The total influence an organization has on society through its actions. It includes changes that directly benefit the target group and have a clear connection between activity and outcome.
Something significant and lasting that an organization creates and leaves behind. It can be a material good or asset that generates positive changes for the recipient.
The societal effects generated for social progress (such as inclusion, health, equality), education and knowledge transfer, sustainability or economic benefits. Created by activities based on environmental, physical, political, social, cultural, financial and humane values.
Output refers to the direct results delivered by our activities – typically reported in the quantity of activities, products, or services provided.
The practical work of understanding, planning, assessing, and measuring the effects of activities on broad sustainability issues. This work intentionally mitigates negative impacts and enhances positive outcomes of their operation. For tourism and events, we use the term more specifically to refer to practically managing impact goals and outcomes while achieving business objectives.
(The glossary is based on MEET4IMPACT’s definitions)
The Power of working with long-term effects
Göteborg & Co acts as an enabler to create, maximize, and showcase the long-term value that individual events can contribute by organizing them in the Gothenburg region. We also facilitate the creation of long-term effects for annual events. These values are intended to strengthen and develop the city’s priority areas and plans to create added value in society. This is achieved by providing knowledge, experience, and methods to create stronger and more long-term effects in society.
Strategic planning of long-term effects
A successful process for achieving long-term effects requires a structured work process. Impact planning involves an organization purposefully managing its resources to bridge gaps, deliver concrete results, and meet clear goals while fulfilling its operation. Gothenburg & Co possesses the methods, experience, and knowledge required for successful impact planning of an event.
Focusing on long-term impact instead of outcomes
How do we move from outcomes to impact? The logic model, also known as the Theory of Change, serves as an appropriate tool for navigating these concepts. The Theory of Change can have both a project-specific and a general application. It illustrates the cause-and-effect chain between the identified need, the desired change, and the resources and activities used to achieve it. This structure can be used to systematically form hypotheses about approaching a particular need and to define measures and processes for evaluating the practical application of the theory. The figure below illustrates the main components of the Theory of Change:
We believe it is important to consider the entire logic chain and use it as a tool within the framework to create long-term effects. The Theory of Change is a tool to facilitate our Gothenburg Way to Legacy method.