How to create a meaningful event for all stakeholders - Showcasing The Hague

When setting up an event, relying on familiar, successful concepts is easy. While comfortable, going off the beaten track is worth making your event more valuable to all stakeholders. The City of The Hague and many of the city’s event venues have embraced the Event Canvas methodology for this purpose. An approach that helps event owners clearly define the purpose of their event and that of their stakeholders involved. 

A successful event for all stakeholders

“When we began using the Event Canvas a few years ago”, says Bas Schot of The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau, “we quickly discovered that it provided us fresh new insights into the goals and stakeholders of the events organised in The Hague”.  After offering an Event Canvas training to their partners - event venues in The Hague- the support for using this method was born. The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau now organises partner training twice a year. 

“The biggest takeaway from the Event Canvas is often the acknowledgement that an event in itself has no goal”, says Ingrid Rip, Director of Event Design Collective in the Netherlands. “The different stakeholders of the event all certainly do have goals. But those often differ from that of the event owner. Depending on whether it is a participant, a sponsor, or else. To make an event truly successful, you need to see the world from all stakeholders’ perspectives and understand what it takes to help them achieve their goals now and maybe a step forward to their desired future.”  

The purpose of events at Madurodam

“Using Event Canvas has improved the events organised at Madurodam”, claims Bart van Doorn, sales manager Events at Madurodam. “The Canvas helps me to ask event planners the right questions about the purpose of the event and the alignment of their ideas with that purpose. The results? We notice that the interests, goals, and expectations of all relevant stakeholders are aligned with the mission of the event.” 

From the board's point of view, the goal of the event is often "connection". The Event Canvas allows us to focus on what exactly this ‘connection’ means for the various stakeholders. 

How to achieve this? Bart van Doorn shares these two tips through a practical example:

1. Involving all stakeholders - During a recent employee event at Madurodam for a company merger, while using Event Canvas, it became clear that the employees of one of the merging parties were not so keen on the merger. This was even an eye-opener for the client!  
2. Creating unity - Therefore, the organising team decided to focus the event on creating unity. “This was reflected in both large and small things”, tells Bart van Doorn. “For example, we gave each attendee a festival wristband, a simple gesture that created a sense of belonging among participants.’"

"Through stakeholder mapping, we also found out that some of the employees could not attend the event because they had to keep working. On the day of the event, we made them feel part of the team by offering them a present."

The complete Event Canvas experience

"The true value of an event lies in driving behavioural change,’ says Ingrid Rip. ‘If you spend enough time to design your event consciously, your stakeholders will leave it in a different way than how they came in. You really don't need to radically shake up the set-up of your events at once. The strength often lies in small things. If you structurally change something every year towards the goals you pursue together, you broaden the horizon. This also allows your events to evolve in line with your stakeholders’ needs gradually."

“It is great to see that Event Canvas has been embraced by many event venues in the city”, Bas Schot of The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau says. This ensures we can offer a complete Event Canvas experience to event planners, whether they’re using one or multiple venues across our city. 

The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau has created an exclusive Event Canvas package for organisations aiming to organise an event for their stakeholders in The Hague. The package includes a 90-minute interactive educational experience with members of the Event Design Collective to help clients plan and think differently about the outcomes of their events. The process and content will provide an insight in the value of the tools available to ensure that they are creating events that deliver the maximum value to all involved. Next to this, in collaboration with Postillion Hotels, the city has its own 'Event Design-Lab'. A dedicated creative space in Postillion Convention Centre The Hague. 

Creating a meaningful concept for all stakeholders

“We see that The Hague offers a different proposition compared to many other cities”, Ingrid Rip explains. The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau is dedicated to helping event organisers get the most out of their Hague event. They work with their clients using the Event Canvas to identify the most essential stakeholders, empathise with them, and develop a meaningful concept from there. I think it is very valuable for event organisers to create an event together with a city agency that has the same ambition toward their event as they do. ’ 

By incorporating the Event Canvas methodology, The Hague sets a new standard in event planning, ensuring that every event leaves a lasting impact on all stakeholders involved.