Copenhagen Legacy Lab (CLL), a part of Copenhagen Convention Bureau (CCB), has developed an improved legacy methodology. This includes a 7-step model that will be instrumental in deepening the strategic approach towards long-term legacy planning and measurements from international congresses in the future.
Building on CLL’s current four-step model from 2019, the new methodology has been adjusted to get a more nuanced approach, a deeper understanding of the mechanisms in play, and a better and even more meaningful legacy process. This approach can ease and support measurement efforts in the short and long-term. The adjusted method is inspired by the European Commission's proposed approach to ‘Impact Social Measurement’ and designed with the shared Danish vision of legacy in mind.
How does CLL apply the methodology?
In practice, the methodology considers both Copenhagen’s and Denmark’s priorities and strongholds supported by SDG’s, a new market situation and economic methods. It also involves more planning steps and a broader measurement vocabular. All of which are aimed at increasing the probability of potential and relevant long-lasting effects for the destination, the international association or corporations, and their communities. The outcomes from congresses can vary from case to case, potentially resulting in both impact and/or legacy.
CLL has added more terms for calculating the potential positive effects from congresses with a focus on the participants involved (leading to potential short-term outputs and often mid-term outcomes that can change a behavior or performance of the individuals involved). Further, society (resulting in a potential impact on society), and legacy (supporting the customers’ strategic objectives that can also benefit eventually the global society at large).
A facilitated planning phase supporting measurement is key to CLL why CCB launched CLL in 2019. This includes a governance structure and goals for CCB’s legacy work which also embed how to continually develop methods and tools towards legacy.
More planning steps
The 7 steps, prior to the 4 steps, support two key parts of the legacy process. How to select the most relevant legacy cases as part of attracting congresses and meetings to Copenhagen including legacy in CCB’s bids. And secondly a way for CLL to plan the legacy process as part of CCB’s services when congresses and meetings have chosen to come to Copenhagen including objectives and measurements.
Criteria for selecting the appropriate legacy cases have been further developed for increasing the chances of potential long-term positive impacts and legacies supporting the selection of relevant congresses and cases. Besides looking into the design of the meeting, the SDGs and the strategic goals of Copenhagen supported by national strongholds and global trends, CLL has focused on identifying main drivers of productivity, growth, and societal transformation (size of the capital stock, size of the labour force, quality of labour, international trade, good governance, and innovation). This approach is supported by research and an analysis conducted for CLL by economists and consultants.
A key question in the planning phase is: “What are the most critical barriers for achieving impacts that meet societal needs - and what types of congresses are best suited to break down these barriers in order to leave a legacy?” Or the opposite. “How can we showcase Danish best practices and national strongholds in order to form part of the solution of breaking down global barriers that the congresses might focus on?”
In short, CLL focuses on the sweet spot between the destination and the congress. This is backed by a design thinking approach of ‘how might we’ to potentially create a legacy that can be built on top when congresses are going from one city to another.
Together with decisionmakers behind congresses, CLL prioritises relevant stakeholders and outreach activities supported by relevant metrics. This involves collecting data based on created or wanted baselines from the participants before and immediately after the congress and at later stages defined in course of the process. As the methodology shows above, it is important to have settled on some clear objectives in the planning phase step 1-3 that the impact and legacies can be measured up against in step 4-7.
A new role to play
CCB aims to consult all partners in the legacy process towards stakeholders and activities that the literature has shown will often result in the greatest possible outputs for both the destination and the given association or corporation. Still leaving space for individual interests and agendas. This is done with CCB’s Meetingplace partners’ strategy: Copenhagen - ‘Together for Positive Impact’ in mind in order to attract and support business with also a societal impact.
With the adjusted methodology supporting the strategy, CLL will need to go from primarily acting as a connector to taking on a more active, and in some cases, consulting role.
The iterated methodology will be tested on selected cases during the next three to six months. This involves CLL receiving inputs from customers on how to further develop tools to support the methodology for monitoring and measuring data making it easier for customers and partners to tap into and use.
For more information about Copenhagen Legacy Lab.