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The German Convention Bureau (GCB) is launching the next phase of its research on the future of meeting and event planning. Phase III of the “Future Meeting Space” research is scheduled to be completed in December 2020. Designed to build on the previous two phases of the research, Phase III will examine the following questions:
- What is the future role and purpose of meetings and events in organizations’ communications mix?
- What are the different purposes and objectives of business events?
- Based on the above, what are the requirements and expectations of target groups and stakeholders?
- What is a successful event and what means are there to measure success?
- What are the required competencies and skills needs by organizations and employees?
The research is initiated by GCB and the European Association of Event Centres (EVVC) as well as Maritz Global Events Inc., Xing Events GmbH, KFP Five Star Conference Service GmbH, SevenCentres of Germany, and Radisson Hotels.
The goal of the research is to establish the ongoing value of meetings and events at a time when technology is enabling new ways to interact, the GCB said. When delivered, the report will identify requirements for different providers (event venues, intermediaries), as well as recommended strategies for destinations, venues and providers of meeting room infrastructure and technical facilities. The report will also develop competency profiles for event agencies and suppliers to the events industry and outline personal and professional skills of employees, both on the event planning and on the supplier side.
For meeting planners, the report will establish the value of meetings and events, identify possible KPIs and determine best practices for communications and marketing departments within corporations and associations, the GCB said.
“If Phase I looked at the ‘how to’ aspect of future meetings, and Phase II determined the ‘who’ aspect, including evaluating different participant needs, Phase III will now complete the picture and explore the ‘why’ of meetings and events,” said Mathias Schultze, GCB managing director, in a written statement.
Phase I of the Future Meeting Space research, which produced a catalogue of innovations and six so-called future meeting scenarios, ended in 2016. Phase II, which studied how to create successful events, concluded in December 2018, and found that to satisfy attendees, event planners should focus on knowledge transfer as well as surprising or disruptive elements that bring about a change, plus individually respond to the requirements of different attendee types, the GCB said.
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