By Fahmida Nisa, Project Manager at UKREiiF

“That’s definitely a first for us”.

This was the reply we got when approaching social value measurement experts Loop as we looked to understand how we could measure and evidence the social impact UKREiiF was going to have.

We think it might even be a UK first: measuring the social value generated from an industry event like this in the UK… but it’s something we were very passionate about from the start. We didn’t just want to say it – that that we were leading from the front when it came to things like sustainability and social value – we wanted to prove it.

From a sustainability perspective, the industry go-to is, of course, ISO Accreditation – and we have now ISO 20121 Sustainable Events Management Accreditation, two years on the trot. But we were extra-delighted that Loop were able to utilise their marketing-leading software platform to enable us to properly track, monitor and measure the social impact of UKREiiF.

And we’re thrilled with the results! A few of the highlights for me are:

  • UKREiiF 2023 generated £2,259,358 in social value, bringing the total the event has generated to £3,400,000 (in addition to over £12m in local economic benefits).
  • 62% Social Value ROI
  • 40 partnerships were struck up with organisations and charities driving positive change in the industry.
  • Signed up to CIC Wellbeing to give all staff access to their services that support wellbeing and mental health.
  • 120 hours of voluntary time supported
  • £100,000 was raised for charity, and £600,000 gifted to support charities and organisations that support people and communities from underrepresented groups in the industry.

It’s great to see these figures and understand the impact we’ve had. But creating this partnership with Loop goes much further than just wanting to see what impact we’ve had locally and socially. Here are some of the key reasons why we decided to measure and monitor the social value generated from UKREiiF:

  1. Practice What We Preach

With a designated stage at UKREiiF dedicated to Social Value and our event partners adopting this topic as a golden thread throughout panel discussions, roundtables and content during the event, it would have been strange for us to not do an in-depth analysis of our own.

We didn’t want to hide behind other businesses doing the work for us, and that’s why we took a deep dive to not only measure and monitor our social value, but also publish the information behind it.

  1. Elevating Our Work

We know that Social Value is always at the forefront of decisions made within the business – it’s a core value the team internally work towards. But how do we elevate what we do? And how do we set further targets to enhance our work? Developing the report with Loop has really enabled us to go the extra mile, knowing where we can make a difference and placing this in the annual report for all to see means we are obliged to keep working.

This has already led us to create a ‘Team Leeds’ which will now look at what more the UKREiiF platform can do to enhance the social impact all year round: how can we use it to promote the industry to young people, how can we outreach to unemployed people, how can we get more local companies and SMEs involved… and this should help us build on our 2023 figures.

Essentially, we’re doing this work to look at how we can better improve the lives of the people and communities that UKREiiF touches.

  1. Imitation

Some say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery – and while some might be against it – we’re actively championing the imitation of this within the industry.

We’d love other industry events to follow our path and also measure and monitor the social value and impact of their events – especially the big ones!

These staples of the industry calendar can also build on our achievements year by year…learning what they did well, and discover opportunities to do even more.

There’s no point in us hiding our secrets about how we have such a positive social impact – we’re shouting about it, and hopefully in the coming years we’ll see others follow our lead and start to measure and improve on the social value they’re generating.

Our door is always open – so if you’d like to discover more or ask any questions about what or how we’re doing it simply get in touch via: fahmida.nisa@ukreiif.com

By Fahmida Nisa, Project Manager at UKREiiF