Historically, the business events industry has measured success in headcounts and economic impact reports. Those numbers matter, but they don’t tell the whole story, according to new research revealed in Destination Canada’s Legacy & Impact Study. The study analyzed thousands of data points from 15 global events held in Canada to assess long-term economic, social, and environmental impact. It found that impact continues to grow years after an event when legacy is intentionally built in from the outset. Want your next conference to spark lasting change? Here are five ways meeting planners can build long-term impact, based on the study’s key findings.

1. Design for the Full Range of Outcomes

Instead of measuring event success on attendance and spend, the study tracked eight outcome categories: intellectual, social, human, cultural, financial, policy, infrastructure, and environmental. Researchers found that these outcomes are interconnected and can reinforce one another over time.

How to plan: Before you build your program, define what success could look like in each category. For example, a technical tour of an event space could support knowledge transfer and sector connections, while a scholarship fund could strengthen access, talent development, and longer-term participation.

2. Build a Chain Reaction for Impact

An event doesn’t turn into a driver of lasting change overnight. That shift happens gradually, like a chain reaction, progressing across these five impact levels:

• Individual
• Organizational
• Community
• Sectoral
• Destination

How to plan: Start with the early outcomes you want the event to create, then build in the follow-up, partnerships, and stewardship needed to sustain momentum over time.

3. Lay the Right Foundations Early

Destination Canada’s Legacy & Impact Study identified three foundations that distinguish events with lasting legacy from those whose impact is largely short-term:

• Intentional design outlining clear legacy objectives.
• Strategic collaboration with government, academia, and community groups, built in from the planning stage.
• Sustained stewardship and a plan for tracking outcomes over the following months and years.

How to plan: Begin incorporating all three foundations from the earliest stages of event planning, including designating responsibility for tracking outcomes afterward.

4. Utilize Impact Accelerators

The study names 18 accelerators, or practical tools, that meeting planners can use to achieve more long-term value out of an event. They break down into two types:

• Success factors: supportive circumstances, including government participation, policy alignment, defined impact strategies, and longitudinal tracking.
• Legacy drivers: operational choices built into the event itself, including knowledge transfer, capacity building, DEI initiatives, and community engagement.

How to plan: Identify which success factors are already in place and which legacy drivers are most relevant to your event’s objectives. Focus on the accelerators that can realistically strengthen the outcomes you are trying to achieve.

5. Move From Representation to Real Inclusion

Inclusion that goes beyond a diverse speaker lineup can strengthen legitimacy and widen benefits. The study found that many events still stop at representation rather than building real partnerships, especially with Indigenous communities.

How to plan: Bring community and Indigenous partners into governance, design, and evaluation while the event is still being planned. Shared authority means involving them early enough to help shape priorities and decision-making.

Explore the full Destination Canada Legacy & Impact Study to start designing for legacy.