Designed and delivered by the Canadian non-profit #MEET4IMPACT and their partner Global Destination Sustainability Movement, this Impact Strategy & Measurement Masterclass is a unique, one-of-a-kind training program for destination leaders offering both formative and practical content backed by decades of experience and informed by the latest theory on sustainable / regenerative / community-inclusive tourism, the beyond tourism benefits of events, and on social impact.

Currently only a small number of destinations have clearly defined impact strategies, SMART performance and outcome indicators. Through providing this training to Canadian DMOs, Destination Canada Business Events aims to empower Canadian destination to go to the next level of performance: through learning the latest social impact theories and approaches to enable them to develop a robust impact strategy and implement measurement processes to monitor and report on performance.

The masterclass is divided into several modules that will help DMOs redefine, refocus and refresh their perspective on how to approach an impact strategy.

• Our course will reinforce the capacity for Canadian DMOs to actively support Destination Canada’s vision for a New North Star and empower them in developing approaches to business tourism that will:
  • enhance the participants’ experience, while
  • maximising outcomes for the key economic sectors, and
  • enriching the lives of Canadians and the wellbeing in their communities
• It will raise Canadian DMOs’ understanding of their responsibilities towards more actively planning for and managing the negative & positive impacts of tourism and business events.
• It will generate a community of learning and a community of practice between Canadian DMOs around sustainable and responsible tourism and events.
• It will also create a sense of healthy ‘competition’ between DMOs as they are called to action in assimilating their new knowledge, transforming their practices and maximising the communicational potential of their new approach to managing the impacts of tourism & events.
• It will allow Canadian DMOs to support Destination Canada Business Events in formulating a national approach and encourage country-wide standard practices in managing & measuring the impacts of events held in Canada, and in communicating this to clients, citizens and governments.
• Canadian DMOs will be empowered to build their data capacity around the impacts of the events they attract for their sectors and their communities – therefore supporting BEC’s Economic Sector strategy; it will also foster stronger collaboration around data collection and analysis.

This masterclass is for Canadian DMOs and their destination business events partners who want to embed a strategy that prioritizes long-term benefit for the destination, all the while supporting Destination Canada Business Events’s vision for a New North Star.

In this dynamic and fun series of workshops, Genevieve and her team will put their 20+ years of experience forward, guiding you through your impact journey. Using innovative tools and technology such as digital post its, co-creation brainstorm sessions, the theory of change structure and interactive quizzes coupled with short lectures, case study interviews and expert guest speakers, the workshops will be the perfect place to start building your social impact management and measurement strategy. We want to work together through live sessions to ultimately make you get the best out of our experts – by doing so, you will be catalysing the development of new strategies to compete internationally and to support a regenerative visitor economy.

This masterclass will take you on a powerful and empowering journey to rethink, reimagine and redesign your destination’s impact strategy whilst actively empowering you to support Destination Canada Business Events’s Economic Sector Strategy. Our hope is to expand your mindset, develop your skillsets, build your capacity and provide you with new tools and mechanisms to empower meaningful change through your actions.

1. Learn key concepts of social impact theory and principles, and how these can be integrated into the destination’s events and tourism sector
2. Understand the internationally recognized framework of the UN SDGs for creating and communicating value from actions
3. Apply the basics for impact measurement to your destination strategy generating long term value for all stakeholders

Geneviève has over 25 years of experience working in the business events and tourism sectors. She works as a facilitator, speaker and trainer and she’s passionate about applying design thinking and impact management practices to accompany organisations through innovation. Her more recent work focuses on achieving greater social impact in the business events and tourism industry and she has trained teams from many destinations in developing and implementing frameworks for managing a more impactful visitor economy.

As an innovative sustainable destination strategist, Alexis has been bringing forth unique and impactful tourism projects for over 10 years. With strengths in project management, research, stakeholder engagement and environmental analysis, Alexis has led the development and/or analysis of numerous tourism impact and development projects around the world.

Ms. Eva C. is #Meet4Impact’s Coordinator of Research and Knowledge Mobilization. She’s also a Business Consultant and an Associate Faculty with specific experience in business and sustainability strategies, business ethics, and governance. She has been practicing, researching, and teaching business & sustainability in Canada and Europe and holds a Master’s degree in Administration with a concentration in Sustainability and Management from France Business School (ESCEM). Ms. Eva C. is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration at École des Ponts Business School in Paris with a research interest in sustainability, organizational resilience & innovation.

Fathma, a social impact measurement consultant, works with organizations of all stripes to measure and communicate the social impact they create. She has extensive experience with various methods such as Social Return on Investment (SROI), Logical Frameworks and Theory of Change. Fathma prioritizes understanding the key metrics needed to determine success and integrating them into a compelling storyline.

Rebecca is an international sustainability professional, with a background in tourism and event management. A lover of detail and impact, she has a proven track record in devising and implementing corporate responsibility policies, processes and initiatives from scratch, including the ISO 20121 management standard for sustainable event management. She currently enjoys a range of sustainability related responsibilities including sustainable development in destinations and events, teaching and auditing.

For the last 15 years, Guy has been delivering consulting services focused on helping cities, governments, corporations and associations step up, scale up and speed up their sustainability programmes and practices. His mission is to accelerate the transition to a circular and regenerative economy and leave long term-societal impact. His key expertise is creating dynamic coalitions and communities through co-created strategy, multi-stakeholder collaboration and powerful communication.