STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR EVENT MANAGERS - 2025/6

Module Overview

The events industry includes conferences, trade fairs, exhibitions music and cultural festivals which offer a range of rewarding careers. They also involve a wide range of stakeholders and can have extensive impacts and legacies on destinations and communities in which they take place. This module will examine how strategic planning applies in a range of event contexts and how to evaluate some of the direct, indirect and induced benefits of staging events at a local, regional, national and international level. Students will develop strategic planning skills through individual and collaborative group work using digital and face to face tools and techniques.

Module provider

Surrey Hospitality & Tourism Management

Module Leader

LUNT Thomas (Hosp & Tour)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Strategic planning in business and cultural event contexts
Eventful cities
Destination, site and venue selection
Business ethics and sustainability
Leadership, governance and stakeholders
Events and regeneration
Event evaluation
Event forecasting
Bidding for events
Funding for events
Impact analysis of events

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Instead of group work, students will be asked to write an individual essay on a topic that addresses strategic issues and success factors in event management 

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to apply theory to practice, and to ensure that students have achieved the required level of knowledge and understanding about the subject.

The summative assessment for this module consists of:

1. Individual assignment based on a podcast/recording where students are asked to critically discuss a culture or business events issue 

2. Group assignment to deliver a workshop; recognize and discuss strategic challenges and present recommendations for action.

Formative assessment and feedback:

Students receive feedback in written comments on their assignments Students receive feedback in class on the relevance of their in-class discussions (in small groups) to the topic under discussion in each workshop activity Students receive one-on-one feedback during scheduled assignment planning workshops Mid-semester student discussion and feedback to lecturer on module

Module aims

• Provide students with a current understanding of the business and cultural event industries
• Provide an analysis of the stakeholders involved, market trends and patterns of provision, the role of business and cultural events in the wider business & tourism industry.
• Examine the role of venues and destinations in the strategic delivery of high quality event experiences
• Appraise strategies used for the successful management of business and cultural events via a range of international case studies
• Critically evaluate direct, indirect and induced benefits of staging events at a local, regional, national and international level

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to deliver subject knowledge whilst at the same time developing cognitive/analytical skills. The module also focuses on transferable, practical, and professional skills such as digital capabilites. Students will be expected to undertake extensive secondary source reading and to lead conversations on relevant topics relating to strategic planning in the business and cultural event industries which will facilitate critical analysis of literature and strategic destination marketing plans. Weekly seminars involve student-led discussions that develop skills in communication, global and cultural awareness and in working individually and as part of a group. The seminars also provide students with instruction on planning and implementing timetables of work and on presenting ideas coherently under time constraints. Seminars are designed to develop subject knowledge through an emphasis on student-led involvement and problem solving which engender resourcefulness and resilience.

The learning and teaching methods include:

Lectures, Seminars and a one half day field trip

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MANM509

Other information

There is an additional cost of £30-£50 for the field trip.

Surrey's Curriculum Framework is committed to developing individual students with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in the following areas:

Employability - this module provides students with a working knowledge of key tools used by Event Managers. These tools will naturally be developed and refined over time with more experience. The module builds the individual's ability to collect analyse, present, and critically evaluate findings on event management contexts that are a key transferable skill sought by employers

Digital Capabilities - students are encouraged to work together in groups, utilising collaborative tools (Whatsapp, Teams, Zoom) to communicate. These are key skills that are increasingly important to Event Managers, working in a variety of settings and teams. This also allows greater breadth of opportunities to communicate and work in various event management contexts. As with all modules, students are expected to engage with online material and resources via SurreyLearn, and other digital platforms such as Padlet.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.