The
South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) – a national public research entity
of the Department of Arts & Culture (DAC), hosted by Nelson Mandela
Metropolitan University promoting capacity building across the cultural domains
– has empowered South African festival and event organisers to track the
economic impact of their events.
“We are
pleased to announce the launch of the South African Festival Economic Impact
Calculator
(SAFEIC), a new and critical online tool to measure the impact of events on the
South African cultural and creative economy,” said Prof Richard Haines, SACO’s
chief executive officer.
“This
free online calculator, developed by the Cultural Observatory, has been
carefully and conservatively designed and tested to produce reliable and valid
results for a wide range of festivals and events – provided the data inputted
is accurate,” Prof Haines adds.
The
calculator ultimately reports on three key elements of economic impact: total
spending on accommodation; total amount spent by the organisers in the host
economy and the actual economic impact including the multiplier effect on the
host economy.
SAFEIC
was developed by two experienced cultural economists: Prof Bruce Seaman from
Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, and Prof Jen Snowball, SACO Chief
Research Strategist, and an economics lecturer at Rhodes University.
The tool
is based on a regional economic impact calculator developed specifically for
cultural events in the United States, and adapted for South Africa with the
assistance of the original modeller.
The SAFEIC
is driven by data – and works best when accurate data is inputted. Sourcing the
data is the most difficult part – but the calculator works either way.
“Ideally, some information should come from a visitor survey, but if a survey
is not possible, SAFEIC uses default values and provides guidance on things
like average visitor spending to ensure the report developed, is as valid as
possible,” said Prof Snowball.
To run
SAFEIC, a festival or event requires a minimum of seven pieces of information
including:
-the
number of days the festival or event is run over;
-the
population of the host city or town (obtainable from Stats SA);
-the
total number of attendees;
-the
average visitor spend on accommodation per night (obtainable via visitor survey
or data from SA Domestic Tourism);
-the
average visitor spending on items other than accommodation (also obtainable
from a survey or SA Domestic tourism);
-funding
or sponsorship received from outside the host town or city; and
earnings
derived from tickets sales.
“The
online calculator provides a free tool for cultural festival and event
organisers to estimate the economic (financial) impact of their event on the
economy of the town or city the event takes place in.
“Of
course, the financial value of culture is only part of the overall value, but
it can be a powerful way of showing local communities and sponsors how the
cultural economy helps to encourage regional economic growth and create jobs,”
said Prof Snowball.
Economic
impact studies also show the financial benefits of hosting cultural festivals
and events, and can be effective in communicating the value of the event to
funders, local residents and other stakeholders.
“Until
now, the only way to estimate the economic impact of an event was to run an expensive
visitor survey and employ a researcher to analyse the data and calculate the
impact. Not all events have the budget to do that, so the SAFEIC offers a
reliable way of estimating economic impact at no cost to the organisation.
“While
it won't provide the same level of detail as a survey and impact study done for
that specific event, it will provide a realistic estimate of what the economic
impact is. An added bonus is that the results can be used in feedback to
communities and sponsors,” she added.
Haines
said the calculator would unlock both an understanding of the impact of events
and reporting that supports decision-making. “We are very proud of this SACO
product, which we are offering free to industry practitioners and researchers.
It’s been a great collaboration of minds and we are excited by its potential
impact on the industry,” he said. The SACO is hosted by Nelson Mandela
Metropolitan University in partnership with the universities of Rhodes and Fort
Hare.
For more
information visit https://www.southafricanculturalobservatory.co.za/safeic-intro
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