Call For Submissions
The Canadian Fairs and Exhibitions Economic, Educational, and Social Benefits study
funded through the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Program (ACAAF)
NEW STUDY ON FAIR BENEFITS ANNOUNCED
NON-PARTICIPANT BENEFITS
OTTAWA - August 29, 2007. The Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions is
pleased to announce a new research study which will benefit all members across
Canada. The Canadian Fairs and Exhibitions Economic, Educational, and Social
Benefits study will take place in 2008.
An important mandate of the study is to make aggregate results accessible for all
fairs and exhibitions across Canada. Events which are unable to participate or are
not selected to be surveyed will receive access to general reports which can be
applied to any fair of their size or type.
C.A.F.E. has applied and will receive $611,000 funding for the study through the
Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Program (ACAAF), Most of the
cost of the study will be funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through
the program. The remaining cost of the study will be funded through affordable
contributions from individual fairs. This funding model has been successful in other
jurisdictions, providing events with the research tools they require at a fraction of
the actual cost.
The aggregate reports will demonstrate the economic, social, and educational
benefits of Canadian fairs and exhibitions. These tools will be designed to assist
all fairs and exhibitions in obtaining additional public and private sector funding.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
The ACAAF funding requires that 20 fairs and exhibitions across Canada be surveyed. Specifically, the study must survey 8 large fairs, 6 medium-sized fairs, and
6 small fairs across Canada. Events interested in participating in the research are
invited to submit the application in this newsletter. This opportunity will assist
fairs and exhibitions to obtain additional funding and all members are encouraged to apply.
The arrangement with the ACAAF funding program requires participating fairs
and exhibitions to contribute financially to the project. C.A.F.E. has negotiated an
arrangement such that participating events can obtain professionally conducted
research studies at only 10%-15% of the cost of undertaking similar projects on
their own.
BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATING
C.A.F.E. has secured Canada’s leading event research firm to undertake the study.
Crews from Toronto-based Enigma Research Corporation will travel to each participating events to survey attendees. Participating fairs and exhibitions will receive
individual final reports, designed to assist in securing additional private and public
sector support for their event. Final reports will include the following:
• Estimates of the economic impact, employment supported and taxes
generated by the event.
• Estimates of other economic benefits of the event, including spending by the
local population.
• Measures of education-related benefits of the event, including fairgoers’
interest in learning about agriculture, agri-food, and food safety.
• Measures of the social benefits of the event, including pride in the community,
activities for families and youth, and other measurements.
• Identification of opportunities which could enhance fairs’ corporate
sponsorship and exhibit programs. Reports will include sponsor recall,
attitudes towards sponsors, product use, and other measurements.
• Measures of the importance of agriculture and agri-food programming to fair
attendees, participants, and the agricultural sector.
• Report on demographics of attendees.
Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada
Agriculture et
Agroalimentaire Canada
DEADLINE AND SELECTION
The ACAAF funding allows for only 20 fairs and exhibitions to be surveyed in this
program. It is anticipated that more than 20 events will apply to participate. To
ensure consideration, applications must be received before January 30, 2008.
Note that applications are considered a guarantee of intention to become involved. These guarantees demonstrate our industry’s commitment to this project
and are instrumental in C.A.FE.’s securing of the funding. Please do NOT apply
unless absolutely committed to participate if selected.
Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee, including members from
the Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food, CAFE, and the researchers involved with
the project. The committee will select 20 events to represent a cross-section of
events by size, region, and type. Events selected for the study will be notified after
February 15, 2008.
PARTICIPATION COST
Participation cost ranges from $2000 to $6750, depending on the size of the
event. This represents only a small fraction of the cost of hiring a professional
firm to survey hundreds of attendees and produce an economic impact estimate.
A 10% deposit is required with applications, refundable to applicants which are
not accepted.
C.A.F.E. recognizes that some fairs and exhibitions may have difficulty paying the
participation fee. These events are advised to seek funding from other local organizations which may benefit from the research, including tourism agencies, BIAs,
Chambers of Commerce, and similar organizations.
Application Form
The Canadian Fairs and Exhibitions Economic, Educational, and Social Benefits study
funded through the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Program (ACAAF)
Application category (Select ONE of the following)
Large Fair/Exhibition (attendance over 200,000)
Survey sample size 1200; participation fee $6750
Medium Fair/Exhibition (attendance 50,000 to 200,000)
Survey sample size 800; participation fee $4000
Small Fair/Exhibition (attendance under 50,000)
Survey sample size 400; participation fee $2000
Organization Name: __________________________________________________________________________
Mailing Address: _____________________________________________________________________________
Contact name:_______________________________________________________________________________
Contact telephone: ___________________________________________________________________________
Contact email:_______________________________________________________________________________
Event dates (must be 2008) _____________________________________________________________________
CAFE Member:
Yes
No
Prov. association member:
Yes
No
Staffing category:
Full-time staff
Part-time staff
Volunteer only
Number of years operating:
Less than 10
26-50
10-25
Over 50
Estimated attendance:________________________
DEPOSIT INFORMATION
Applications are considered a guarantee of intention to become involved. Please do NOT apply to participate unless
absolutely certain the organization will participate if selected.
A 10% deposit is required with the application. Applicants NOT selected for the project will receive full refunds.
Deposit amount:
Large fairs/exhibition: $715.50 ($675 + GST)
Medium fair/exhibition $424.00 ($400 + GST)
Small fairs/exhibition $212.00 ($200 + GST)
Visa
Mastercard
Cheque/Money Order
Account number:_____________________________________________________________________________
Expiry:_____________________________________________________________________________________
Name of cardholder: __________________________________________________________________________
Authorization Signature: _______________________________________________________________________
Fax form back by January 30, 2008 to 613.233.1154
Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada
Agriculture et
Agroalimentaire Canada
Detailed Research Methodology
The Canadian Fairs and Exhibitions Economic, Educational, and Social Benefits study
funded through the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Program (ACAAF)
SUMMARY
For corporate sponsors and exhibitors:
The Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions proposes to conduct a national
research study which will quantify the economic, educational, and social benefits
of fairs and exhibitions in Canada. Results from the study will assist Canadian fairs
and exhibitions to generate additional corporate and local government funding,
form partnerships with other sectors, and enhance quality of life for Canadians.
• Enhance and expand sponsorship and exhibit programs at fairs and exhibitions.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
• Provide data to assist all aspects of event management, including programming, logistics, sponsorship, and exhibits.
• To estimate the economic impact, employment supported, and taxes
generated by (a) the entire Canadian fairs and exhibitions industry and
(b) individual sizes and types of fairs. Methodology will adhere to the new
national economic impact measurement guidelines.
• To estimate other economic benefits of fairs and exhibitions, including
spending by locals and impact on local agricultural sectors.
For fair operators:
• Provide all fairs and exhibitions in Canada with new tools to attract community support and corporate funding.
METHODOLOGY
• The data collection process will interview attendees and participants at 20
fairs and exhibitions across Canada. In order to collect data from a wide
variety of events, events will be selected by size and geography, as follows:
• To measure education-related benefits of fairs, including fairgoers’ interest in
learning about Canadian agriculture, agri-food, and food safety.
-8 large fairs
-6 medium fairs
-6 small fairs
• To measure social benefits fairs bring to cities, towns, and rural areas,
including pride in the community, activities for families and youth, and other
measurements.
-5 Western Canada
-5 Ontario
-5 Quebec
-5 Eastern Canada
• To identify opportunities which could enhance fairs’ corporate sponsorship
and exhibit programs.
• To quantify the importance of agriculture and agri-food programming to fair
attendees, participants, and the agricultural sector.
SHORT-TERM OUTCOMES OF RESEARCH FINDINGS
For government agencies and departments (agricultural, tourism, education):
• Provide information to assist decision-makers with resource allocation and
program development with respect to fairs and exhibitions in Canada.
• Highlight opportunities on how to incorporate fairs and exhibitions into
tourism marketing strategies.
• All economic impact-related methodology will be adapted from recent
national economic impact measurement guidelines published by a consortium
of tourism ministries across Canada.
• Attendees will be surveyed through on-site, face-to-face surveys. Sample sizes
per event are as follows:
-1200 for large fairs
-800 for medium fairs
-400 for small fairs
• Fairs and exhibitions across Canada which are not included in the sample of
20 events will also benefit from the study. Since the proposed methodology
will survey a wide variety of events, data from the events surveyed will be
extrapolated such that it is relevant to all fairs and exhibitions across Canada.
For cities and towns:
• Understand the value and return on investment with respect to fairs
and exhibitions.
SAMPLING PLAN
Large fairs
• Integrate fairs and exhibitions into tourism marketing programs.
• Quantify how fairs and exhibitions enhance quality of life in communities.
• Justify capital expenditures for fairgrounds and fairground-related facilities.
Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada
Agriculture et
Agroalimentaire Canada
Medium fairs
Small fairs
Total
20
Events surveyed
8
6
6
Surveys per event
1,200
800
400
Total surveys
9,600
4,800
2,400
16,800
Detailed Research Methodology
The Canadian Fairs and Exhibitions Economic, Educational, and Social Benefits study
funded through the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Program (ACAAF)
FUNDING
A partnership of individual events, corporate stakeholders, and government is proposed.
• Events: Fairs and exhibitions will contribute a participation fee depending
upon the size of their organization.
• Corporate: Sponsors and exhibitors which benefit from a healthy fair industry
will collect their own data from the survey. (examples: equipment manufacturers, seed producers, financial institutions, beverage companies)
• Government: ACAAF program.
FUNDING PARTNERSHIP BREAKDOWN
Events
Corporate
Government
Total
Percentage
10%
10%
80%
100%
Amount
$63,750
$63,750
$510,000
$637,50
TIMELINE AND DELIVERABLES
• All events would be surveyed in 2008. Each of the 20 participating events will
receive an interactive iReport for their event. Individual event reports will be
released within eight weeks of the end of each event.
• Quarterly progress results will be submitted.
• Aggregate results would be ready in February 2009.
• Presentations of topline results at industry conferences would take place
throughout 2008.
Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada
Agriculture et
Agroalimentaire Canada