Summary of ‘An open discussion on impact - Advice for strengthening the impact of sports events’

Publication | 27-09-2018

Analysis and findings

In an analysis of 25 major sports events, the Netherlands Sports Council has concluded that sports events have a large intrinsic value. The theoretical and hands-on experts consulted by the Council for this advice agree this can be sufficient grounds for investing in an event. Nevertheless, the intrinsic value itself does not generally provide partners with sufficient motivation and legitimacy to invest in the event. Businesses and government bodies are (more) interested due to the economic value, the media attention generated, and/or the social value of sports events.

The Council concludes, on the basis of theoretical arguments as well as hands-on experiences, that sports events can be linked to a great many different economic and social goals. Various goals are often linked to sports events, without being targeted in a focused manner. Retroactively, the economic impact of an event is seen as the primary driver, even if beforehand social goals were primarily being presented. Sports events receive subsidies from the sports budget. Many of the stakeholders consulted are of the opinion that sports events should, in the first place, contribute to the development of sport. That is currently not always the case.

The impact of events, linked to economic and social goals, does not generally simply happen by itself but, according to the theoretical and hands-on experts, it is realisable. Event organisers must be proactive in creating such value. In order to enlarge the impact, the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport requests that, based on the current funding conditions, side events be organised in association with a specific sports event. The Council has doubts about the (long term) impact of these side events, as it involves one-off activities associated with one-off sports events.

The Council notes that cooperation between different departments would increase the impact of sports events in other policy areas and improve the preconditions for sports events. However, structural cooperation is lacking at present.

The impact of events is currently being measured with the help of impact analyses. The Council has investigated whether a social cost-benefit analysis can also be utilised for that purpose. This would make it possible to evaluate the costs and benefits of sports events in a transparent fashion. A social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) can be used before, during, and after an event and stimulates event organisers and their partners to set clear goals beforehand, to monitor results in the interim, and to evaluate matters afterwards. An SCBA ensures that partners lay their cards down on the table beforehand and leads to transparent decision-making and accountability. SCBAs can be utilised in a lighter or more rigorous fashion, depending on the size of a sports event.

Recommendations

Sports events in the Netherlands are generally well organised. People all over the world speak positively about the efficient and innovative manner in which sports events are organised in the Netherlands. However, that does not mean improvements are not possible. Standing still can be a precursor to a decline. For example, the goals targeted by various partners, including government entities, when investing in sports events are not sufficiently transparent. In addition, the costs and benefits of sports events are often not quantified or accounted for transparently.

Short term

The Netherlands Sports Council therefore advises the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport to implement a number of improvements in the near term. The Council recommends that the 2019-2020 policy framework include the following conditions for subsidy:

• event organisers and their partners must clearly formulate their goals beforehand and account for the results achieved afterwards;
• event organisers must always specify the development of sport as a policy goal for sports events; This can include the improvement of elite sport achievements, the growth of overall sports participation, making sport available to persons with a handicap, strengthening the sports infrastructure, or increasing public appreciation of and support for sports events.
• for subsidised sports events, event organisers use the SCBA as a tool, whereby the level of detail analysed depends on the size of the sports event and the amount of the subsidy.

The Netherlands Sports Council advises the Minister to request the Knowledge Centre for Sport and Physical Activity to manage and further develop the SCBA and to collect and analyse the data that becomes available via the SCBAs.

Long term

With a view to the consultations regarding the ‘elite sport and events’ section of the National Sport Agreement, the Netherlands Sports Council advises the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport to:

• establish an interdepartmental policy framework for sports events, as of 2021, in order to increase the impact on other policy areas and improve the preconditions for sports events in general;
• have an additional study carried out into the efficiency and effectiveness of side events and, in the meantime, to establish more long-term programmes that could serve as a common thread between different sports events. The implementation of these recommendations will help to ensure that organisers and their partners are, in the short term and long term, better able to target the desired impact and make it easier for researchers to quantify the value of sports events.