New OECD Guides to Make Benefits of Global Events Like the Olympic and Paralympic Games Measurable
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has recently published two independent guides aimed at measuring and assessing the benefits of global sports, economic, and cultural events, such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The guides are designed to help event organizers and their stakeholders measure the social, economic, and environmental impact of such large-scale events.
The guides were developed in close collaboration with leading scientists and experts, event organizers, the future Organizing Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs), non-profit organizations, governments, and policymakers. International organizations, such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), were also involved.
Dr. Tania Braga, Head of the IOC’s Games Impact and Legacy Department, said in a statement: “Prior to this point, there were a number of recommendations on impact measurement that were not in alignment with each other. The OECD, in consultation with its member countries and external stakeholders, has adapted these recommendations to help hosts determine when, what, and how they should measure.”
The Paris 2024 Games will be the first Olympics to benefit from this innovation. Since 2021, the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee has been working with the IOC and OECD in an effort to adapt the guidelines to the circumstances prevailing in Paris and France, respectively, while helping to create key performance indicators that can be used to measure, monitor, and evaluate the impact of future global events.
The guides provide tools that can be used to validly identify economic impacts. One such example can be found in the concept of “net injection”, which only takes into account the money that flows into the host area from external sources and is spent there. Investments that would have been made regardless of whether or not the event took place are not taken into consideration. Periodic updates of forecasts prior to the Games are recommended in order to assess the actual impact after the Games have taken place. According to the guides, event organizers and host governments should also work together to (jointly) collect such data.
Later this year, the 2017 estimates for Paris 2024 will be updated to include variables that have changed over the course of the past few years, such as inflation.
The OECD guides will play an important role when it comes to measuring the benefits of major events in the future, thereby providing a means of objectively assessing their impact. The IOC will inform potential Olympic hosts about the guidelines, which will ensure their integration into studies on the socio-economic impact of the Games.
The OECD guides will play an important role when it comes to measuring the benefits of major events in the future, thereby providing a means of objectively assessing their impact. The IOC will inform potential Olympic hosts about the guidelines, which will ensure their integration into studies on the socio-economic impact of the Games.
Source: Olympics.com