Meeting Professionals International has introduced a Business Value of Meetings tool box, a collection of resources to help meeting planners prove the business value of their meetings and events.

MPI research found that fewer than 5 percent of all meetings are measured for their business value. The new tool box is designed to overcome the five primary barriers meeting professionals face in implementing practices that measure meeting value. Those barriers are low perception of return on investment, difficulty getting stakeholder buy-in, the challenge of defining meeting objectives and expectations, devising meaningful ways to measure value, and analyzing and reporting data on the business value of meetings.

Tools under development include

• instructional videos and podcasts;
• articles detailing solutions and examples of success;
• case studies and corresponding webinars on best practices; and
• how-to guides, tutorials, and workbooks that meeting professionals can use on specific jobs.

“By identifying these barriers, the research revealed a manageable path for MPI to lead event professionals down that will lay a strong foundation for the development of a more value-focused event portfolio,” said Didier Scaillet, chief development officer, MPI. “Each of the tools and resources we are creating will build on this foundation, and empower people to approach their business in a smarter way that enables them to be more successful.”

MPI delivered a BVOM research session at EIBTM 2011 in Barcelona, Spain. The next live event opportunity to explore the BVOM initiative will be at MPI’s European Meetings and Events Conference, January 29–31, 2012, in Budapest, Hungary.