ABSTRACT
Event evaluation is a central aspect of international event delivery. Evaluations are not afterthoughts nor are they something just tacked on to the end of an event. The evaluation of an international event is, in simple terms, an opportunity for review, and can be focused on any or every aspect of an international event. An evaluation should critically scrutinise set features or every aspect of an event from the triple bottom line (TBL) to consultation methods. Torkildsen (2005) considers evaluation to be one of a six-stage approach to programming and as an opportunity to provide the clear establishment of an event’s goals.
The process of evaluation involves collecting and analysing information, reviewing activities, characteristics, and outcomes. The overall purpose of conducting evaluations is to make judgements. to improve effectiveness, and/or to inform the decision-making process (Patton, 1987) When used appropriately, an evaluation can be defined as the holistic assessment of an event through the utilisation of a broad range of measures and approaches to determine value and impacts in an agreed or prescribed context (Brown et al., 2015).
Evaluations, therefore, are, in part, an essential management function of information gathering and feedback through which processes can be improved, goals more effectively attained, and by which organisations can learn and adapt (Brown et al., 2015).
This chapter discusses the importance of evaluations and their effect on international events. We learn that there are several ways to evaluate an event depending on its size and impact and that evaluations can cover some distinctive aspects of an event during delivery, as well as covering the effects of the event long after it has finished. We also learn that evaluations can have different objectives and, depending on the chosen method of evaluation, various results can be obtained. Moreover, when evaluations are politically motivated, there are more questions than answers by the time they have been concluded.
