The research centre Public Impact carries out applied scientific research, the aim of which is to ‘improve’ events and cities.
Having better events and cities will generate more public impact which, in turn, will bring about more effective use of resources, people and materials.
The research team develops tools and guidelines to better match events and other urban activities to the citizen and the community. Our researchers develop know-how and expertise which help contribute to the further professionalisation of the events sector.
The events academy team translates this expertise from customised research. Our coaches and consultants guide and train (future) events professionals, both for the public sector and the (non-)profit sector.
More info: www.publiekeimpact.be
Who are we?
Researchers
Our researchers develop know-how and expertise which help contribute to the further professionalisation of the events sector.
Jolien Vangeel
jolien.vangeel@kdg.be
Joris Verhulst
joris.verhulst@kdg.be
Eva Vermeire
eva.vermeire@kdg.be
Kenneth De Keulenaer
kenneth.dekeulenaer@kdg.be
Event Academy - coaches and consultants
Our coaches devise programmes for customised training and guidance, which have the aim of bringing about events which generate (more) impact.
Jolien Vangeel
jolien.vangeel@kdg.be
Bieke Janssens
bieke.janssens@kdg.be
The following consultants are affiliated with the expertise centre and complement our expertise. Discover who they are: www.publiekeimpact.be

What do we do?
Research
The research centre Public Impact carries out applied scientific research, the aim of which is to ‘improve’ events and cities.
- The social impact of events
- The economic impact of events
- The several methods to count visitors on events
- The several profiles of visitors on events
- The size of the Belgian events sector
Event Academy
Study and guidance programmes for public events with (more) impact.
Fully tailored to your organisation.
What?
- Become an expert in events and impact analysis.
- Learn how to predict, measure and improve the public impact of events.
- Discover how you can create a programme of events full of impact.
- Learn from our coaches and consultants.
Why?
- You will learn how to create a programme of events that is better matched to the citizen and the community, and to the goals of the city or municipality in which they are organised.
- You will quickly develop a broad-based, all-round vision in respect of events and learn how these can play a cohesive role in the event policy. In this way you can improve the chances of impact and success.
- The focus is on the ROI methodology (Return on Investment) for events, which has been developed on the basis of research. Using online tools you will learn how to identify and enhance the emotional, symbolic, economic and functional value of your event
For whom?
- Public sector
Our cities and municipalities are the facilitators par excellence and, more often than not, are themselves organisers of the 77,000-plus events which take place in Belgium every year. The study and guidance programmes have been devised specifically with various employees of local authorities in mind: not only events and leisure coordinators, but also staff in other departments, such as culture, tourism, economics, youth, sport, communication and (city) marketing, who may also be involved with events. - Profit sector
As a commercial event organiser in B2B or B2C, you will often find yourself having to work with cities and municipalities, for example, for obtaining a permit for organising your event, for maintaining the public order, for logistics and/or financial support. Moreover, in the profit sector too, the public added value of events is becoming increasingly important. As part of our study and guidance programmes, you will learn how to quantify the public added value objectively and match this to the city or municipality in question. - Non-profit sector
For non-profit organisations, the community-based relevance of (public) events is crucial. Our programmes will teach you how to measure, predict and improve the impact of your event in a systematic, transparent and constructive manner.
What we did before
Past projects & research project summaries
- Predicting and measuring the local social impact of public events
Download summary - Predicting and measuring the local economic impact of public events
Download summary - Counting visitor numbers at public events
Download summary - Mapping visitor profiles at public events
Download summary
Tools that the sector can already use
- Social impact - Online tools to predict and measure the social local impact of an event SCANNER (ex ante) and ANALYSER (ex post)
- Economic impact - Online tools to predict and measure the economic local impact of an event: CALCULATOR
- Visitor counts - Online tool to gain insight into the most suitable method to count the number of visitors to the event: TELWIJZER
- Visitor profiles - Online tool to gain insight into the profiles of the various visitors to the event: PROFILER
Contact
- Research: publiekeimpact@kdg.be
- Event Academy: eventacademy@kdg.be