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The Palais des congrès de Montréal will join forces with the Montréal not-for-profit #MEET4IMPACT in conducting a major worldwide study that will run throughout 2020. The study will round up the most promising initiatives business events can tap into to measure their social legacy and impact.
By working with #MEET4IMPACT, which is striving to change the professional events industry and shepherd organizers toward practices that are more in line with the sustainability initiatives of the United Nations, the Palais is joining a revolution focused on boosting the social value of the conferences it hosts.
This trailblazing project will help position the Palais as an expert in assessing the impact of events on the community and questioning how we can improve the value proposition of said events. Driving this exercise will be sharing the research findings with the rest of the industry, so that ultimately we will be able to maximize the positive social benefits generated by international events all over the world.
Measuring the social impact of events is appearing worldwide as an emerging business tourism trends. It is an undertaking international associations appreciate because it helps them retain members, add more appeal to their events, and facilitate accountability reporting to financial partners. As for host cities and convention centres, measuring the social impact contributes to understanding and ascertaining the real value of the events more effectively, over and above the economic benefits.
The research project led by #MEET4IMPACT aims to create a collective knowledge bank on the positive impact of business events and the best strategies for boosting said impact. The initiatives will be culled from associations, tourism offices and convention centres from all over the planet. As copartner, the Palais des congrès de Montréal will contribute its vision and industry expertise to the process of setting the study guidelines.
The project research partners include the École des sciences de la gestion de l’Université du Québec à Montréal (ESG-UQAM), and Mitacs, a national not-for-profit organization that has been designing and delivering research and training programs in Canada for 20 years.
For more information about the project, visit the website.
The business tourism industry is in the midst of a transformation and we are looking to improve the value proposition of events that now want to have a lasting impact on their host community. This collaboration between the Palais and #MEET4IMPACT will enable us to measure and optimize the positive impact on the host city’s ecosystem. With this research project, the Palais des congrès de Montréal is taking the reins of this paradigm shift and will inspire other industry players through best practices.
Robert Mercure
Président-directeur général du Palais des congrès de Montréal
This research project will generate key new knowledge for the business events industry. By making these results widely available, we aim to empower associations and destinations to develop new collaboration models and experience-based practices that will create wider value for their participants, their members and host communities.
Geneviève Leclerc
Cofondatrice et présidente-directrice générale de #MEET4IMPACT.
#MEET4IMPACT groups together people driven by a common desire to change the world of business events by sharing the massive amount of knowledge found at these events.
Recipient of the highest quality standards certification in the industry, the Palais des congrès de Montréal convention centre stands in the heart of the top host city in the Americas for international events. In 2018-2019, it generated $215 million in economic benefits along with an invaluable amount of intellectual wealth via the 353 events it hosted. A trailblazer, it operates its own events lab, CITÉ, which houses Montréal startups that are helping redefine how conferences are held. The Palais is a carbon neutral building, and also BOMA BEST certified. Its suite of sustainability initiatives, which it runs under the name Palais Boréal, includes an innovative program that shepherds event organizers and participants through the process of offsetting their GHG emissions locally. Actively immersed in the community, the Palais opens its spaces to visitors and stages art-driven experiences for the public, like the Palais Seasons, showcasing Québec creatives. A leader and visionary, the Palais is at the forefront of the Convention Industry 4.0 transformation. Visit congresmtl.com.