Evaluation of the additionality of the Commonwealth Games Business and Tourism Programme

Description

The Business and Tourism Programme (BATP) seeks to maximise the benefits of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games to the UK and the region as a business, investment and tourist destination. A critical element of the evaluation of the BATP is an assessment of the additionality of the programme i.e. the in-flows of investment and tourism to the UK and the West Midlands which are directly attributable to the programme, as distinct from those which would have happened anyway. The BATP programme is jointly procuring Evaluation Services through a collaborative approach through WMGC Ltd and Department for International Trade together as Contracting Authorities. The Procurement comprises evaluation of the additionality of the BATP Programme based on the elements comprising: (i) Evaluation of marketing campaigns (perceptions research) WMGC Delivered Element. (ii) Evaluation of Leisure Tourism activity and (visitor surveys) WMGC delivered (iii) Evaluation of UK House (research with UK House delegates) DIT Delivered These projects will provide essential data and intelligence to demonstrate that the activities being funded by the programme are having the anticipated impact and are helping to realise the benefits that we forecast would be achieved. The Survey work will seek evaluation of the impact of key activities within the leisure tourism workstream. As well as associated marketing campaigns the BATP leisure tourism workstream includes: (i) The establishment of a digital platform to welcome visitors to the West Midlands, including mobile showcases and the facility to book accommodation, visits to attractions and itineraries. The most popular and well used aspects of the area's visitor offer, visitor satisfaction and visitor expenditure. To undertake surveys of visitors to different locations in the West Midlands to include key visitor attractions, conference and exhibition facilities, major hotels, shopping centres, transport hubs, visitor information centres and Commonwealth Games venues. If Covid-19 restrictions are still in place when surveys are required it may be necessary to adopt on-line, rather than face to face approaches. A series of surveys are required in order to: (i) Provide baseline intelligence on visitor motivations, profile and behaviour before the BATP begins to have an impact. (ii) Track changes as BATP activity gathers pace. (iii) Evaluate the position at a later date when marketing and promotional activity and improvements to the region's visitor welcome have begun to have a more lasting impact - we welcome tenderers' ideas and recommendations on timings for this. A random sample of at least 1,000 interviews in Birmingham and at least 2,000 in the wider WMCA area need to be completed in each wave of research. Local residents should be excluded from the survey. The interviews should be undertaken using fully trained market research interviewers and be conducted under the Market Research Code of Conduct (ii) A programme of support for the region's tourism businesses to help them recover from the impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns and develop the capacity and capability to offer an excellent welcome to visitors to the West Midlands. Research is required which identifies the following: a) Visitors' motivations to visit, their degree of exposure to BATP marketing and promotional activity and the sources of information they have used to research and plan their trip. b) Any changes to the profile and demographics of visitors to the region over the course of the BATP. Lot 1: The contracting authorities are seeking to appoint a single contractor or supplier who can supply the full suite of services either as prime contractor or subcontract elements which cannot be met from own resources. The full services in scope are: (i) evaluation of marketing campaigns (perceptions research) (ii) evaluation of leisure tourism activity and (visitor surveys) (iii) evaluation of UK House (research with UK House delegates) A range of marketing campaigns are planned via the BATP, targeting a range of priority audiences, source markets and sectors. A key objective of the programme is to achieve the shifts in perceptions of the UK and the West Midlands as a business, investment and visitor destination required to drive in-flows of investment and tourism. We require research, therefore which tracks, over the course of the BATP, changes in: 1) Levels of awareness of the UK and West Midlands offer 2) Positive or negative sentiment and what audiences associate the UK and the region with, For example in previous research the West Midlands has commonly been associated with its automotive and wider engineering sector, its central location and its universities. Whether they would consider (i) recommending the UK and the West Midlands to clients and/or (ii) visiting the UK and the West Midlands. The research will need to: (i) Provide baseline intelligence on the position before the marketing campaigns begin to have an impact. (ii) Indicate the position after the marketing activity has taken place. (iii) Provide further evaluation of the position further down the line, when the activity has begun to impact more fully on sentiment and consideration. We welcome tenderers' ideas and recommendations on timings for this research will also inform the evaluation of the wider Commonwealth Games legacy programme - helping us understand the extent to which the Games themselves and their wider legacy programmes shift perceptions of the UK and the West Midlands Again, the UK House is part of the Commonwealth Games and will be situated in the Centre of Birmingham, be GREAT/CWC branded and will showcase and celebrate Britain as a leading, innovative nation with a dynamic, investor-friendly UK Industrial Strategy. It will also focus on specialist areas of regional excellence, highlight opportunities for investment in Birmingham and the Midlands Engine and focus on investment on R&D and wider regional skills that the UK offers today. In addition, smaller satellite events will be held across the City and region to increase impact and engagement. Through the use of world-renowned speakers, high-quality content, rich innovation and masterclasses we will focus on real business stories of investment success and UK expertise and creativity; we will celebrate incredible growth stories from small start-ups to multinationals; inspire and motivate the guests to invest or grow their business by joining a new dynamic UK business landscape with strong financial and economic drivers. There will be innovative formats to excite visitors from across the Commonwealth, focusing on plenary sessions, a set piece Global Investment Conference, hosted networking, opportunities for dialogue in group and bi-lateral formats and the opportunity to interact with showcases of contrasting innovations. Although the content will be business focused, cultural, food and sporting partnerships will be celebrated at key moments during the 9-day event. We estimate capacity for plenary events up to 500, with the ability to host up to 2,000 visitors on a daily basis. Example data collected for the UK House activity will include: • Output data such as: a) visitor volumes b) Nationality c) Sector d) Outtake data such as UK House attendee customer experience. e) Responses to increased propensity/ intention to export, invest, do business within the UK (versus those who do not interact with the UK House programme). f) Outcome data such as: 1) Number of new investment leads into the investment pipeline 2) Number of business service interactions 3) Number of investment inquiries relating to FDI in the UK (by sector / country) 4) Volume (#) and value (£) of new exports (by sector) 5) Volume (#) and value (£) of new procurements from foreign businesses (by sector). 6) Volume (#) and value (£) of FDI contracts (by sector & country) - actual Additional information: The tender is jointly Procured by WMGC Limited and Department for International Trade, therefore successful Contractor for the relevant component awarded must expect to be jointly managed by the two Contracting Authorities who are jointly procuring this requirement. Any services related to this procurement which are not foreseeable yet, but will become necessary in future will be varied inline with PCR (2015) regulation 72 modification of contracts during their term as long as the change is not a material or substantial change in line with definition for material or substantial change according to Reg.72.