricing strategy – Which of Council’s events can be commercialised?
Community members typically have no idea how much events costs, and how many hours of work go into planning them. One way to get them on board with changes is to communicate each year this information, along with the benefits of events, such as
How much money was fundraised by community organisations (and what they will achieve with those funds)
The event’s economic impact
How many visitors came to town to attend
How much the event organisers spent with local suppliers
How much money the event organisers brought into the local economy through grants and out-of-region sponsorship
How local produce was featured
Join our free webinar on maximising benefits from events
Catch the webinar on 15 February 2023 by rEVENTS Academy’s director Linda Tillman on how Councils can leverage events to get better economic and social outcomes from them:
Streamline barriers
Provide in kind support
Provide opportunities to build skills
Facilitate collaboration
Provide strategic financial support
The webinar is free for members of Australian Regional Tourism’s free Tourism Hub.
Over to you
Do you have a great tip on how Councils can support events to increase benefits for the community? Please leave it in the comments!