HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-09-021 - Special Events Strategic Reviewl
KITC~~R
Community Services
Report To: Community services Comrrrittee
Date of i~leetir~g: March ~~ , ~Oa9
ubrr~itted By: Kim kCugler, Interim Director, Enterprise Division, X44
Prepared By: Don Chapman, Manager of Special Events
1~Ilard{s~ Involved: all
Date of Repart~ March ~ , ~~9
Report ~Iv.: CSD-0-02~
Subject: SPECIAL EVENTS STI~ATEiC REV1E!
REDDMNiENDATI~I~:
That the report submitted by St. Clements group dated December ~ ~, ~~DS be accepted
and ~
That the mandate and basic operating principies for the Special Events Unit as vutiined
in report CSD-~~~~~ be endorsed.
e~K~ROU~~:
Special events are an irnporkant economic and community deveioprnent tool far the City of
Kitchener. The municipality's special events play an important role in building the health and
capacity of this community in addition, they have an irr~partant impact an the City's economic
development efforts and the revitalization of the downtown through the implementation of a
defined vitality strategy.
The purpose of the strategic review was tv articulate a vision, mission, brand, policy framework,
strategic directions and operating recommendations far the City of Kitchener Special Events
Unit. The objectives of the review by the St. Clements raup were toy
• Determine the degree to which the Special Events Unit is meeting their original objectives and
how these objectives hive evolved
• Undertake needs assessment based on the identification and prioritization of community and
corporate objectives far special events
• Define the role of Special Events Unit with respect to the needs assessment
• Articulate a Vision and Mission statement for the Special Events Unit
• Recommend a brand strategy
• Recommend policy with respect to service delivery
• Define the key strategic directions and operational recommendations
^ Recommend the appropriate infrastructure and resources to support the levels of service
deemed appropriate to meet community and corporate needs.
The recommendatiaps captained in this report are predicated by a more strategic approach
when it comes to selecting events uvith which the pity becomes involved, The work should focus
on what the pity is trying to accomplish through its economic apd community development gams
and its desire far community capacity building, downtown redevelopment, and a talent attraction
strategy.
R~P~~T:
Mandate
The mandate for the special Events Unit i to focilitate, prarnote, develop apd produce events.
Basic ~peratinq Principles
A. orn~runity rapacity Building
• That the multitude of special events oi*fered by comaunity organizers could be mare
effectively staged by staff working with organizers to build their capacity through betker
understanding of marketing, day-of-event organization, volunteer relations,
organizational development, and other tasks that. the organizers undertake to mount
events
B, Identification and Ranking of Priorities
• That an event strategy be developed based an the current priorities of the key
pragrar~mia units within the city and Downtown Kitchener BIB, The unit will work
cooperatively with the various programming units to identify their primary objectives and
integrate them into a strategic event and vitality strategy. These units include; Economic
Development, Downtown 8~ community Development, irks culture, community
Pragrar~ & services, The Kitchener Market and Dawntouvp Kitchener BIA.
~ That the ourrent priority in which event pragramrnipg should be focused, is as a taxi to
support economic strategies as they relate to the need for diversified shift in the
knowledge eoanomy apd related requirements far creation, development, attraction and
retention of talent in the wider carnmunity.
• That special events are a key driver in the reanimation and revitalization of the
downtown which depepds op attracting are increase in pedestriap traffic and positive
perceptiaps on behalf of developers, prospective residents and businesses.
• That special events would be a means by v~rhich tine city could distinguish itself from
competing cities for new investment and tourist visitations
~. Measurables and Evaluation
+ Development of a formal evaluation process far events and their appropriateness to
reaching the corporate vision and goals as identified in conjunction with the
prograr~ming units.
lpitiative Update
Tv date, the fallov~ing initiatives recommended within the strategy have been enacted.
1. Functions and services to be transitioned to other operating units within the corporation
include:
• Administration of the downtown banner program - ~on~plete
• Adrr~inistration and facilitation of filrr~ permits and services through Film KIN - 1n
Discussion
. Review of current event management end funding for downtown events between
Downtown Kitchener' BIA and pity events based an their new marketing and
promotional strategies - In Development
. Capacity Building within the event communit~rthrough workshop Enroll event organizers
an event legislative requirements , in Development
4. Engage an internal crass departmental working group to assist with prioritization and
decision rr~aking framework fvr special events development ,and selection In
Development
. The current organizational reporting structure for the unit within the Carrlmunity Services
Department and the Enterprise Division gill be maintained in the short terra end that the
discussion of the long term organizational structure be reviewed at a inter date. - To be
reviewed
FINANCIAL IMPLIATI~N:
None at tl'1is tire.
~~I~I~uIUI~TI~r~:
Report will be shared with the Arts uiture Advisory Committee, Downtown Kitchener BIA and
the internal working units which will be consulted in the development of the implements#ian plan,
C~NCLUI~N:
vVith approval of the Basic operating principles end the Event Unit mandate, staff will bring
back to Council far approval in June of X009, an implernentatian and work plan strateg~r to move
the recarrnendatians~orard.
Kim Ku r
Interir Director Enterprise Division, Camn~unity Services
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ST. CLEMENTS GROUP
December 19, 2008
Summary of recommendations
he City of Kitchener reviewed its special events strategy and
by extension the work of the special events unit (SEU) through
the summer and autumn of 2008. What precipitated the review
was a sense that the City could obtain better value for the
resources that were spent on events and that its new event-
driven revitalization plans for the dov`mto~rn required a better articulated
use of those resources,
The review was predicated on four thoughts expressed by the corporate
management team (CMT) and the CAO:
• That special events should be used, in the first instance, as an economic
development tool rather than as a tool to improve residents' lifestyles
(though recognizing that it is not entirely an either-or proposition)
• That special events ~rould be a key driver in the reanimation and
revitalization of the dov`rntov~rn v~hich depended on attracting an
increase in pedestrian traffic
• That special events ~rould be a means by ~rhich the city could
distinguish itself from competing cities for near investment and tourist
visitations
• That the multitude of special events offered by community organizers
could be more effectively staged by building their capacity through
better understanding of marketing, day-of event organization, volunteer
relations, organizational development, and other tasks that the
organizers undertake to mount an event
Given this direction, it then falls to the SEU to take action, Hov`rever, the SEU
has had difficulties fulfilling all the activities that have been set for it, both
through its ov~rn ~rork and from its response to the demands of both City
and community clients, In addition, the unit has become the catch-all for
many projects or functions that the City has not been able to assign to a
more "natural" home, The unit itself has exacerbated this by initiating its
ov~rn projects, many of them over-and-above those that are included in their
annual Work plan, Staff regularly finds itself responding to unplanned
demands and, While this is typically part of a special events organizer's life,
the SEU staff is thought to be overwhelmed by these additional demands,
The City is involved in several hundred actual and proposed special events
each year, Some of those events are either City operated or in which the
City has a significant involvement (the so-called "signature" events) ,The
City also assists community organizers to stage events of various size,
longevity, and complexity, That involvement varies from strictly advising
through tohands-on staging of the event and its aftermath,
The SEU is currently structured into "sales" and "production" functions,
The sales function identifies and initiates neW projects Which are then
passed on to production to manage and stage, These new organizations
then become "clients" of the SEU, These events are sometimes unexpected
and so production is often stretched trying to fulfill these neW commitments,
Traditionally, the SEU has been allowed to Work in this fashion but the City
recognizes that With its neW economic development needs the unit must be
more systematic and predictable in its use of staff and financial resources, A
change in the unit's objectives and Workflow as well as stricter oversight of
the unit is a need,
To fulfill the directions set out above requires a reorientation of the SEU's
mandate, the focus of their activities, relatlonshlp wlth Clty dlvlslons, and
relationship with community organizers, The recommendations arising
from the review are predicated on the following basic premises;
• That the SEU is a corporate service rather than a unit of a particular
division which would naturally have the unit focus on that division's
goals
• That the SEU is a service provider assisting City programming units to
fulfill those unit's goals which in turn support the overall corporate goals
• That the SEU, When Working with community organizers, focuses on
capacity building
Recommendations
1,1 Special events as a community and economic development tool
1,1 a Use special events primarily as an economic development tool
rather than a community development tool,
1, 2 "Special events" from the special events unit's perspective
1,2a For the sake of planning and the work of the special events unit,
"special events" include only celebrations, festivals, and sales-
orientedevents (excludes activities such as public consultation,
protocol activities, and conferences).
1, 3 Branding of Kitchener and the downtown
1,3a The City should appoint a "brand manager" which would be
responsible for the development and overseeing of the City's
branding strategy,
1.4 Opportunities for future City special events
1.4a Use existing resources to strengthen existing events rather than
seeking new City events except in specific cases,
1,5 The City's role in event organizing
1, 5a The City should develop a methodology and rationale that specifies
which types of events it will become involved with, the rationale for
that involvement, and the extent to which support will be provided,
2,1 KDBA and City special events goals
2,1 a V~Thile recognizing the needs and goals of the KDBA, the City's focus
should remain on the needs of the whole community and its own
economic development goals for the downtown.
2 , 2 ®ngoing KDBA and City relationship
2,2a The City remain committed to developing an ongoing partnership
with the KDBA
2,2b The primary contact should be the economic development unit and
not the special events unit,
2.3 Relative KDBA and City roles and responsibilities
2.3a The City should retain primary responsibility for those signature,
community-wide events that it now stages.
2.3b Events which are sales-oriented (e.g. Midnight Sales) should be the
responsibility of the KDBA
2,3c In the longer term, new sales-oriented events v~rhich gill be staged in
the downtov~rn area should be redirected by the City to ICBA for
assistance and evaluation, Exhibit 2 , 2 on the following page shows
the relative roles of the City and the ICBA in the initiation, planning,
implementation, and evaluation of different types of special events,
Exhibit 2.2
City and KDBA roles and responsibilities
~ 1 ~ ~ i ~
Downtown special events strategy Support Leadership
Existing signature event Support Leadership
BIA-focus sales/traffic generator Leadership Support
New proposed sales-oriented events (small) Leadership Support
New proposed events (community-wide impact) Support Leadership
2.4 Scheduling of downtown special events
2.4a The scheduling of downtown (including surrounding areas) special
events should be the responsibility of the City (in collaboration with
the KDBA) .
3.1 Working the system at city hall
3,1 a A SEU intake officer(s) should be appointed to assist community
event organizers with their special events needs including directing
their enquiries to the appropriate programming unit for follow-up,
understanding the process to obtain assistance, and completing an
intake checklist,
3 , ~ Relationship between the City and community event organisers
3,2a Exhibit 3,1 on the following page shows the recommended
respective roles of the City and the community events organizers,
iv
Exhibit 3. I
Roles of the City and the community events organizers
City special events strategy
Planning of existing events
Implement existing events (small)
Implement existing events (community-wide impact)
New proposed events (small)
New proposed events (community-wide impact)
Support Leadership
Leadership Support
Leadership Support
Varies Varies
Leadership Support
Support Leadership
3.2b Given the City's special events goals and the means it might employ
to realize them, exhibit 3.2 on the following page shows the priority
of the services (other than funding) that City should provide
community organizers,
Exhibit 3.2
City services for community event organizers
(H=High,lVl=medium, L=lover, NA=not applicable)
Coordinating services of City divisions H H H H H
Implementation H H M M M
Marketing advice M M H H H
Joint marketing L L L M M
Scheduling of events L L L L L
Networking and information sharing L M H H H
Training/capacity building L M H H H
3 , 3 Relationship between cornrnunity event organisers
3 , 3a The City should produce an online calendar of City and community
events to assist organizers in their selection of event dates
3,3b The City should expand its existing netvUOrking activities from those
aimed at the arts and culture sector event organizers to include
those of all sectors
v
4,1 Goals of the SEU
4,1 a For new and non-signature events, the SEU should act as a service
provider supporting the programming unit rather than directing the
account itself,
4. lb For signature events, the role of the SEU is unchanged (mainly a
production function).
4.1 c The SEU reorients its focus from production and the development of
external clients to community capability building and servicing
programming units
4,2 ®rganizational reporting
4,2a SEU should be viewed as a corporate service and should not be
reporting to any particular single division or unit
4, 2b The special events unit should report to the CAO's office 1
4.3 Working with new external clients
4.3a The City's involvement with new (or existing) external clients should
be through the programming units rather than the SEU.
4.3b The SEU should not have its own clients but should be servicing the
clients of other divisions/units,
4,3c Anew external client should gain access to City special events
services through an established protocol, Exhibit 4,2 on the
following page shows the process that an organizer of a new event
would follow to obtain help,
4 , 4 Relationship with other City divisions
4,4a Change the SEU's orientation from a "owner" of events to that of a
client-service provider
4 , 4b Over the long term, the City should work towards establishing the
programming units as the primary relationship with community
events organizers,
1 Please note that all references to the "CAO" unless otherwise marked, refer to the
CAO Office and not to the CAO personally,
vi
Exhibit 4.2
Working with new external clients
f~r~t ~4nt~~t
~~mm~n~t .
Y arts aid ~~Itu~~ ~ Er~t~r ri~~ ~~~'~'~~'~~ th~rs
n~ihb~urhan~ , ~~~' : ,~~ ~ develapme~~ ,: ~~
pr~pl~rn~ntaci~n ~SEU~
~rtiv~
Trainr~g~a~~i~~ - ~ ~ar~icipation - ~u~~~~g ~ S~r~~ to ~~~~
4,5 knit structure
4,5a Restructure the SEU responsibilities under the scheme shown in
exhibit 4,3 belo~r,
Exhibit 4.3
Unit structure
~,
SEU ~.~
~~~ acct ~u~l~i~ ~r~du~~i~n and
~ ~ ~ i~rake
~~~
Intake ~` ~'~~ S~~r~~~~~ ~~
f~,
x-e
~~ -_r ~
VII
4,5b Afull-fledged capacity building function responsible for training and
information sharing should be added to the SEU.
4,5c Change the current relationship with internal clients to an account
management relationship
4,5d Change the "sales" function to an intake function so that the SEU is
not directly initiating new events but instead is responding to nevi
organizer needs through the programming units,
5.1 basic services of the special events unit
5,1 a Exhibit 5,1 on the follov`ring page shows an abridged list of the types
of activities that the special events unit is currently undertaking along
with our recommended changes to the provision of the functions,
For those services that the SEU currently offers but to be eventually
phased out, we have suggested a new provider for the service,z See
appendix B for the complete list of basic SEU services,
Exhibit 5.1
Basic SEU services
(H=High,lVl=medium, L=low, NP=not provided)
(C&1Vl=Communications and marketing, F1V1=Facilities management,
PU=Programming units, CO=Community organization, 3PC=31d party
contract, TBD=To be determined)
Corporate-wide planning
Corporate-wide special events strategic
planning
Programming units special events annual
planning
City event organizers assistance
Create formal event plans
Marketing planning
L L M M H
M M M M M
H H H H H -
L L L NP NP C&M
For the sake of simplicity, the exhibit makes an arbitrary and slightly artificial
distinction between City and community organized events. For many events
(especially the signature events) there is a substantial City involvement even though
one could argue that these are community events, The reader should review the
revised delineation of responsibility bearing in mind that there will be exceptions
though these exceptions are expected to be fewer over time as the SEU and its
community clients adjust to the new regime,
viii
Community event organizer assistance
Create formal event plans L L L NP NP CO
Marketing planning M M NP NP NP CO
Training
Training programmes NP M H H H -
Networking
Networking amongst community organizers L NP NP NP NP PU
Lobbying City divisions on behalf of M NP NP NP NP -
communityorganizers
Relationship with community organizers
Primary contact between City and event Varies M L NP NP PU
organizers
Primary contact between City and KDBA H NP NP NP NP PU
Developing new community clients H NP NP NP NP PU
Day-of-event (City events)
Distribute promotional material L NP NP NP NP 3PC
Audio equipment provision and set-up M M M M M -
Set-upvenues M M M M M -
Risk management for events H H H H H -
Permitsand licences H H H H H -
Day-of-event (community events);
Audio equipment set-up L NP NP NP NP 3PC
Set-up venue L NP NP NP NP CO
Risk management for events (on City property) H H H H H -
Risk management for events (on non-City L L L L L -
property)
P
i
d li
H H
H
H
H
erm
ts an
cences -
"Sales" and intake
Assess new events and degree of City H NP NP NP NP PU
participation
Develop arts and culture sector H NP NP NP NP PU
Organize new event organizers (after new H H H H H -
eventaccepted by programming unit)
Unit administration
Annual scheduling of events H H H H H -
Monitoringandevaluation
Of event implementation L H H H H -
Ofvalue ofprogramming unit events to NP NP NP NP NP Division director
corporate mandate
v e
City is advisor to these events and has minimal or no day-of-event responsibilities
ix
Non-special events activities
Coordinate refurbishment/repair/modification H NP NP NP NP TBD
of City event venues
Art installations M NP NP NP NP PU
Digital projectors programming (top of city L NP NP NP NP PU
hall)
City hall rotunda, forecourt, and pool M NP NP NP NP PU
programming
film shoot permitting and liaison M NP NP NP NP TBD
5. lb Initiate acorporate-wide information programme to inform City staff
(with a special focus on SEU staff and elected officials of the unit's
revised service list,
5 , 2 orkflow
5,2a Eliminate the SEU "sales" function under v~rhich the unit develops its
ov~rn set of clients and events
5,2b Programme units rather than the SEU should have responsibility for
evaluating the appropriateness of an event to corporate and unit
goals
5,2c Those projects v~rhich are not event-related as defined in section 1,2
should be sent for~rard to the division director for reassignment
else~rhere
5 , 3 Resources
5,3a Revie~r the SEU budget in the context of its revised mandate and
reporting structure,
5,3b Dove oversight of the SEU budget to CAO office,
5 , 41V~onitoring and evaluation
5,4a Implement a formal evaluation process for events and their
appropriateness to reaching the corporate vision and goals,
5,4b Implement a formal evaluation process for each event v~ith ~rhich the
City is involved v~rith a focus on learning lessons for future events,
Exhibit 5,2 belo~r sho~rs rho ~rould be responsible for the different
evaluations that should be completed,
x
Exhibit 5.2
Evaluation responsibilities
CaCfl eVeflj Ifil~7lefTleflTatlOfl
SEU overall
Lessons learned
Value of each event to corporation ~
goals
Programming unit's event schedule ~
Value of programming unit's event ~
schedule to corporate goals
Value of event to community ~
organization's goals
Value of community eventto City ~
goals
5.5 Assessment of new community events
5.5a Develop new intake checklist for assessing the feasibility of new
proposed events and to check if the proponent is ready to mount the
event
5.5b Develop and implement training and information programme for
new and experienced organizers of events
5.5c Establish two deadlines for application for inclusion in the event
preparation programme in order to ensure that new external
organizers are aware of the production schedule
5.5d Prepare SEU staff to become teachers of the mechanics of mounting
special events (they would be responsible for putting on these
training programme/seminars).
5.6 intake
5,6a Ensure the channels (e.g. corporate contact centre, the City ~rebsite,
the V~Telcome Centre, the Small Business Centre, the general City
telephone number) by v~hich event organizers gill seek special
events assistance is able to direct the caller or visitor to the SEU
intake officer(s) ,
xi
Table of contents
Introduction,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 1
1, Goals and objectives of the City's special events programme , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ~
2 , Special events and do~rntov`rn revitalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............................15
3, Relationships Frith community event organizers ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 20
4,1Vlanaging the special events unit ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 23
5. Special events unit strategy (2009-2012) .................................................... 32
6, Implementation timing ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 44
Appendixes
A, Study participants,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 4~
B, SEU basic services -detailed,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 50
xii
Introduction
Kitchener special events unit strategic plan
or the City of Kitchener, special events is an important
economic and community development tool, The
municipality's special events have an important impact on the
City's economic development efforts and the revitalization of
the dov~rnto~rn, ~1Vith this in mind, the City embarked on a
revie~r of its ov~rn special events activities and its relationships and ~rorking
arrangements v~ith community event organizers, and by extension the
activities of its special events unit (SEU) ,This report looks at the conclusions
and recommendations arising from the reviev~,
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study started in a different place than it ended, From the
beginning, there had been some confusion as to the most pressing needs
that the study should address, At one "extreme" is a study at the strategic
level, This study v~rould focus on a special events strategy for the ~rhole
community Which incorporated the activities of the City and those of
community organizers (some v`rhich partnered Frith the City; many more
v~hich did not) ,This study ~rould try to understand the interrelationship of
all these events and hoer the City might attempt to organize, coordinate,
and manage these events to the general benefit of the City's goals
(economic, lifestyle, or other rise),
At the other "extreme" is a tactical plan that focused on the city
government's activities and more specifically on the SEU's involvement in
the events in v~hich the City v~ras formally or informally involved,
While it is not really possible to separate the two extremes into discrete
non-overlapping studies, it became clear early in the process that the most
pressing need was closer to the second than the first. In consultation with
City staff over the time of the project, this resulted in an evolution of the
project objectives (which initially seemed to imply a more strategic
approach) and work plan to reflect this slight change in emphasis.
Notwithstanding that, the project did review the overall special events
activities through contacts with a variety of community events organizers
(see appendix A for a list of study participants).
As v~ith many projects of this type, it is not unusual to find that the doing of
the project often leads to changes in the "object" that one is studying, This
is no different in this case ~rhere the very act of the study suggested to staff,
at all levels, changes in their planning, objectives, and behaviour, The
object in this case, special events administration, did not remain static
during the time of the study and this v`rill be reflected in the
recommendations presented later in this report, Some of these
recommendations have already been acted upon or are nor part of the
ingredients for the planning for future years, Staff and the project team both
learned in the doing and so behaviour changed,
Another complication in understanding the objectives of this project, and
thus the types of recommendations of most use to the City, lay in
distinguishing the role of special events as an activity in achieving
municipal goals from the role of the SEU v~ithin the administrative hierarchy
of the municipality, Ultimately, both types of recommendations are
important but if one follo~rs the "form follov`rs function" dictum, it v~rould be
important first of all to establish the functional role of special events in the
City and then the particular organization situation and reporting
relationships that v~rould make the most sense, Accordingly, this is the logic
and approach that has been employed in this assessment,
Main issues
This project ans~rers the follo~ring questions;
1, Hoer do special events as a tool fit into the City of I~itchener's overall
economic development, branding, dov~rnto~rn revitalization, and
communications goals?
2, What are the special events needs of community event organizers and
internal staff that must be met?
3, What changes, if any, should be made to the management and
operations of the special events unit?
To ans~rer these questions required the project team to investigate the
follo~ring issues;
2
• Goals and objectives of the City's special events programme
• Special events and do~rntov~rn revitalization
• Relationships Frith community event organizers
• 1Vlanaging the special events unit
• Operating the special events unit
• Implementation issues
The follo~ring report is divided into these sections,
Size and types of events
For the strategy, ire have distinguished City-managed and staged events
from community-managed and staged events, These events can be further
divided into the follov~ring classes;
• "Signature" events -Several events sponsored and implemented by
the City (often in partnership v~rith community groups) have gro~rn in
size and impact to the point in v~rhich they are key components in the
branding4 of the municipality, These events include the follov`ring;
• The V~Tord on the Street
• Cruising on King Street
• Kitchener Blues Festival
• KidSp ark
• Nevi Years Dov~rnto~rn Kitchener
• Kitchener 1Vlulticultural Festival
• City special events -These events are initiated by the programming
units5 to support their divisional goals v~hich in turn support over all
corporate goals, The SEU support for these events ranges from moving
tables and chairs through to planning and production,
• Large scale community events -These events are large scale, yearly,
often multi-day events in ~rhich the City plays a funding, permits, and/or
a production role, The event is managed and governed by separate
organizations and boards, These events too become part of the brand of
the community, Examples of this are the follo~ring;
• Oktoberfest
• ChristkindllVlarket
' Please note that "branding" does not refer to the graphic symbols that the City uses to
identify its communications, Rather, branding refers more broadly and strategically to
the image that audiences have of Kitchener,
5 For this report, the term "programming unit or units" refers to activities undertaken by
divisions or units v~rhich are not internal functions but are directed at external
audiences.
3
Smaller scale community organized events -These events maybe
deliberately kept small, nev~rly launched, or are still in the gro~rth phase
of their existence, Typically, the events have community organizers,
The City's role is most likely to be the provision of funding, advice, the
issuance of licences or permit; the coordination of traffic, poorer, grater
through other City divisions; or the lending of audio assistance and
perhaps equipment,
Please note that these distinctions become tenuous during the transition
period when acommunity-managed event becomes large and complex
enough to require increased City involvement (e.g. Bluesfest) or when an
event becomes the ' `property" of the community when the City is able to
turn the event over to a community group (e.g. Ribfest).
V~Te have not included in this breakdo~rn the events that occur at the
Kitchener 11/larket v~rhich in a simplistic gray might be likened to sales
promotions, For instance, a reading by a famous author acts as a traffic
generator at a bookstore, This is outside the traditional definition of a
special event, Their exclusion in this reviev~ is not a comment on their value
or quality nor does it preclude their inclusion in future planning as
individual events v~rarrant,
The study process
The study team consulted a pride range of special event organizers, users
of the special events unit's services, and individuals v~ith a viev~r of special
events as a tool in city building, These individuals have provided
background information; their viev5rs of the City's special events activities
and procedures; and assisted in the development of the recommendations
contained in this report, To ans~rer the questions posed above, the project
team undertook a large number of interviev`rs and, vtrorkshops, Activities
included the follo~ring;
• Interviev`rs
• Community event organizers
• 1Vlayor and councilors
• City of Kitchener staff
• Special events unit staff
• Other community stakeholders
4
• Workshops
• City staff
• Community events organizers
Benchmarking/best practices in other organizations, including;
• Orillia department of culture and heritage
• Orillia cultural development and community programs
• Edmonton public information unit
• Edmonton civic events division
• Edmonton economic development department
• Calgary Arts Development Authority Ltd,
• Barrie, arts policy
In total, over 75 people have been involved in the investigation and
deliberations. (See appendix A for a list of study participants.)
Orientation of the recommendations
The number of City special events has grown over time to reflect both the
needs of community organizers as Well as the City, Some events exist
because of, v`rhat may be called, "habit" ,Through the years, the City has
tended to be reactive in its v~rork With events organizers rather than being
systematically proactive (following a path leading to the municipal goals) in
its selection of the projects that it takes on,
The SEU initiates nevi events through its v`rork With different arts and culture
related organizations but many of these new events are unplanned for in
the yearly planning process, This means that the production staff is
regularly faced With events that are not on the formal schedule, In addition,
the unit lacks a clear mandate and boundaries as to the activities that it
should or should not undertake, The result is that the unit does not have
guidelines as to the appropriateness of an event nor does the unit have the
ability to decide Which events it can or cannot accept, It makes for a
melange of events Without a clear direction or relationship With the needs
or vision of the City,
The recommendations contained in this report attempt to change the
orientation of the City from being reactive to being more strategic When it
comes to selecting events With Which it becomes involved, Rather than
beginning With habit or reaction, We begin With What the City is trying to
accomplish through its economic and community development goals and
its desire for community capacity building, dov`rntov~rn redevelopment, and
5
the attraction of investment, UVe use the City's over-riding goals as our
jumping off point for any rationalizing of the City's special event
programme,
Reading this report
This report is focused on the recommendations that arise from our
investigation and the resultant actions, The reader v~rill find that each section
of the report begins v~rith recommendations v~rhich are then follo~red v~ith
the observations and rationale that are the basis of the recommendations,
As part of the study process ire also revie~red the v~rork of special events
divisions of other communities, UUe have proven the lessons learned into
our observations and recommendations rather than setting them out in a
disconnected separate section,
6
Section I
Goals and objectives of the City's special events programme
he development of a strategy for Kitchener's special events
unit starts v`rith the City's vision of the community and path that
it v~rishes to follo~r to realize that vision, The activities of the
SEU are another arro~r in the City's quiver of city building
tools and so must conform to the City's overall direction, So
before examining the gays that the SEU might change, if change is needed,
v~re must develop an understanding of the ends the City is trying to
accomplish and the gray it grants to arrive there,
This section looks at the City's overall special events goals and sets out
some parameters for the discussion framing the ~rork of the SEU,
I. I Special events as a community and economic development tool
Recommendation;
I . I a Use special events primarily as an economic development tool rather than
a community development tool.
Observations and rationale;
The starting line for a look at the City's special events strategy is the City's
vision of Kitchener's future, At its most simplistic, one might argue that a
particular municipal government might imagine/see economic
development as the best gray to attain the future it foresees, Such a vision
implies a certain type of government and a certain type of emphasis for the
attracting of industry, commercial, and investment activities, In a crude
v`ray, an example of an economic development orientation might be the
City of Vaughan v~hich pushes an ICI agenda,
On the other hand, a municipal government might be focused on the
lifestyles of its residents and optimizing that experience, An example of a
place v~ith this type of approach might be Elliot Lake v~ith its target of
7
attracting retirees, The City gill want to ensure that improving its residents'
living experience is paramount in the City's activities,
V~Te caution the reader that this is a very simplistic look at the function of a
municipal government, It is important, hov~rever, to follov~r this path of
thought just long enough to sort out and prioritize the multitude of
conflicting demands upon a municipality's limited resources, This
distinction of economic development needs over lifestyle needs helps to set
the role of special events in-general and the role of a special events unit
more specifically v~rithin a municipal government's portfolio of functions and
. 6
services,
The senior management team has articulated the following three main
thrusts for the City's special events activities;
1, Downtown redevelopment -Kitchener has taken a unique approach
to the redevelopment of its downtown. While physical improvements
are an important and critical part of this revitalization effort, events and
activities, which bring people into the downtown who might otherwise
not come, are equally if not more important,
2, Capacity building -The City believes that a key function of all
divisions is to transfer knowledge to the community so that it is able to
undertake its own activities such as the organizing of special events
more efficiently and effectively,
3, economic development - As noted above, the City sees special
events as a key activity in its general economic development work.
Further discussions with senior managers reinforced the point that
economic development is the most effective way to realize the future of the
community, For the purpose of developing a special events strategy, the
position is that Kitchener's economic development activities can create an
environment that allows for the improvement of a resident's lifestyle but an
emphasis on lifestyle gill have a much smaller impact on the City's
economic development circumstances,7Tbis is the starting point for the
V~Te reiterate that this is by no means an "either-or" situation. All events that are
supported primarily for economic development reasons also have the associated
benefit of providing lifestyle enhancement opportunities for residents, Thus in a real
sense, economic development events are also lifestyle events.
All this is put rather baldly as investment in arts and culture should ultimately be seen
as economic development, The "equation" is that high quality of life attract the creative
class rho in turn create businesses and jobs. The economic development focus has
8
City of Kitchener's special events strategy and operating plan for the
special events unit,
1.2 "Special events" from the special events unit's perspective
Recommendation;
1.2a For the salve of planning and the work of the special events unit, "special
events" include only celebrations, festivals, and sales-oriented events
(excludes activities such as public consultation, protocol activities, and
conferences).
®bservations and rationale;
"Special events" can include a hodgepodge of different activities all having
to do with a municipality's public "face-to-face" group interactions with
residents, industry, and others with whom the City wishes to communicate,
Inherent in this definition is that the event(s) is outside the regular face-to-
face interactions v~rith the City's audiences, Examples of special events from
the City's and the audiences' point-of view are the follov~ring;
• Celebrations (e.g. New Years Eve Downtown Kitchener)
• Festivals (e.g. Grillfest)
• Sales (e.g. The Word on the Street)
• Protocol activities (e.g. a visit from the Queen)
• Neighbourhood (e.g. Festival of Neighbourhoods)
• Mayor and councillor events (e.g. environment days)
• Public consultations (e.g. environmental assessments)
• Trade and consumer shows
• Conferences
• Media events (e.g. announcements)
After discussions with staff regarding the historical use of the term "special
events" from a City of Kitchener context, v~re have focused the project on
the celebrations, festivals, and sales, This is in keeping with the traditional
work of the special events unit, Events range in size and longevity and may
be at the behest of other City divisions and/or community organizers, The
other types of special events listed above are undertaken by other City
units (e.g. communications and marketing and economic development),
immediate benefits, whereas a lifestyle focus will bring benefits in the longer term,
One should be cautious about positioning one at the expense of the other except for
this very specific purpose of preparing the special events strategy,
9
1.3 Branding of Kitchener and the downtown
Recornrnendation;
1.3a The City should appoint a "brand manager" which would be responsible
for the development and overseeing of the City's branding strategy.
®bservations and rationale;
As an economic development-led activity, special events have a key role in
the development of Kitchener's brand (or image8) , A common sentiment is
that Kitchener must modify the gray investors, visitors, and residents see the
community, At the moment, it is felt that Oktoberfest is the main ingredient
of the brand image to the external v`rorld, (Certainly it is one of the top
images that comes to mind v~rhen non-residents of the Region are asked
about Kitchener,) With the diversification of the community's industrial
sectors, types of residents, and range of resident and visitor activities, there
is a sense that Kitchener needs to revisit the v~ray in ~rhich it sells itself and
the v`ray strangers (and residents) think of the city,
Special events can be an important facet of the branding strategy for both
the city as a ~rhole and for the do~ntov~rn,lVlany municipalities use a single
event (or multiple related events) to shov~rcase their communities, For
instance, Kelo~rna BC has its annual International Regatta, Banff has its
Summer Arts Festival, and Collingv~ood has its Elvis Festival, Not many,
ho~rever, are as strongly connected to a municipality's image as
Oktoberfest is to Kitchener,
The image of the dovUnto~rn is also problematic in the vier of many
intervie~rees and is a detriment to its appeal to visitors, businesses,
investors, and residents, The current aim of the dov~rnto~rn's special events
is to attract more people to the area and to reanimate the area in order to
promote a change in the function and makeup of the do~rntov~rn and its
image,
Currently, no one division is formally charged v~rith overseeing the brand
strategy and no strategy is in place to guide the selection and nature of the
City's special events, Rather, a number of divisions/units including
8 For this report vtre use the terms brand, branding strategy, and image
interchangeably. Their differences do not affect our observations and
recommendations,
10
economic development, communications and marketing, enterprise, arts
and culture, and community programmes and services affect the v~ray in
v`rhich residents, visitors, shoppers, and investors see Kitchener, They do
this through their situational marketing and communications activities,
UVithout an overriding branding strategy to follo~r, it is very difficult to get
all the City activities to ~rork together to develop a coherent message (s) , g
The desired image for Kitchener and its do~rntov~rn affect the development,
selection, and implementation of special events and vice versa, From the
special events point-of vier, the City has several alternatives to dealing
v~rith this challenge, The most expedient action is the status quo ~rhich is
also the least costly in the short term, Its cost is in lost opportunity and
(possibly) sub-optimal marketing of the municipality, The most costly is the
development of near signature events or the redevelopment of an existing
event aimed at visitors and investors, This is more resource intensive and
will likely take a much longer period to be felt by the market (assuming that
there is a limit to financial and staff resources available to the new event).
Given that Kitchener is not starting from a blank slate, v~re need to look at a
middle ground, This middle ground is a focus on fashioning a common
thrust for events that the City chooses to support, These events v`rould have
common economic development-related and branding messages, The aim
is to develop over the longer term a unified message about the city,
This middle ground requires greater coordination and cooperation
amongst the many event coordinators (City and community) in their
communications, marketing, and scheduling. This approach allows for
organic growth, a better planting of the roots of each event, and a better
pruning of the events over time (either through natural attrition or an actual
cutting ofd. Resource allocation will be done over a longer term and there
is less likely to be a shock to the plant (system) from the indiscriminate
planting of events that do not add to the sum of the branding parts.
The City "targets" its special events at particular audiences in order to
meet its corporate goals, The audience for any particular event many vary
9 Bear in mind that the brand of Kitchener is, of course, more than just the special events
it chooses to support, Brand encompasses a range of attributes and factors including
the economic base (think of Detroit or Ottavtra); its physical situation (~Tinnipeg,
Calgary); its famous personalities (Bill Davis and Brampton; l~/Iel Lastman and Toronto;
~1Uayne Gretzky and Brantford); and many more attributes as vtrell.
v`ridely but ultimately the City supports and designs the event to support its
economic development and lifestyle objectives, From a mercenary point-
of view, there are several primary target groups that the City aims its
events, Each user group has particular needs or desires, just like the City
has desired behaviours that it wishes those audiences to take, Exhibit 1,1
below outlines the major groups and their wants and desired behaviours,
The City then has a direction for its messaging and choice of events with
which it involves itself,
Exhibit I.I
Primary audiences for City events
I I I. 1 P I ~~ I I 1' 'I
Investors (ICI) ROI New investment
Tourists
Residents
Community event organizers
Regional agencies, boards,
and commissions
New investment opportunities
Entertainment
Knowledge
Ample services at lowtaxes
Safety/security
Assistance runningtheirevent
A successful end result
Variable
Economic impact
Contentment
Re-election
Running a successful event that
contributes toimage/reputation
of the city
Variable
Notwithstanding the unified approach of using certain special events to
strengthen the City's branding messages, it is not the intention of the City to
leave out those events that are not part of the "official" selection, ~° Those
"unofficial" events might still have access to City assistance but it is the
"official" selections that will get greater attention by the City's SEU,
Our suggestions in the following sections are based on this middle ground,
1.4 Opportunities for future City special events
Recommendation;
I.4a Use existing resources to strengthen existing events rather than seeking
new City events except in specific cases (see observations below).
10 The City's marketing footprint is sufficiently large that there can be multiple
unassociated events that will not dilute the messaging, Given this reality, "unofficial"
events can still take advantage of the City's advice and services,
12
®bservations and rationale;
Discussions with community stakeholders, plus our own observations,
suggest that there is no compelling need for more large-scale community-
organizedsignature events, Interviewees note that with regards to City-
initiatedevents, it is too early to look at adding more and that there does not
appear to be a "gap" or "hole" (a theme or holiday) in the schedule that is
not nov~r being serviced by either the City or a community group, Rather,
the City should look at making sure that existing signature events are
operating smoothly first,
In addition to there not being an obvious gap, current staffing levels and
resources would be hard pressed to mount another major event even v~rith
community partners, This is especially true during the start-up years of a
nevi event when the City would play the primary role in launching,
marketing, staffing, organizing, and implementation, Launching another
large-scale event while the City is struggling to maintain the current
schedule would overtax the existing processes, The more effective way to
operate is to grog existing or nevi smaller/medium community events
organically thereby letting the community partner take the lead and
growing the event over time ,11
None of this discussion, however, should preclude unique large-scale city-
changing events which bring national or international attention to Kitchener,
These might be initiated by the City, community groups, or outside
agencies, Examples of these might be international fairs or exhibitions
(such as the Venice Biennelle proposed for Cambridge) or conferences,
1.5 The City's role in event organizing
Recornrnendation;
I.Sa The City should develop a methodology and rationale that specifies which
types of events it will become involved with, the rationale for that
involvement, and the extent to which support will be provided.
11 Conversely, "wiping the slate clean" is not a realistic option, vVe would speculate that
from a branding point-of-view, there is a large amount of equity built up in existing
events, Notwithstanding that, the cost of abandoning any particular event would
require a branding analysis outside the scope of this project,
13
®bservations and rationale;
The City takes on various roles in the organization of a special event, As
earlier outlined, at one extreme the City is the primary organizer
(sometimes in partnership v~ith a community group) responsible for
planning, funding, organization, and implementation, At the other extreme,
the City is, for the most part, just an interested observer v~ith little or no
responsibility for the event beyond any permitting or licensing that maybe
necessary, For this strategy, ire look primarily at events (small or large) in
v`rhich the City has a role (small or large), Generally then, only events in
v~rhich the City has some control, involvement as a funder and facilitator, or
as a partner gill be discussed in this strategy,
Exhibit 1, 2 belo~r identifies these various current and future roles that the
City plays and the priority of those roles in realizing the City's goals,
Exhibit 1.2
City's role in special events
(H=High, llll=medium, L=lov`r, NA=not applicable)
Providingfunding H H H H H
Providing implementation advice H H H H H
Providing implementation assistance H H M M L
Initiating new events H H H H M
Issuing permits and licences H H H H H
Coordinating Citydivisionasslstance H H H H H
Providing marketing advice L L M H H
Assisting in budgeting L L M M M
Preparing monitoring and evaluation scheme L L M M M
Training of organizers L M H H H
Implementing joint marketing campaigns L M H H H
Scheduling/conflict resolution L L M M M
Networking amongst community organizers L H H H H
14
Sectiion 2
Special events and downtown revitalization
revitalized do~rnto~vn is a key component of the City's sales
pitch to potential investors, residents, and visitors, In
addition to physical changes, business recruitment and
retention, and organizational ~rork, the City sees an intense
schedule of special events as a key ingredient in the
revitalization effort, Special events are seen as an effective gray to animate
the do~vntov~rn and to generate longer day use as v~rell as increasing use
through the creek, V~Tith this in mind, the City sees a strong partnership v~ith
the Kitchener Dov~rnto~rn Business Association (IBA) as key to the
revitalization effort,
The City staff and KDBA's current relationship is in transition as they sort out
their respective roles and responsibilities, This is a reflection of the change
in orientation of the IBA from its long time focus on social issues to the
exclusion of the traditional functions of a business improvement area (in the
main, marketing and physical improvements) , With this change comes the
possibility of a change in the KDBA's relationship Frith the City and the
necessity of redefining their respective roles,
With the election of a never chair and appointment of never administrative
staff, the KDBA has transitioned into a traditional BIA, ~]Uhereas, the KDBA
v~ras once satisfied to allover the City to plan and implement special events in
the area (as the IBA eras more concerned Frith social and developmental
issues), there is nov~r a desire to revisit the arrangement, This transition, has
created a number of challenges-many of them affecting the KDBA's role in
the implementing of special events in the immediate area, The struggle for
a redefined relationship bet~reen the IBA and the City has created
challenge to planning and organizing a coherent event schedule and to
delineating their respective responsibilities, This manifests itself in the
differing positions over authority, location of events, funding, staff
resources, event selection, and implementation of the events themselves,
15
Ongoing discussions have centred on the I~BA's annual contribution (in
the neighbourhood of $40,000) to the City to manage dov~rnto~rn events,
This contribution allo~red the "old" BIA to focus on its social ~rork by giving
the City the responsibility of programming King Street, Hov~rever, this
responsibility allo~red the City to stress its slightly different needs ~rhich
reflect its cityv`ride mandate (and not just those of the businesses Within the
BIA jurisdiction) and different gays of undertaking events such as possibly
moving activities to Victoria Park (e.g. Cruise Night),
There have been discussions about changing the relationship and the
division of responsibilities ranging from a bolus bolus return of both the
funding and responsibilities tothe BIA through to some version of the status
quo, Discussions are ongoing,
This section of the report looks at the gays in ~rhich the City and the KDBA
can more effectively ~rork together,
2. I KDBA and City special events goals
Recommendations:
2. I a While recognizing the needs and goals of the KDBA, the City's focus
should remain on the needs of the whole community and its own
economic development goals for the downtown.
®bserations and rationale;
A source of contention bet~reen the City and the KDBA is their different
goals, description of the "dov~rntov`rn", and the audiences to v~hich they v~rish
to communicate, The City and the IBA have slightly divergent goals for
the animation of the dov~rnto~rn, Exhibit 2. l on the follov~ring page articulates
these differences,
16
Exhibit 2.1
Differences in special events needs for the "downtown"
~s~
Audiences Residents and visitors who are potential Residents, visitors, investors city-wide,
shoppers in the retail trading area
Stakeholders Members of the KDBA
Purpose of events and their To drive sales (the more immediate the
selection better)
Geographic area of interest The streets within the BIA boundaries
Location of events King Street
Number of events Every weekend between Victoria Day and
Thanksgiving's
Size of events Large to small
Marketing messages KDBA member focused
2.2 Ongoing KDBA and City relationship
Recornrnendation;
regionallyand beyond
All residents and businesses
To revitalize the downtown area
The central business area including
Victoria Park plus contiguous areas
outsidethe formal BIA boundaries
King Street plus contiguous areas
Signature events
Large (signature events)
City branding
2.2a The City remain committed to developing an ongoing partnership with
the KDBA
2.2b The primary contact should be the economic development unit and not
the special events unit.
Observations and rationale;
The City is in the transition period between articulating its economic
development goals for the downtown and its implementation through (in
part) a special events-focused strategy. While there have been many
events held in the downtown, these have grown without an overall strategy.
There continues to be a feeling by the IBA that it is not consulted
sufficiently by City staff,lVlaking the situation more problematic is the
multiple contacts with the City so that it appears to the DBA as if there are
several decision makers, This situation v~rill likely only get gorse as the
physical redevelopment of King Street begins and more parties become
involved,
1z From interviews with KDBA executive
17
2.3 Relative KDBA and City roles and responsibilities
Recommendation;
2.3a The City should retain primary responsibility for those signature,
community-wide events that it now stages.
2.3b Events which are sales-oriented (e.g. Midnight Sales) should be left to the
responsibility of the KDBA
2.3c In the longer term, new sales-oriented events which will be staged in the
downtown area should be redirected by the City to KDBA for assistance
and evaluation. Exhibit 2.2 below shows the relative roles of the City and
the KDBA in the initiation, planning, implementation, and evaluation of
different types of special events.
Exhibit 2.2
City and KDBA roles and responsibilities
~, 1;~
Downtown special events strategy Support
Existing signature event Support
BIA-focus sales/traffic generator Leadership
New proposed sales-oriented events (small) Leadership
New proposed events (community-wide impact) Support
®bservations and rationale;
Leadership
Leadership
Support
Support
Leadership
Given the City's plans for a revitalized do~rntown, there v~rill be ongoing
overlap in the use of the area for special events, One can foresee occasions
v~rhen the needs of the City and the KDBA gill be in conflict, especially
during the short term as both parties sort out their goals for the downtov~rn
and their respective roles, It suggests the need for a clearer delineation of
responsibilities, clearer lines of communications, and a longer horizon for
planning and scheduling, In addition, there is needed a distinction betv~reen
events on the "main street" and those in the area (including Victoria Park) ,
18
2.4 Scheduling of downtown special events
Recommendation;
2.4a The scheduling of downtown (including surrounding areas) special events
should be the responsibility of the City (in collaboration with the KDBA).
®bserations and rationale;
The City's dov~rnto~rn special events calendar is quite extensive, Added to
this are the many community organized and private sector events that v~ish
to use the area (both on and off King Street) ,The KDBA envisions an event
every v~reekend from Victoria Day to Thanksgiving, The issue then is rho
controls the street and area and rho selects the event that can use the
area? The KDBA is generally agnostic about the type of event staged as
long as it is successful in animating the street and increasing sales traffic,
19
Section 3
Relationships with community event organizers
he staging of special events is a collaborative effort bet~reen
the City and many community events organizers, These
events organizers range from individuals v~ith never ideas for
events to organizations with decades of experience staging
events with a large corps of volunteers and formalized
processes. Community organizers have different types of relationships with
the City and have different needs. This section outlines the views of
community organizers and recommends various steps that the City might
take to make those relationships more effective and smoother running.
3. I Working the system at city hall
Recommendation;
3. I a A SEU intake officer(s) should be appointed to assist community event
organizers with their special events needs including directing their
enquiries to the appropriate programming unit for follow-up,
understanding the process to obtain assistance, and completing an intake
checklist.
®bservations and rationale;
Community organizers have reported difficulty v~rorking v~ith the City due
to the lack of a clear process to navigate the corridors of city hall, This is
especially daunting for near event proponents, They report the follov~ring
difficulties;
No obvious location to find information (organizers do not want to
continue going from pillar to post trying to figure out where to get
assistance, room bookings, and permits)
Need for better understanding of funding process and City priorities
No training opportunities to professionalize their events
20
3.2 Relationship between the City and community event organizers
Recommendation;
3.2a Exhibit 3. I below shows the recommended respective roles of the City
and the community events organizers.
Exhibit 3. I
Roles of the City and the community events organizers
City special events strategy
Planning of existing events
Implement existing events (small)
Implement existing events (community-wide impact)
New proposed events (small)
New proposed events (community-wide impact)
Support Leadership
Leadership Support
Leadership Support
Varies Varies
Leadership Support
Support Leadership
3.2b Given the City's special events goals and the means it might employ to
realize them, exhibit 3.2 below shows the priority of the services (other
than funding) that City should provide community organizers.
Exhibit 3.2
City services for community event organizers
(H=High,lVl=medium, L=lover)
Coordinating services of City divisions H H H H H
Implementation H H M M M
Marketing advice M M H H H
Joint marketing L L L M M
Scheduling of events L L L L L
Networking and information sharing L M H H H
Training/capacity building L M H H H
®bservations and rationale;
Some community organizers feel they are the experts v~rhen it comes to
designing their ovvn events, They feel that the City is more expert in
implementation as vUell as having a facilitating role providing funding,
coordinating the different City divisions involved in special events (e.g.
v~rater, traffic), providing opportunities for netv~rorking amongst event
organizers, and assisting organizers minimize scheduling conflicts, Study
21
participants feel that the special events unit can play a role incapacity
building rather than managing or governing of events,
Given the community organizers attitude about their o~rn expertise and that
of the City's as v~rell as the City's goals for capacity building, it implies a
need to reprioritize the City's services for events organizers, This v~rould be
reflected in a change from a role as implementers to a role as teachers and
net~rorkers, This approach ~rould be consistent v~ith the City's Community
Investment Strategy (being developed simultaneously v~rith this strategy) ,
3.3 Relationship between community event organizers
Recommendation;
3.3a The City should produce an online calendar of City and community events
to assist organizers in their selection of event dates
3.3b The City should expand its existing networking activities from those aimed
at the arts and culture sector and community building event organizers to
include those of all sectors
®bservations and rationale;
Community organizers note that there are fear opportunities to develop
relationships v~ith other organizers for support, information sharing, and to
identify complementary events, They feel that the City could provide the
venue for ongoing netv`rorking amongst organizers, UVe are av`rare that the
arts and culture unit has developed a netv~rorking programme but the
number of participants might still be increased as there appears to be a
need for Crider a~rareness of the programme,
Organizers have noted difficulty in scheduling their events as there is no
central listing of community and City events, While the City publishes a
brochure of its events, the listing is limited, Smaller community events are
concerned about conflicting dates though our experience is that a
community of Kitchener's size can support multiple small, localized events
simultaneously, Acentral database ~rould assist organizers to select dates
for their events and allovsr for a more predictable and organized approach
to event schedule, City staff ~rould be responsible for maintaining and
updating the database,
22
Section 4
Managing the special events unit
he special events business can be chaotic, v~ith quick turn-
arounds, high staff stress, unplanned events, very short lead
times, budget overruns, and can typically be difficult to plan, It
is not unusual to find great amounts of over time, lieu time, and
r 7 absenteeism. One often hears of the job as a young person's
game much like many other jobs in the marketing and communications
business.
Kitchener's special events unit reflects all these difficulties but is hindered
further by a lack of a strong mandate that allo~rs the unit to better control
the activities that it undertakes, From the clients' point-of vier, the lack of
control allo~rs the City to assign projects and activities outside the scope of
atypical special events function, This overload adds to the chaotic nature of
the Kitchener's special events unit's activities,
4.1 Goals of the SEU
Recornrnendation;
4. I a For new and non-signature events, the SEU should act as a service
provider supporting the programming unit rather than directing the
account itself.
4. I b For signature events, the role of the SEU is unchanged (mainly a
production function).
4. Ic The SEU reorient its focus from production and the development of
external clients to community capability building and servicing
programming units
Observations and rationale;
SEU has no established mandate that it can point to v`rhen ~rorking Frith
clients, There is no mechanism to determine v~rhat the SEU Will or v~rill not
undertake, Consequently the unit becomes involved in all sorts of activities
that may be peripheral to special events, The unit has turned into acatch-all
23
for projects that do not seem, at first glance, to have a natural home, An
example of this is the future programming of the digital projection
equipment on the roof of city hall (the "cube") ,Because of the SEU's early
involvement and some technical expertise in the use of the special purpose
projectors, the special events unit continues to have a lead role in the
programming of the space, This is likely because the special events unit is
seeing the cube as a "client" , Hov~rever, the programming of the cube is
likely better left to another division/unit which may or may not use the
special event unit's services after the strategic decisions about the use of
the cube are determined,
It has not been the unit's responsibility (nor is it in a position at present) to
ensure that new and existing events are congruent with corporate or
programming unit goals. As it is, this is more rightfully the responsibility of
the programming units which are in charge of the event or project.
4.2 Organizational reporting
Recommendation;
4.2a SEU should be viewed as a corporate service and should not be reporting
to any particular single division or unit
4.2b The special events unit should report to the CAO's Office.13
®bservations and rationale;
Currently, the special events unit reports formally to the enterprise division,
This division is a mixture of revenue-oriented units with a different
orientation, culture, and goals than the special events unit, Interviewees
including enterprise management concur that the SEU is not a natural fit in
this group, we reviewed several alternative reporting scenarios including
the following direct reporting relationships;
• To the CAO Office
• To communications and marketing
• To economic development
• To community programme and services
• To arts and culture
• To enterprise (the status quo)
• Reconstituted as an arms-length agency
13 Please note that all references to the "CAO", unless otherwise marked, refer to the
CAO Office and not to the CAO personally,
24
Exhibit 4,1 belo~r shovers the different advantages and disadvantages to
different reporting schemes,
Exhibit 4.1
Advantage and disadvantages to reporting relationships
CAO Office
Communicationsand marketing
Economic development
Community programmes and
services
Arts and culture
Enterprise (the .rtatur quo)
Arms-length agency
Corporate-wide access
focused on corporate goals
Centrally planned events
schedule
• Access to production services
Complementary skill sets
Directly related to SEU focus
Direct relationship with KDBA
Allow for greater activity in
lifestyle events
Majorityof currentspecial
events are arts and culture
oriented
Common types of community
partners
® familiar
Potential fordeveloping
marketing partnerships and
new funding opportunities not
available to City
Increase in the "span of
control"
Orientation difference between
informing (communications)
and sales (SEU)
More difficult for others to
access services if they are not
economic development related
Not focused on economic
development goals
Too restrictive in types of
events undertaken
Business focus isdifferent-
maximizerevenues vs.
minimize expenses
Citydoes notsetagendafor
SEU work
City in competition with other
stakeholder needs
The assessment of the most effective reporting scheme rests on the
ansv~rers to the follo~ring questions;
• Hove effective can the SEU be in satisfying the corporate economic
development-led vision/goals by reporting to the division?
• What is the likelihood that the SEU's services v`rill be available to all
divisions based on corporate needs rather than just the narrov~r focus of
the division to vUhich the unit reports?
• Are the criteria used to evaluate the SEU's output similar to that of the
others v~ithin the division?
25
• Hove Drell can the division/unit set the priorities of the SEU so that it
directly reflects the City's over all economic development-led goals
~rithout neglecting the City's community development goals?
• Would the division be able to allocate sufficient managerial, staff, and
financial resources to the SEU's reordering of priorities and activities?
• Do the division and the SEU share a complementary culture, v`rorking
style, and orientation to~rards audiences?
On balance, vUe judge that attaching the SEU to the CAO Office provides it
vUith the best conditions to v~rork tov~rards meeting the City's vision/goals,
4.3 Working with new external clients
Recommendation;
4.3a The City's involvement with new (or existing) external clients should be
through the programming units rather than the SEU.
4.3b The SEU should not have its own clients but should be servicing the
clients of other divisions/units.
4.3c Anew external client should gain access to City special events services
through an established protocol. Exhibit 4.2 on the following page shows
the process that an organizer of a new event would follow to obtain help.
®bservations and rationale;
Currently, the SEU cultivates its ov~rn client list, sometimes overlapping that
of other divisions/units (most often overlapping v~ith the arts and culture
unit) ,This is the result of the SEU staff personal interest, history, and the v~ray
in ~rhich nevi clients are routed through city hall ~rhen they are looking for
assistance v~ith a never idea,
From the community event organizer's point-of vievU (especially organizers
v~rho have not held a special event before or have never v~rorked Frith the
City on a special event), the first contact vUith the City can be almost
anyone, If the organizer has a particular venue in mind, he/she gill often
contact the manager of the facility, If it is about a particular theme such as
an arts event, then that person may go to the arts and culture unit, The
organizer may approach a councillor,
26
Exhibit 4.2
Working with new external clients
~ir~t c~nta~t
In~~k~
~~t~i~~ ~Ct~ ~~~ ~r~,~ramm~ ~~als~
~mmur~ity E~~~~~nec
~~. ~i~i h~~ur~~o~ ,. ~r~~ and ~ul~ur~ ,~ ~. E~t~rpri~~ th~r
_..~ _._~ .- a
i ~ _ T ~ ~ ~ _R _,.-
ir~pl~r~ent~ti~n {S~U~
~`r~in~ng~a~wi~~
Another way in which events are initiated is through the work of SEU staff
which is in regular contact with community organizations, especially those
in the arts and culture sector. The staff maybe responding to an inquiry or
it may initiate an idea and seek an organization or individual to carry the
idea through (this is how the SEU ends up with its own client list).
In both circumstances, the organizer v`rill eventually end up contacting and
v`rorking v`rith the SEU, From the organizer's perspective, this makes a lot of
sense since it is help v~rith the activity that they v~rant,
From the City's point-of vier, hov~rever, the focus should not be on the
event but on corporate goals and v~rhether the event helps the City attain
those goals, Each division/unit is in the best position to make the
determination about the appropriateness and the extent of the City's
involvement in the event, The SEU v~rould then focus on planning and
implementing events and only peripherally involved in assessing v`rhether
events fit v~rithin the goals of the programming areas and ultimately the
goals of the City, The SEU should not be vetting the City's involvement in an
27
event. Currently it does this because they are often the first formalized
(sometimes the only formalized) contact with the proponent.
This is anon-strategic approach, and is a large part of the reason v~hy the
City ends up supporting a pride variety of events at different levels and
capacities, v~ith no apparent underlying rationale, A never evaluative system
v`rould put all events supported on a consistent and rationalized basis,
4.4 Relationship with other City divisions
Recommendation;
4.4a Change the SEU's orientation from a "owner" of events to that of a client-
service provider
4.4b Over the longterm, the Cityshould worlctowards establishing the
programming units as the primary relationship with community events
organizers.
®bservations and rationale;
The SEU v~rorks vUith all City divisions, some more often than others
depending on that division's programming needs, Those needs gill vary
substantially ranging from set-up andknock-down assistance through to
advising, planning, marketing, and full staging, As a result, the unit's docket
is typically full and diverse in timing, themes, and degree of assistance
offered, Layered on top of the list of activities requested by other City
divisions and units are those events that the SEU initiates itself in
partnership v~ith community organizers, It is those latter events that
currently cause conflict betv`reen the SEU and the programming units,
Of particular significance are those events and partnerships that overlap
vUith those of the arts and culture unit,llllany current City supported events
are arts and culture in nature and there have been discussions that the City
should focus primarily on arts and culture themed events in its economic
development v`rork, The City sees arts and culture as a v~rinning theme in
the city's development as an investment and tourism destination,
V~Tith tiro units ~rorking on the arts and culture side of the street, there is
confusion amongst community events organizers as to both the general
policies of the City as v~rell as the role and responsibilities of the different
units, This confusion in roles also occurs elsev`rhere, The most prominent is
the relationship vUith the IBA, From a more global perspective, having
28
multiple entry points into the City causes the gaining of corporate goals to
be more difficult and haphazard, And because so many events are
production-focused, policy and the corporate goals take second place,
In the short term, the SEU gill continue to be the primary contact for many
community events organizers, Hov`rever, over time, these relationships
need to be moved to the programming units so that the programming units
can integrate these events into the over goals of their unit and of the City,
4.5 Unit structure
Recommendation;
4.5a Restructure the SEU responsibilities underthe scheme shown in exhibit
4.3 below.
Exhibit 4.3
Unit structure
~,
SEII
~~~ act ~u~l~i~ ~r~~u~~i~n and ..r
~ ~ .:
tea,: I~~a~~ ~.
~r~~u~ti~n ~•~
I~~a~e ~ S~~r~~~~~ ,~~
~.r-
..
._ _. _ ~-
-~-
4.5b Afull-fledged capacity buildingfunction responsible fortrainingand
information sharing should be added to the SEU.
4.5c Change the current relationship with internal clients to an account
management relationship
4.5d Change the "sales" function to an intake function so that the SEU is not
directly initiating new events but instead is responding to new organizer
needs through the programming units.
29
®bservations and rationale;
The proposed structure has the programming units responsible for
relationships Frith existing and near external clients and has the SEU acting
as a service provider, V~Tith this structure, an account management
structure in vUhich programming units are assigned to particular SEU staff
v`rould be most effective, It allo~rs the staff to become experts in the
programming unit's goals and needs and provide continuity and
consistency in their events programmes,
As service providers, it returns the responsibility for determining the
appropriateness of an event and extent of an involvement v~ith any
particular community organizer to the programming units, That
"appropriateness" then rests vUith hovU vUell an event fits vUithin the
programming unit's goals and ultimately hoer it fits into the corporate goals,
An account management structure gives the programming units an
"expert" in their particular issues and a single contact v~ithin the SEU,
The proposed changeover must be accompanied by a change in the SEU's
orientation so that it responds to the needs of the programming units rather
than initiating its ovvn events and having its ov~rn client lists, It also means a
change from a sales function to an intake function, Notv~rithstanding that, ire
expect that the unit gill continue to run into nevi ideas and near projects as
it v~rorks vUith the community, Hov~rever, the responsibility for assessing the
value of those events to the City's goals gill nor take place at the
programming unit rather than the SEU, The SEU vUill instead operate at the
point of the intake directing never ideas to the programming areas for
evaluation, Once a programming area has revie~red and decided on the
City's degree of involvement in the project, training and assistance can
come from the SEU,
Our expectation is that "emergency" events vUill continue to arise, It is the
nature of the special events business but by putting in place a more
systematic planning process, one in vUhich account management staff is in
more regular communications v~ith their internal clients, the expectation is
that there v~ill be more v~rarning of the emergency or that these events can
be better slotted into the production planning cycle,
30
Sectiion 5
Special events unit strategy (2009-2012)
iven the various observations and recommendations of
the preceding sections, a number of changes and
revisions might be made to the way in v~rhich the SEU
operates, The following recommendations is based on a
reorientation of the SEU activities from production to
community capacity building and to a service relationship with
programming units who are ultimately responsible for relationships with
community events organizers, This reflects the study team's discussions
with senior managers and SEU staff and the goals that the CAO/C1VIT
outlined for the role of special events in reaching corporate goals,
5. I Basic services of the special events unit
Recommendation;
5. I a Exhibit 5. I on the following page shows an abridged list of the types of
activities that the special events unit is currently undertaking along with
our recommended changes to the provision of the functions. For those
services that the SEU currently offers but to be eventually phased out, we
have suggested a new provider for the service.14 See appendix B for the
complete list of basic SEU services.
l~ For the sake of simplicity, the exhibit makes an arbitrary and slightly artificial
distinction between City and community organized events. For many events
(especially the signature events) there is a substantial City involvement even though
one could argue that these are community events, The reader should review the
revised delineation of responsibility bearing in mind that there will be exceptions
though these exceptions are expected to be fewer over time as the SEU and its
community clients adjust to the new regime.
31
Exhibit 5.1
Basic SEU services
(H=High,lVl=medium, L=1ov~r, NP=not provided)
(C&1VI=Communications and marketing, F1VI=Facilities management,
PU=Programming units, CO=Community organization, 3PC=31d party
contract, TBD=To be determined)
Corporate-wide planning
Corporate-wide special events strategic L L M M H -
planning i
Programming units special events annual M M M M M -
planning
City event organizers assistance
Create formal event plans H H H H H -
Marketingplanning L L L NP NP C&M
Community event organizer assistance
Create formal event plans L L L NP NP CO
Marketing planning M M NP NP NP CO
Training
Training programmes NP M H H H -
Networking
Networking amongst community organizers L NP NP NP NP PU
Lobbying City divisions on behalf of M NP NP NP NP -
communityorganizers i
Relationship with community organizers
Primary contact between City and event Varies M L NP NP PU
organizers
Primary contact between City and KDBA H NP NP NP NP PU
Developing new community clients H NP NP NP NP PU
Day-of-event (City events)
Distribute promotional material L NP NP NP NP 3PC
Audio equipment provision and set-up M M M M M -
Set-upvenues M M M M M -
Knockdown M L L L NP FM
Maintain inventory of event equipment H M NP NP NP FM
Risk management for events H H H H H -
Permitsand licences H H H H H -
Day-of-event (community events)'s
Audio equipment set-up L NP NP NP NP 3PC
Set-up venue L NP NP NP NP CO
15 City is advisor to these events and has minimal or no day-of-event responsibilities
32
Risk management for events (on City property) H H H H H -
Riskmanagement for events (on non-City L L L L L -
property)
Permits and licences H H H H H -
"Sales" and intake
Assess new events and degree of City H NP NP NP NP PU
participation
Develop arts and culture sector H NP NP NP NP PU
Organize new event organizers (after new H H H H H -
event accepted by programming unit)
Unit administration
Annual scheduling of events H H H H H -
Monitoringand evaluation
Of event implementation L H H H H -
Of value of programming unit events to NP NP NP NP NP CMT
corporate mandate
Non-special events activities
Coordinate refurbishment/repair/modification H NP NP NP NP TBD
of Pity event venues
Art installations M NP NP NP NP PU
Digital projectors programming (top of city L NP NP NP NP PU
hall)
City hall rotunda, forecourt, and pool M NP NP NP NP PU
programming
film shoot permitting and liaison M NP NP NP NP TBD
5. I b Initiate acorporate-wide information programme to inform City staff
(with as special focus on SEU staff and elected officials of the unit's
revised service list.
®bservations and rationale,
As a general comment, there is ~ridespread confusion amongst City staff
and councillors about the function of the SEU, its services, and limits of its
resources, Partly, this is the result of the unit's ~rillingness to take on
projects of all descriptions or, put more darl~ly, its inability to turn down
assignments, This confusion in turn results from the unit's lack of a clear
mandate, a product and services menu, and the personalities in the unit,
The result of this situation is that the unit takes on projects in a helter skelter
fashion ~rithout the ability to fully evaluate the suitability of the event to both
its ov~rn ~rorkflo~r, the goals of the corporation-as-a-~rhole, or those of the
programming unit, City staff and external clients are confused by the scope
33
and type of v`rork that the SEU gill or can take on and so there is
indiscriminate calls for their services,
The unit's special events-related ~rork can be divided into the follov~ring
main functions;
• Advising internal and external event organizers regarding;
• Funding
• Sponsorship
• Event implementation
• LOg1st1CS
• Hands-on implementation of internal and external events including;
• 1Vlanaging relationships and projects v~ith internal and external
suppliers of printing, media placement, and equipment
• Coordinating internal services such as permit issuing, trafficking,
v~rater, and other event day needs
• Providing audio equipment and setup
• 1Vlanaging supply of equipment including chairs, tables, and other
event day furnishings
• Identifying and initiating never events
• Internal communications, reporting, event monitoring, and event
evaluation
• Responding to community event organizers' enquiries
In addition, the SEU also takes on the follo~ring roles v~hich are not strictly
event-related;
• Acting as the film industry liaison office
• Programming the digital projectors atop city hall (pending)
• Forming and maintaining net~rorking opportunities for arts and culture
organizations
5.2 Workflow
Recommendations:
5.2a Eliminate the SEU "sales" function underwhich the unit develops its own
set of clients and events
5.2b Programme units ratherthan the SEU should have responsibility for
evaluating the appropriateness of an event to corporate and unit goals
34
5.2c Those projects which are not event-related as defined in section 1.2
should be sent forward to the division director for reassignment
elsewhere
®bservations and rationale;
It is particularly difficult to ascertain the appropriateness of the staff and
financial resources available to the SEU. This is because of the follo~ring;
• A corporate-pride lack of understanding of the use of special events as a
tool as either a community or economic development tool
• A lack of a clear mandate for the special events unit's v~rork
• A lack of a scheme to evaluate the number, scope, and type of near
projects that the unit undertakes over and above those identified as part
of its yearly planning
• Projects that are not, on the face-of it, special events related are given
over to the unit to manage or implement
• A orientation by the SEU to take on near unplanned events speedily at
the cost of proper planning, training, marketing, and roll-out
• Staff v~rork schedules that reflect the nature of special events ~rhich are
typically held at off hours and ~reekends
V~Torsening the situation is the current structure of the unit; the unit is
divided into tiro functions, The first is a "sales" department ~rhich has a
goal of fostering never events and attempts to initiate a large number of near
clients or projects, This sales goal in practice typically supersedes the unit's
allocation for the planning and budgeting for never projects, As a result, the
unit is often faced vUith numerous unplanned events, each requiring staff
time and unit resources, In fact, attempts to moderate the number of never
projects has failed because of this sales orientation,
The unit's "production" function, on the other hand, is responsible for
implementing the events and takes a role ranging from providing advice
through to actually running an event, They typically do not initiate near
events and are constrained by the unit plan and budgets, The outcome is a
production function that is often faced v~ith nevU, unplanned-for projects that
causes events that are planned to be shorted resources and staff time,
The tiro functions are much like the tv~ro sides of a traditional manufacturing
or engineering company and like these typical companies there is a sharp
35
divergence in goals that makes the ~rhole enterprise prone to under-
performing,
Also aggravating the situation are the difficult-to-plan-for "emergency"
events that arise because of opportunities identified by council, senior
management, or circumstances,
5.3 Resources
Recommendation;
5.3a Review the SEU budget in the context of its revised mandate and
reporting structure.
5.3b Move oversight of the SEU budget to CAO Office.
®bservations and rationale;
Without a more formal planning and implementation scheme for the unit,
there is no way to assess the appropriateness of the resources available to
it. Notwithstanding that, there are outward signs that indicate the
(in)appropriateness of the resource allocation. These include:
• The SEU typically overspends its planned yearly financial and staff
budget
• Large amounts of staff lieu time
• High stress levels amongst production staff
• Anecdotal, though not very scientific, corporate-ride concern that the
unit staff is "burning itself out"
5.4 Monitoring and evaluation
Recommendation;
5.4a Implement a formal evaluation process for events and their
appropriateness to reaching the corporate vision and goals.
5.4b Implement a formal evaluation process for each event with which the City
is involved with a focus on learning lessons for future events. Exhibit 5.2
below shows who would be responsible forthe different evaluations that
should be completed.
36
Exhibit 5.2
Evaluation responsibilities
CaCfl eVeflj Ifil~7lefTleflTatlOfl
SEU overall
Lessons learned
Value of each event to corporation ~
goals
Programming unit's event schedule ~
Value of programming unit's event ~
schedule to corporate goals
Value of event to community ~
organization's goals
Value of community eventto City ~
goals
®bserations and rationale;
At present there is no formal evaluation of events or the appropriateness of
an event to meeting the corporation's overall goals, Evaluations at the
moment are informal and undertaken on an ad hoc basis by SEU staff,
The purpose of installing an evaluation scheme is tv`rofold, The first is to
learn lessons from each event in order to convey those lessons to City and
community organizers and to identify more efficient and effective v~rays to
roll-out an event if it is repeated, The second purpose of an evaluation is to
assess its value in achieving the goals of a division, programming unit, or
the corporation over all,
5.5 Assessment of new community events
Recommendation;
5.5a Develop new intake checklist for assessing the feasibility of new proposed
events and to check if the proponent is ready to mount the event
5.5b Develop and implement training and information programme for new and
experienced organizers of events
37
5.5c Establish two deadlines for application for inclusion in the event
preparation programme in order to ensure that new external organizers
are aware of the production schedule
5.5d Prepare SEU staff to become teachers of the mechanics of mounting
special events (as well as monitoring and evaluation) (they would be
responsible for putting on these training programme/seminars).
®bservations and rationale;
The SEU regularly receives inquiries about assistance for special events
from community organizers and City staff as part of the normal course of
their v~rork, The source of the inquiries comes from the "missionary" 16 v~rork
of the SEU and the programming units as Drell as spontaneously from the
community, These inquiries range from curiosity about possibilities
through to requests for managing and staging of an event,
Currently, near unplanned events that arise through the year undergo an
informal evaluation, That evaluation is sometimes tilted by the force of the
proponent's personality rather than on the rightness of the event for the City
or the ability of the proponent to undertake the event, This is in part due to
the lack of a clearly defined event evaluative process and in part to the
"sales" function's desire to fill the production pipeline v`rithout regard for
the pipeline's ability to actually produce the event, or if the event fits v~ithin
the City's corporate goals, In addition, there are no formal criteria for
assessing the type and degree of SEU assistance that might be provided to
the near organizer,
The desire to move quickly and ~rithout formal analysis is part of the SEU
management ethos, It arises out of concern that if an event is not
immediately acted upon, the proponent v~rill lose interest in the event and so
the opportunity is lost, This does av`ray v`rith a calculated look at the event
concept's fit v~ith corporate goals, Perhaps just as importantly, it does not
allo~r proponents to fully understand the full measure of actually planning,
marketing, and staging an event, Under this system, there is potential for
the event organizer to go off half cocked thereby creating asub-optimal
event as Drell as necessitating the SEU staff to give over a disproportionate
amount of resources to help less prepared proponents,
16 "1Vlissionary" sales are those contacts that the SEU makes to potential event organizers
and/or organizations to encourage them to either mount a special event or to use the
unit's services,
38
To help first-time event organizers stage more effective events and to
better allocate SEU staff, time, and budget resources vUhile at the same time
not discourage organizers, the SEU needs an intake process that
accomplishes the follov~ring;
• Develops a better prepared corps of event organizers
• Builds community capacity to organize and stage events
• Does not extinguish the proponents ardour for the proposed project
• Lets proponents self select and make a better informed judgment
~rhether they really vUant to take the time and effort to stage an event
• Over time transfers the organizing and staging effort from the SEU to the
proponent
• Extends the time bet~reen the initial contact and ~rhen the event enters
the production schedule to give SEU staff time to adjust staff and budget
allocations, if necessary
As noted earlier, event organizers feel a need for training and assistance in
all aspects of organizing, marketing, staging, and evaluating a special
event, This training vUOUId be a boon to organizers v~rhether first-timers or
v~rell experienced, This is a service that the SEU can handily provide the
organizers as part of the unit's capacity building efforts, It tacl~les many of
issues noted above v~rhile at the same time does not extinguish the dreams
of the near event organizers v~rho are preparing for their event prior to its
inclusion in the SEU production schedule,
In many ways, this is similar to processes employed by some adoption
programmes which require a set programme of training and evaluation
before the parents-to-be gets to the starting line. Its aim is to ensure that
new adoptive parents (the first time event organizer) are truly prepared to
take on a sometimes confusing and daunting task,
The vetting process has the added advantage of mitigating the number of
spur-of the-moment events,lVlany event disasters come about because of a
misplaced emphasis on doing over preparing, A longer lead time v~ould
help both the organizer and the SEU to better plan the event, strengthen
critical relationships and management, lo~rer staff costs, and allocate
resources more effectively,
The nevi training programme should start vUith tvtro intakes of event
organizers, The SEU v~ould use a "checl~list" approach to evaluate the
39
amount of assistance that is required to be given, The training sessions
should be open to all organizers, no matter their experience level, The
sessions might be prepared in partnership Frith a local educational
institution, the IOBA (as their special events expertise grov`rs and they take
on more of the responsibility for evaluating events that are held dov~rnto~rn),
or other longstanding event organizers such as perhaps Oktoberfest,
Exhibit 5,3 shovers the activities of the eight-month preparation cycle aimed
at nearly launched community organized events,
Exhibit 5.3
Preparation and selection cycle
Before month -2 Internal and external communications directing organizers to programming units (through
intake office)
Month -2 Referral from programming areas
Month -I Information sessions with community event organizers
Month 0 formal application (simple checklist consisting plus meeting and rudimentary information
for inclusion in event preparation programme)
Month I-4 Event preparation (topics to discuss)
Understanding City goals
Understanding your target audiences
Leadership, governance and setting up organizing committee(s)
Working with the City divisions
fundraising and partnerships, sponsorships
Marketing
Event day planning and organization
Working with printers, designers and other third-party suppliers
~~ Li~en~ingand permits
Budgeting, scheduling, and lead times
Monitoringandevaluation schemes
Month 6 Ready to enter the planning ~y~le
During month 3, the cycle begins again vUith near referrals, After the first
year (2009), the cycle is keyed to application deadlines in April and
October and the City budgeting and planning cycle, During the first half of
2009, the follo~ring gill need to be prepared;
1. Appointment of an intake officer(s)
2. Development of intake checklist for assessment of the organizers
preparedness to mount the event
40
3, Roll out an internal communications programme to inform City
programming staff of the never process and the upcoming application
deadlines
4, Preparation of the first event preparedness information material and
training seminars
As v~ith the formalizing of many processes, there are risks inherent in
making a change, In this case, these risks include the follovUing;
• Dropping out of organizers because the process is too onerous or time
consuming
• Difficulty in mounting an immediate event to capture a particular
opportunity
• Undershooting or overshooting the mark in the complexity of the
training
• SEU staff is unqualified or uninterested in being trainers
• In the short term, over resourcing capacity building at the expense of
production
5.6 I ntalce
Recommendation;
5.6a Ensure the channels (e.g. corporate contact centre, the City website, the
Welcome Centre, the Small Business Centre, the general City telephone
number) by which event organizers will seek special events assistance is
able to direct the caller or visitor to the SEU intake officers}.
®bserations and rationale;
As noted earlier, near and existing community events organizers find it
difficult and confusing to v`rork Frith the City, One of key difficulties is the
lack of v~rhat has been called a "quarterback" by the organizers; a person
v~rho is the locus of information about city hall services, contacts, and the
process,
Existing and never event organizers gill look for information about City
special events services through a variety of channels (e.g. corporate
contact centre, the City ~rebsite, the V`Telcome Centre, the Small Business
Centre, the general City telephone number) ,They often feel that the
information that they receive is inconsistent, incomplete, or contradictory,
In addition, they feel that they are sent around the building, going from
41
pillar to post trying to identify the right place to get information, help, and
funding,
Of particular concern are those individuals or organizations v~ith near ideas
and have not v~rorked v~ith the City before and so have the most difficulty in
understanding the process, The intake officer ~rould have the follo~ring
duties;
• Provide information about funding opportunities and the grant
application process (both City and non-City programmes)
• Identify programming unit staff v~hich is most appropriate for the
proponent to contact and arrange the connection
• For those never or longstanding events v~hich do not require formal City
involvement, arrange City services such as traffic control for the
proponent
• Complete the vetting process to evaluate the readiness of the
proponent to mount a special event
• Provide information regarding City training opportunities and training
schedules
• Provide information regarding the City's special events production
schedule and time slots available to the proponent
The intake officer is not a "sales" person rho initiates never events and has
his or her o~rn client list, Rather, the orientation of the intake officer is in
providing information and making connections betvUeen the proponent and
City divisions and programming units,
42
Section 6
Implementation timing
n this section, ire outline the next steps in the revision of the City's
special events programming, UVe have focused on the large steps in
the next year rather than getting lost in the minutiae v~hich v~rould
invariably change as the City undertakes the reorganization of its
special events activities and processes,
Exhibit 6,1 shovers the steps that must be contemplated in six critical areas,
Please note that these activities are over-and-above SEU's "regular" ~rork
planning and staging the City's special events, It also assumes that an
allocation gill be made for an officer(s) to assist the SEU to make the
transition,
Exhibit 6.1
Next steps
(Assuming a start date of November I , 2008)
Approvals
I. Consulting team presents reporttostudysteering
committee and CSD division senior management team
which, after review, approves report
2. Consulting team presents report to City staff
3. City staff prepares accompanying staff report for Council
meeting
4. Consulting team presents reporttocouncillors
5. Council directs municipal staff for report with financial and
organizational recommendations
Organizational structure
6. Implement neworganizationreporting
Internal buy-in
1. Develop revised SEU job descriptions and reporting scheme
in consultation with SEU staff
8. Review revised mandate with SEU staff
Consulting team November/December
1008
Consulting team December
City staff December
Consulting team January 2009
Council January
CAO January
Municipal staff February
Municipal staff April
43
9. Develop information programmeto notify City divisions of CAO May
changes to SEU, its revised process, and annual planning
process
Community Buy In
10. Produce information material about the new process SEU May
including application timelinesforuse byprogramming
~
areas
I I. Begin regular communications with stakeholder groups Programming areas May
and interested parties through programming areas
Setting up the new intake process
12. Develop intake process and relationships with Municipal staff April
programming units and select officer
13. Develop intake checklist SEU April
14. Develop information programme including collateral SEU April
material, signage, and electronic information about revised
special events process ~
15. Intake office opens Intake officer May
Setting up new information/training programme
16. SEU staff develops newtraining material SEU with May
programming areas
I1. Train the trainer sessions with SEU staff Municipal staff June
18. Develop information package about opportunityfor SEU June
trainingandschedule
19. first training series SEU September
Exhibit 6,2 on the follo~ring page shovers the steps in chronological order,
44
Exhibit ~JCX
Timing of next steps
N~~ ~~ f are fah 1~1ar Apr ~1ay f uu Jul ~~ ~~p Ott I`I~~
Approrrals
I, Present rRport to st~~ 3teeri~;~ ~omr~ittee
. ~~~saltir~,~ t~ pr~s~nks report ca airy staff'
~. ~t~ staff ~rep~'~s tampan~i~~ ~~aff report fit ~~until r~~ti~
~. ~ansultin~ team presents report to ~auntillors
~. M u~iti~~ ~E~~f reparG
4rgarsi~~tiona! stru~tur+e
b. I~t-pleme~t nee ~r~aniaarion repor~ih
,Int~rn~l bey-in
~. be~~lap r~~ised AEU j~t~ ~~s{ripti~~s a~~ rep~rrings{I~err7e ~
$e f4e~i~w ~ewise~ mandate x+ith SEA staff ~
9. D~~elap ir~for~aton prog~am~e
Ifs, Traduce ofarmatiu~ material
1f, PQ in ~e ular ~amr~un~asiv~s Dish atak~h~l~ers
Setting u~ the new fnta~~e p~c~cs
I ~~ f~e~~l~p intake ~roc~ss
13. f~e~elap intake cfr~klist
14. bew~lop infarmaki~n pragrarr~rn~
~, Intake off ite ~ ns
~ 9 ~j ~ , ~ ~
I~. SEMI staff develops yew trair~prwg mat~ria~
I~. irai~ the trainer sessions with SEA staff
I~. flevelop informatim~n pa{~ a~QUt opportunity for ~r~m~n~
I~, fit training series
45
Appendix A
Study participants
• Shelley Adams, City of Kitchener
• Azam Fouk Aladeh, Multicultural Cinema Club -International & Local
Film Festivals
• Michelle Allen, Kitchener Youth Action Council
• Fitsum Aregay, Kitchener Youth Action Council
• Jay Baker, SilenceBreaker media
• Leslie Bamford, City of Kitchener
• Basra Bana, Kitchener Youth Action Council
• Philip Bast, Journalist/Videojournalist/former Record entertainment
editor
• Peter Benninger, Places to Play Championship Gala and Auction
• Kelly Bertoncini, Edmonton Economic Development Department, City of
Edmonton
• Cory Bluhm, City of Kitchener
• Larry Blundell, KV~T Oktoberfest
• Jan Bockmaster, marketing and community relations, V~Taterloo Region
Record
• Hal Bond, Kitchener Chess Festival
• Don Bourgeois, Trillium Foundation/Registry Theatre/Compass
Kitchener
• Astrid Braun, Christkindl Market
• Rob Brov~rning, City of Kitchener
• Don Chapman, City of Kitchener
• Susan Cudahy, ~lUaterloo Region Tourism Marketing Corporation
• Thomas Debssou, Kitchener Youth Action Council
• Kathryn Dever, City of Kitchener
• Rob Deyman, Kitchener Blues Festival
• Cheryl Ealing, community event organizer
• Ellen Finn, civic events unit, City of Edmonton
• Dan Forsey, Dan Forsey Productions, formerly Apollo Ink
• Carey Friedmann, Living Earth Festival-Blooming Earth
• Kelly Gallo ray, councillor, City of Kitchener
46
• Mark Garner, Kitchener DoWntov~rn Business Association
• Eva Grabiel, Kitchener Youth Action Council
• Cathy Gravelle, City of Kitchener
• Pauline Houston, City of Kitchener
• Brad Hutton, Kitchener DoWntov~rn Business Association
• Kim Kugler, City of Kitchener
• Carla Ladd, City of Kitchener
• Adam Libertine, Kitchener Youth Action Council
• Michael Lisetto-Smith, Tri-Pride Cambridge-Kitchener-Waterloo (Pride
Festival)
• Lesley MacDonald, City of Kitchener
• Erika Malich, Kitchener Youth Action Council
• Terry Marr, City of Kitchener
• Julie Marshall, City of Kitchener
• David Marskell, Waterloo Region Children's Museum
• Michael May, City of Kitchener
• Christina Mazza, City of Kitchener
• Michele McBride-Roach, City of Kitchener
• Dave McLaren, City of Kitchener
• Lav~rrence McNaught, Our World Festival of Music
• Jana Miller, City of Kitchener
• Jennifer 0' Connor, Multicultural Festival
• Angela Olano, Waterloo Region Children's Museum
• Janice Ouellette, City of Kitchener
• Lori-Ann Palubeski, City of Kitchener
• Doug Paterson, City of Kitchener
• Marla Pender, City of Kitchener
• Ingrid Pregel, City of Kitchener
• Jacqueline RaWSOn, public information, City of Edmonton
• Laura Reed, KPL -Kitchener Public Library
• Rod Regier, City of Kitchener
• Dianne Robertson, City of Kitchener
• Terry Rock, Calgary Arts Development Authority Ltd,
• Andrea Santi, Kitchener Youth Action Council
• Brian Scott, City of Kitchener
• Marianne Shilling, City of Kitchener
• Troy Speck, City of Kitchener
• Chris Stephenson, Hip Hop Expo
• Kathryn Stephenson, Orillia Department of Culture and Heritage
• Glenn Stewart, DoWntov`rn Mudpuppy Chase
47
• Krista Storey, cultural development and community programs, City of
Orillia
• Coring Tasker, City of Kitchener
• Natascha Voll, City of Kitchener
• Kathy Weiss, City of Kitchener
• Christina Weylie, councillor, City of Kitchener
• Robert Whyte, Earth Day; Tim Hortons Community Litter Pick-up
• Silvia Wright, City of Kitchener
• Cheryl York, City of Kitchener
• Carl Zehr, mayor, City of Kitchener
• Jennifer Zunic, City of Kitchener
48
Appendix B
SEU basic services -detailed
(H=High,lVl=medium, L=1o~r, NP=not provided)
(C&1VI=Communications and marketing, F1VI=Facilities management,
PU=Programming units, CO=Community organization, 3PC=3rd party
contract, TBD=To be determined)
Corporate-wide olannin
Corporate-wide special events strategic L L M M H -
planning
Programming units special events annual M M M M M -
planning
Review grant applications for feasibility of M M M M M -
eventimplementation
Review grant applications for adherence to NP NP NP NP NP PU
corporate mandate
City event organizers assistance
Create formal event plans (e.g. budget, critical H H H H H -
path,marketing plan, programme, operational
plan)
N
M
Advise on events best practices H H H H H -
Marketingplanning L L L NP NP C&M
Advertising copy writing and editing L NP NP NP NP C&M
Marketing campaign production trafficking L NP NP NP NP C&M
and roll out
Eventthemes and activities advice M M M M M -
Completing sponsor/grant applications (e.g. L NP NP NP NP PU
Community foundation, Trillium)
Sponsorship and foundation grant advice L L L L L -
Communityeventorganizerassistance
Create formal event plans (e.g. budget, critical L L L NP NP CO
path, marketing plan, programme, operational
plan) i N i M
Advise on events best practices H H H H H -
Marketingplanning M M NP NP NP CO
Advertising copy writingand editingadvice H H M M M -
49
Marketing campaign production trafficking L NP NP NP NP CO
and roll out
Event themes and activities advice H H H H H
Completing sponsor/grant applications (e.g. L NP NP NP NP PU
Community Foundation, Trillium)
Advising City sponsor/grant applications H H L L L PU
(sponsorship process, grant opportunities)
Organizational development advice M M H H H -
Sponsorshipand foundation grant advice M M L L L PU
Training
Training programmes NP M H H H -
Mentoring Event Organizers M H H H H -
Networking
Networking amongst community organizers L NP NP NP NP PU
Developing new community networks M NP NP NP NP PU
Lobbying City divisions on behalf of M NP NP NP NP -
communityorganizers
Relationship with community organizers
Primary contact between City and event Varies M L NP NP PU
organizers
Maintaining client relations (SEU clients) H H M L NP PU
Primary contact between City and KDBA H NP NP NP NP PU
Developing new community clients H NP NP NP NP PU
Day-of-event (city events)
Distribute promotional material L NP NP NP NP 3PC
Audio equipment provision and set-up M M M M M -
Audioadvice M M M M NP 3PC
Set-up venues M M M M M -
Knockdown M L L L NP FM
Signage and wayfaring L L L L L
Maintain inventory of event equipment H M NP NP NP FM
Risk management for events H H H H H -
Event marshalling H H H H H -
Oversee contracts of third-party service H H H H H -
providers
Coordinate permits and licences H H H H H -
Day-of-event (community events)"
Distribute promotional material L NP NP NP NP 3PC
Audio equipment set-up L NP NP NP NP 3PC
Audio advice M M M M M -
Set-upvenue L NP NP NP NP CO
Set-up venue advice L L L L L -
17 City is advisor to these events and has minimal or no day-of-event responsibilities
50
Knockdown L NP NP NP NP CO
Signage and wayfaring L NP NP NP NP CO
Risk managementforevents (on City property) H H H H H -
Risk managementforevents (on non-City L L L L L -
property)
Event marshalling L L NP NP NP CO
Contract Service Providers L L NP NP NP CO
Permits and licences H H H H H -
"Sales"and intake
Seeking out new events and organizers H NP NP NP NP PU
Assess new events and degree of City H NP NP NP NP PU
participation
Organize new event organizers (after new H H H H H -
eventaccepted by programming unit)
Vendor/exhibitor management (City events) H H H H H -
Vendor/exhibitor management (community L L NP NP NP CO
events)
Develop arts and culture sector H NP NP NP NP PU
Recruit/Manage volunteers M NP NP NP NP PU
Unit administration
Coordination of agreements with community H M NP NP NP PU
organizers
Space bookings Shared NP NP NP NP TBD
Annual scheduling of events H H H H H -
Allocation of resources for "emergency" events H H H H H -
Sponsorrecruitment M M L NP NP PU
Sponsor servicing H M L NP NP PU
Monitoringandevaluation
Of event implementation L H H H H -
Ofvalue ofprogramming unit events to NP NP NP NP NP CMT
corporate mandate
Of value of event to programming unit goals NP NP NP NP NP PU
Non-special events activities
Coordinate refurbishment/repair/modification H NP NP NP NP TBD
of City event venues (e.g. I56 King, CAfKA,
~
~
~
~
~
Le ion, and Victoria Park Pavilion
g )
Art installations M NP NP NP NP PU
Digital projectors installation and M NP NP NP NP PU
maintenance (top of city hall)
Christie digital projectors programming (top L NP NP NP NP PU
of city hall)
City hall rotunda, forecourt, and pool M NP NP NP NP PU
programming
City hall rotunda, forecourt, and pool setup M NP NP NP NP fM
and knockdown , , ~ ~
51
film shoot permitting and liaison M NP NP NP NP TBD
film location sales M NP NP NP NP TBD
film location coordination M NP NP NP NP TBD
52