HOW DO EVENTS CHANGE OUR WORLD?
A “FIELD CONFIGURING EVENTS” FRAMEWORK
Theory of Change gives events their direction, while Field Configuring Events gives them depth — together transforming events from one-off spectacles into purposeful, system-aware interventions that turn visionary intent into practical, lasting transformation.
Dr Mike Duignan (University of Paris 1:
Pantheon-Sorbonne, France)
This article is based on: Duignan, M. B. (2021). Utilizing field theory to examine mega-event-led development. Event Management, 25(6), 705–720. https://doi.org/10.3727/152599520X15894679115583 (free to access).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Theory of Change gives events direction; Field Configuring Events gives them depth. Together, they ensure events are both purposeful in design and adaptive to complex systems, turning vision into practical transformation.
Events act as short-lived but powerful catalysts of systemic change. They bring together diverse actors, resources, and narratives that can reconfigure policies, industries, and community relationships far beyond the event itself.
Meaningful legacy is the product of design, not coincidence. By identifying and deliberately pulling the right “levers of change” — from governance reform to social inclusion — organisers can convert temporary gatherings into long-term developmental assets.
The wider ecosystem determines whether change holds. Flourishing events rely on enabling environments — strong governance, cross-sector partnerships, inclusive leadership, and resilient infrastructure that support sustained outcomes.
Practitioners must become system stewards. Their role is no longer just to deliver logistics, but to design for moments of transformation — where people, ideas, and institutions align to move society forward.
Events and festivals are often described as catalysts for change — moments that bring people together, generate excitement, and leave behind something of lasting value. Yet for all the discussion about “legacy” or “impact,” it is still not always clear how these transformations actually occur, or why some events succeed in delivering meaningful development while others do not. This article offers a practical and evidence-based way to unpack this process. Originally developed to analyse mega-events such as the Olympic Games, it applies equally well to local festivals, business expos, cultural programmes, and sports tournaments — any event that convenes multiple actors and resources to achieve wider goals.
At its core, the framework recognises that every event exists within a “field” — a dynamic system of organisations, individuals, institutions, and social norms that shape how things get done. Events can act as field configuring moments: short-lived but high-intensity spaces where relationships are built, decisions are accelerated, and new ways of thinking gain legitimacy. This framework helps practitioners map this process by tracing how an event moves from initial ambition through to tangible developmental outcomes. It identifies critical components — including the field state (the starting conditions and power dynamics), the mandate and its directors (those who authorise and drive change), the symbolic and relational systems (the ideas and alliances that give the event meaning and influence), and the structuring mechanisms (the tools, policies, and contracts that make change stick over time).
INTRODUCTION
“For practitioners, the message is simple but powerful: developmental outcomes do not happen by accident. They are the result of conscious design, political alignment, and the strategic use of events as interventions within broader systems.”
Understanding this system is crucial for anyone who designs, delivers, or evaluates events. It allows professionals to identify which levers of change they can pull — whether that means reframing narratives, aligning cross-sector partnerships, embedding new procurement standards, or creating governance models that outlive the event itself. By focusing on the interplay between ideas, relationships, and institutional mechanisms, the framework turns abstract goals like “community legacy” or “inclusive growth” into actionable strategies.
For practitioners, the message is simple but powerful: developmental outcomes do not happen by accident. They are the result of conscious design, political alignment, and the strategic use of events as interventions within broader systems. The framework I present in this article equips organisers, funders, and policymakers with a structured way to plan for this kind of transformation — ensuring that every event, from a neighbourhood festival to a international championship, becomes a platform for enduring social, economic, and environmental benefit.
WHAT DOES “FIELD CONFIGURATION” MEAN IN PRACTICE?
5 TYPES OF CHANGE AND INDICATORS TO LOOK OUT FOR
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Definition: Evidence that the “rules of the game” — who decides, who benefits, and how — have been altered in lasting ways.
Indicators to look for:
New policies, regulations, or funding mechanisms created as a direct result of the event (e.g., a permanent cultural fund or accessibility standard adopted citywide).
Redistribution of resources and opportunities toward previously marginalised actors (e.g., SMEs gaining preferred supplier status after proving capacity during an event).
Institutionalisation of cross-sector partnerships that persist post-event — e.g., an event steering group becoming a permanent legacy or regeneration board.
Emergence of new governance or intermediary bodies — for example, a festival trust, sustainability taskforce, or urban precinct management company.
Examples:
Large event: The London 2012 Games created new procurement models that embedded social value clauses, later adopted across UK public contracts.
Local festival: A community music festival leads to the creation of a year-round arts cooperative that coordinates shared marketing, training, and funding bids.
Why this matters:
Structural change shows that the event has shifted power and decision-making capacity, embedding new logics of operation beyond the event lifecycle. -
Definition: Evidence that the configuration of relationships in the field — collaboration, trust, and communication — has been altered.
Indicators to look for:
Previously siloed organisations now co-producing projects or sharing data and resources.
Greater mutual trust or reciprocity between actors who once competed or distrusted one another (e.g., municipal authorities and independent promoters).
Network density increases — more actors connected to more others through formal and informal ties.
Creation of new bridging roles such as partnership coordinators, night czars, sustainability leads, or inclusion officers.
Examples:
Large event: During Tokyo 2020, coordination between tourism boards, disability advocates, and transport agencies continued after the Games, improving accessible tourism policy.
Local event: A neighbourhood food festival creates long-term collaboration between local farmers, schools, and hospitality businesses on food education and procurement.
Why this matters:
Relational change is the foundation of enduring impact. Without shifts in who cooperates and trusts whom, structural reforms tend to collapse once the event ends. -
Definition: Evidence that the shared understanding, language, or problem-framing within the field has changed.
Indicators to look for:
The discourse surrounding the event’s domain shifts (e.g., “green events” become the default expectation rather than an innovation).
Stakeholders adopt new vocabularies or metrics (e.g., moving from “visitor numbers” to “social value per attendee”).
Media and political narratives change tone, framing the event as part of a wider developmental story (e.g., regeneration, inclusion, or wellbeing).
Practitioners demonstrate learning transfer, applying event-born ideas in new contexts.
Examples:
Large event: Paris 2024 popularises the idea of “inclusive sustainability” — balancing carbon neutrality with social equity — influencing local authorities’ event policies across France.
Small-scale: A rural arts festival reframes local identity from “peripheral” to “creative hub,” altering how residents talk about and invest in their community.
Why this matters:
Cognitive change is where legitimacy resides. It signals that stakeholders are thinking differently, legitimising new models and behaviours as “normal.” -
Definition: Evidence that the norms and values guiding professional and public behaviour in the field have evolved.
Indicators to look for:
Stronger ethical norms (e.g., accessibility, inclusivity, or sustainability) embedded as standard practice in contracts or tenders.
New expectations from audiences, funders, and sponsors that align with the event’s developmental goals.
Behavioural spillovers, where event innovations (e.g., plastic-free catering, local sourcing, gender equity in line-ups) spread into routine operations.
Increased social accountability — stakeholders feel compelled to justify decisions in light of the new norms established by the event.
Examples:
Large event: After hosting, the Commonwealth Games cities normalise gender-balanced sports schedules.
Local festival: After implementing a “zero-waste” strategy, other town events adopt similar policies due to public pressure.
Why this matters:
Normative change indicates that the event’s influence has reached a cultural level — the deepest layer of field transformation — where what was once novel becomes expected. -
Definition: Evidence of physical, infrastructural, or spatial legacies that reflect new values or practices.
Indicators to look for:
Regenerated or repurposed spaces and facilities that remain active post-event.
New mobility patterns (e.g., increased walking, cycling, or public transport use due to event-induced infrastructure).
Environmental restoration or greening projects that outlive the event.
Long-term changes to urban or rural design that support cultural or social participation (e.g., flexible public spaces, accessibility retrofits).
Examples:
Large event: Olympic Park in London becomes a mixed-use urban district sustaining housing, sport, and biodiversity benefits.
Local event: A community heritage fair revitalises a neglected high street, which later attracts permanent creative enterprises.
Why this matters:
Material change provides the visible proof of transformation — often the most politically persuasive, but it must be matched by cognitive and relational shifts to endure. -
Definition: The extent to which change across domains becomes self-reinforcing — the field “locks in” new equilibria.
Indicators to look for:
Continuous feedback between structural, relational, and cognitive domains (e.g., partnerships institutionalised through policy; policies legitimated through shared learning).
New entrants (start-ups, community groups, creative collectives) joining the field as a result of reduced barriers.
Decline in resistance or capture by legacy elites — new coalitions lead, not just participate.
Example:
The post-event tourism ecosystem in Tokyo now includes disability NGOs as standard planning partners — evidence of systemic integration across governance, knowledge, and market layers.
WHAT ARE THE “LEVERS” EVENTS CAN PULL
TO CREATE POSITIVE CHANGE?
If we treat events and festivals as platforms for development, then the “levers of change” are the tangible mechanisms through which organisers, funders, and policymakers can translate ambition into action. These levers sit within the framework’s logic — combining symbolic, relational, and structural dimensions — but here they are reframed for practitioners: concrete actions, decisions, and tools that can make transformation real.
1. SYMBOLIC LEVERS – Setting the Narrative, Meaning, and Legitimacy
These levers shape how people think and feel about the event — building legitimacy and aligning stakeholders around a shared vision.
a) Vision and Narrative Design
Craft a clear and credible story of why the event exists and what change it seeks to achieve.
Translate vague aspirations (“community legacy”) into specific promises (“1,000 residents trained for green jobs”).
Use consistent storytelling across branding, media, and on-site experience.
Example: Paris 2024 reframed the Olympic narrative from “faster, higher, stronger” to “more open and sustainable,” anchoring every decision in that ethos.
b) Agenda-Setting and Issue Framing
Use the event to surface neglected issues and drive them into mainstream debate.
Curate themes (e.g., “Accessible City,” “Circular Design,” “Celebrating Local”).
Program debates, workshops, and exhibitions that challenge norms.
Example: The Hay Festival’s climate strand (“Planet Assembly”) positions literature as a site for environmental problem-solving.
c) Symbolic Action and Demonstration Effect
Deliver visible, high-impact actions that symbolise the change you want.
Pilot inclusive seating areas, low-carbon menus, or sensory-friendly sessions.
Publicly recognise partners adopting new standards.
Example: Glastonbury’s ban on single-use plastic bottles was both a logistical move and a symbolic declaration of intent, influencing other festivals globally.
2. RELATIONAL LEVERS – Building Coalitions, Capacity, and Trust
These levers shift who collaborates with whom, redistributing relationships, knowledge, and legitimacy.
d) Cross-Sector Partnership Building
Create alliances that bring unusual partners together around shared outcomes.
Use Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) to bind city agencies, sponsors, and communities into mutual commitments.
Co-design legacy programmes rather than imposing them top-down.
Example: The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games formed multi-agency regeneration boards linking housing, health, and culture — many still active today.
e) Community Co-creation and Voice
Empower local residents, artists, and businesses as co-authors, not consultees.
Involve community groups in theme selection, design decisions, and evaluation.
Create participatory budgeting or micro-grant schemes for neighbourhood projects.
Example: The Freedom Festival in Hull invites community curation panels to select artists, embedding local ownership in programming.
f) Skills and Knowledge Transfer
Turn the event into a temporary learning system.
Run volunteer-to-employment pathways; supplier readiness programmes; university internships linked to local sectors.
Partner with education providers to formalise training and accreditation.
Example: The Rugby World Cup 2015 “Pack” volunteer programme trained 6,000 people, many moving into tourism and event careers.
g) Supplier and Industry Development
Use procurement and supply chains to reshape local economies.
Split large contracts into smaller lots to enable SME participation.
Provide mentoring, fast payment terms, and transparent tendering processes.
Example: London 2012 awarded over £6 billion to 1,500 SMEs, helping professionalise the UK’s event supply chain.
3. STRUCTURAL LEVERS – Embedding Change Through Rules, Systems, and Infrastructure
These levers make change stick by altering the formal systems that govern resources and behaviour.
h) Policy and Regulatory Levers
Align or create policy instruments that extend event benefits beyond the closing ceremony.
Introduce environmental standards, accessibility requirements, or diversity quotas into event licensing.
Negotiate planning frameworks or business rate reliefs that reward community benefit.
Example: Cape Town’s “water-neutral event” policy, created during its drought crisis, is now a permanent environmental standard for all major events.
i) Infrastructure and Spatial Design
Design physical environments that enable long-term use, inclusivity, and environmental resilience.
Prioritise adaptable, modular, and shared-use infrastructure.
Treat events as testbeds for green or accessible urban design.
Example: The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’s modular venues and new public realm now support community sport, housing, and biodiversity ten years on.
Small-scale parallel: A local food festival installs permanent power points and waste facilities that reduce diesel generator use year-round.
j) Institutional and Financial Mechanisms
Create enduring structures and funding models to continue the work.
Establish legacy trusts, social enterprises, or cooperative boards.
Introduce ticket levies earmarked for local development, environmental restoration, or creative grants.
Example: Glasgow’s environmental levy on outdoor event tickets reinvests revenue into park biodiversity.
Small-scale: A rural arts festival forms a not-for-profit company to coordinate year-round artist residencies.
4. INTEGRATIVE LEVERS – Connecting Symbolic, Relational, and Structural Systems
These advanced levers blend all three domains to create systemic, self-reinforcing change.
k) Procurement and Contractual Innovation
Integrate social and environmental criteria into procurement and sponsorship agreements.
Require measurable KPIs (local jobs, carbon footprint, inclusion).
Build “reward-for-performance” clauses that extend into the post-event phase.
Example: Birmingham 2022 used its tender process to boost local and minority-owned business participation.
l) Measurement, Data, and Transparency
Use evidence to drive accountability and adaptive learning.
Publish legacy dashboards, impact evaluations, and quarterly scorecards.
Link funding to verified outcomes.
Example: Paris 2024’s public “climate budget” and open data portal track emissions and offset progress in real time.
Small-scale: A community theatre festival shares its accessibility and local economic impact data with funders and partners, securing continued investment.
m) Storytelling and Knowledge Circulation
Curate and share learning across the sector.
Document case studies, publish open toolkits, and host debrief events.
Celebrate failures and adaptations as part of collective learning.
Example: The Edinburgh Festivals collectively publish sustainability reports and knowledge exchange papers, influencing the entire UK festival ecosystem.
The most effective practitioners pull multiple levers simultaneously.
Symbolic levers inspire, relational levers connect, and structural levers embed.
When combined, they create a chain of causation: a powerful story legitimises collaboration; collaboration secures authority and resources; authority embeds new systems and norms.
Whether you manage a village festival or an Olympic-scale event, your influence lies not in the spectacle itself, but in how you design, govern, and connect these levers — turning momentary gatherings into engines of long-term, inclusive development.
WHAT HOST ECOSYSTEM CONDITONS ARE REQUIRED TO OPTIMISE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ACTIONS?
While levers are the actions practitioners can take, the ecosystem describes the conditions that make those actions effective.
In other words, events and festivals do not create change in isolation; they thrive and produce developmental outcomes only when the host environment is fertile — when governance, infrastructure, culture, policy, and market systems are aligned to support transformation.
Below is a detailed analysis of the event ecosystem — the environmental, institutional, and socio-economic conditions that must be in place (or cultivated) for an event or festival to flourish and generate lasting change. Each domain outlines:
What it is
Why it matters
What good looks like
Examples from different scales of events
1. Governance and Institutional Architecture
What it is:
The system of public authorities, agencies, and partnerships that shape how events are planned, permitted, and integrated into wider policy.
Why it matters:
Change requires legitimacy, coordination, and clear accountability. Without governance alignment, events are isolated projects — not catalysts of development.
What good looks like:
Integrated governance: Clear horizontal coordination between departments (culture, transport, environment, business, planning) and vertical coordination between national, regional, and municipal levels.
Stable but flexible institutions: A lead agency or “event bureau” with cross-cutting powers to convene partners and drive legacy initiatives.
Transparent regulatory frameworks: Streamlined permitting, consistent safety and environmental standards, and accessible guidance for organisers.
Political legitimacy: Strong political champions combined with mechanisms for community oversight (e.g., advisory boards, citizen panels).
Examples:
Large event: London 2012 benefited from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), ensuring continuity from delivery to post-Games legacy.
Small-scale: Aarhus (European Capital of Culture 2017) created a City of Culture Foundation that bridged municipal departments, universities, and citizen groups — sustaining cultural programming beyond the event year.
2. Policy Alignment and Strategic Vision
What it is:
The degree to which the event is embedded in wider policy objectives — economic regeneration, tourism, culture, inclusion, environment, or wellbeing.
Why it matters:
Events create momentum when they reinforce existing strategies rather than compete with them. Policy alignment turns one-off spectacles into long-term vehicles for achieving strategic goals.
What good looks like:
Events explicitly tied to city, regional, or national development plans.
Alignment with UN SDGs, Net Zero strategies, or creative economy frameworks.
Formal legacy or impact strategies that specify how the event contributes to enduring policy outcomes.
A shared language across sectors — e.g., culture officials, business leaders, and environmental planners use the same performance indicators (jobs, carbon reduction, inclusivity).
Examples:
Large event: Paris 2024 integrated its sustainability plan directly into France’s national carbon reduction strategy, ensuring the Games advanced national goals.
Local: Bristol’s Harbour Festival explicitly links to the city’s climate and culture strategies, focusing on diversity, decarbonisation, and local economic participation.
3. Economic and Market Conditions
What it is:
The local and regional economy that supplies, supports, and benefits from events — including creative industries, hospitality, and SMEs.
Why it matters:
Events can only deliver economic transformation if there is a functioning local ecosystem of businesses and workers to absorb opportunities and sustain growth.
What good looks like:
A diverse supplier base with event-ready SMEs in logistics, catering, digital media, and design.
Finance and investment pipelines that fund creative enterprise and infrastructure.
Support for entrepreneurship and innovation, including incubators and grants for start-ups.
Fair labour markets with training and accreditation routes into event-related work.
Visitor economy infrastructure — transport, accommodation, local attractions — that ensures event benefits circulate locally.
Examples:
Large event: The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games leveraged its creative industries and tourism SMEs to position the region as an events destination post-Games.
Small-scale: The Galway International Arts Festival fuels the city’s night-time economy, enabling seasonal employment and year-round creative entrepreneurship.
4. Social and Cultural Capital
What it is:
The networks, values, and community engagement traditions that give events meaning and legitimacy within their host context.
Why it matters:
Events are sustained by social energy — the willingness of residents, volunteers, and civil society to participate, co-create, and support them. Cultural vibrancy and trust make transformation possible.
What good looks like:
Active civil society organisations (community associations, cultural NGOs, youth and sports clubs) that act as partners rather than spectators.
A strong volunteer culture and civic pride that translates into engagement.
Cultural literacy and openness — local audiences comfortable with diverse forms of artistic, sporting, and social expression.
Social trust between organisers, authorities, and communities — built through transparency and responsiveness.
Examples:
Large event: The Sydney 2000 Olympics built on Australia’s robust volunteering ethos, mobilising 46,000 volunteers who continued supporting civic events post-Games.
Small-scale: The Edinburgh Fringe thrives on deep local buy-in and a culture of participation — residents hosting performers, volunteering, and promoting shows year after year.
5. Infrastructure and Spatial Readiness
What it is:
The physical and digital infrastructure that allows events to function efficiently and inclusively.
Why it matters:
Even the most visionary event cannot thrive without accessible spaces, safe mobility, reliable utilities, and adaptable venues. Infrastructure determines both feasibility and long-term legacy.
What good looks like:
Transport connectivity — safe, multi-modal systems (public transport, active mobility, accessible paths).
Flexible venues and public spaces capable of hosting multiple event types year-round.
Digital infrastructure — Wi-Fi, live streaming, open data systems, and smart ticketing.
Universal design and accessibility built into every site and experience.
Resilience measures — climate-adapted design, energy redundancy, emergency plans.
Examples:
Large event: Tokyo 2020’s transport and wayfinding upgrades (e.g., barrier-free stations) permanently improved accessibility for residents and tourists.
Local: Copenhagen’s street festivals thrive because of robust cycling infrastructure, modular staging, and plug-and-play power points embedded in public squares.
6. Environmental Capacity and Sustainability Culture
What it is:
The environmental context — natural assets, climate risks, and sustainability norms — within which the event operates.
Why it matters:
Without environmental resilience, events risk exacerbating local vulnerabilities. A supportive sustainability culture transforms risk management into opportunity for innovation.
What good looks like:
Strong environmental regulation and guidance for events (e.g., waste, energy, mobility, biodiversity).
Circular economy infrastructure — recycling facilities, sustainable procurement options, reusables.
Climate adaptation planning — protocols for heat, flooding, air quality, and water scarcity.
Community environmental awareness so audiences, suppliers, and partners support sustainable behaviour.
Examples:
Large event: Cape Town’s “Day Zero” water crisis led to pioneering water-neutral events, setting global benchmarks for drought adaptation.
Small-scale: Shambala Festival (UK) integrates circular economy principles — renewable power, compost toilets, zero waste — modelling behaviour change for attendees.
7. Knowledge, Research, and Evaluation Systems
What it is:
The learning infrastructure that collects, analyses, and applies data about event impacts.
Why it matters:
Developmental change depends on continuous learning. Without data and evaluation, events repeat mistakes and lose accountability.
What good looks like:
Baseline data collection on economic, social, and environmental indicators.
Knowledge partnerships with universities, think tanks, and observatories.
Open data practices that enable shared evaluation and transparency.
Mechanisms for adaptive learning — updating strategies in real time based on feedback.
Examples:
Large event: The London 2012 Meta-Evaluation Framework by DCMS became a global model for measuring legacy.
Small-scale: Manchester’s City of Festivals initiative uses academic partnerships to assess cultural participation and inclusion metrics annually.
8. Leadership and Organisational Capability
What it is:
The human capacity and professional competencies that steer event strategy, delivery, and legacy.
Why it matters:
Events succeed when led by competent, visionary professionals who can translate complexity into action and build trust across diverse stakeholders.
What good looks like:
Experienced leadership teams skilled in strategy, finance, partnership, and stakeholder management.
Diverse representation within leadership reflecting community demographics.
Succession planning and talent pipelines to retain institutional knowledge.
Professional development frameworks (like the CEF Professional Development Framework) ensuring high standards across the workforce.
Examples:
Large event: The Tokyo Organising Committee’s integration of sustainability experts within its executive team ensured that green standards were operational, not decorative.
Small-scale: The Greenbelt Festival’s governance model combines professional event management with grassroots trusteeship, ensuring mission integrity and financial sustainability.
9. Enabling Legal and Financial Environment
What it is:
The regulatory and fiscal context that determines how easily events can operate and sustain themselves.
Why it matters:
Excessive bureaucracy, high costs, or weak investment climates can stifle event innovation. Supportive legal and financial frameworks create stability and attract capital.
What good looks like:
Predictable permitting processes with clear timelines and guidance.
Risk-sharing financial instruments, such as event insurance pools or municipal guarantees.
Tax incentives for sponsorship, creative investment, and reuse of infrastructure.
Civic funding models that balance public support with private partnership.
Examples:
Large event: The UK’s National Lottery and mixed public–private funding enabled sustained investment in the London 2012 and Glasgow 2014 Games.
Local: Montreal’s tax credits for festivals and cultural industries underpin a thriving year-round event economy.
10. Media, Communication, and Public Discourse
What it is:
The information ecosystem that shapes how events are represented, debated, and understood.
Why it matters:
Positive change requires a supportive narrative environment — one that builds public legitimacy, encourages participation, and holds organisers accountable.
What good looks like:
Constructive media partnerships highlighting social and environmental goals rather than only spectacle.
Transparent communications around budget, risk, and impact.
Digital engagement strategies that allow two-way dialogue with communities.
Inclusive storytelling amplifying diverse voices and local stories.
Examples:
Large event: The “Tokyo 2020 Tomorrow” campaign used accessible storytelling to communicate sustainability progress.
Small-scale: The Brighton Festival’s community blog amplifies resident perspectives and artistic stories, fostering ownership and pride.
For an event or festival to flourish and for real change to occur, the host context must function like an enabling ecosystem — not just a backdrop. Practitioners can influence some elements (partnerships, governance, data), but others require long-term cultivation (trust, policy, infrastructure). The goal is to turn the event from a visitor in the system into an active participant in the system’s evolution — one that both benefits from and contributes to the ongoing development of its host environment.
HOW TO USE THESE IDEAS ALONGSIDE A ‘THEORY OF CHANGE’?
the Field Configuring Events (FCE) framework and the Theory of Change (ToC) approach align beautifully to give practitioners both a map and a method for making events genuinely transformative.
Here’s how they complement each other conceptually and operationally when applied to events and festivals:
1. Purpose and Causality: Linking Intent to Systemic Change
Theory of Change begins with a clear statement of intended impact — what social, economic, cultural, or environmental change the event aims to produce. It then works backward to identify the preconditions, activities, and assumptions that make this impact possible.
The FCE framework complements this by explaining how those changes unfold within complex systems. It maps the field — the web of institutions, actors, norms, and power relations — that either enable or constrain that change.
Together: ToC tells you what change you want and why; FCE shows you how that change actually happens in the real world through interactions, coalitions, and legitimation processes.
Example: A city aiming to use a cultural festival to promote inclusive economic growth can use ToC to define the desired outcomes (e.g., SME participation, skills transfer, civic pride), while FCE helps identify the key actors, governance structures, and cultural narratives that must align for these outcomes to emerge.
2. Mapping Mechanisms and Levers of Change
ToC identifies intermediate outcomes and pathways — the stepping-stones between event activities and broader impacts.
The FCE framework details the mechanisms that produce these outcomes — the symbolic (narratives, meaning-making), relational (partnerships, trust-building), and structural (policies, contracts, governance) levers that drive transformation.
Together: ToC offers the logical chain of change (“if we do X, Y will result”), while FCE provides the systemic map of where to pull and who to involve to make that logic operational.
Example: If a ToC assumes that new sustainability standards will spread through supplier networks, the FCE lens asks: Who are the gatekeepers of legitimacy in that network? What norms or incentives need to shift for others to follow?
3. Context and Preconditions for Success
ToC emphasises the assumptions and enabling conditions that must exist for change to occur.
The FCE approach deepens this by analysing the host ecosystem — governance systems, policy alignment, social capital, market readiness, infrastructure, and leadership capacity.
Together: They ensure that the event strategy is not abstract, but grounded in the real political, economic, and institutional landscape in which it operates.
Example: A sustainability-focused music festival may have a strong ToC, but if local waste systems or vendor cultures are misaligned, the FCE analysis exposes those barriers and helps design interventions (e.g., local training or policy incentives).
4. Evaluation and Adaptive Learning
ToC provides a structure for monitoring and evaluation, identifying indicators for short-, medium-, and long-term change.
The FCE perspective complements this by encouraging evaluation of field-level effects — shifts in discourse, collaboration, policy norms, and institutional behaviour that signal systemic change.
Together: They allow practitioners to measure not just what changed, but how deeply and sustainably those changes penetrated the wider ecosystem.
Example: Instead of measuring only attendance or satisfaction, organisers assess whether the event has influenced how local agencies collaborate or how funders prioritise inclusion and sustainability.
5. From Project Management to System Stewardship
ToC is often used as a planning tool; FCE transforms it into a strategic governance mindset.
The combined approach encourages organisers to see themselves not just as event deliverers but as field stewards — shaping narratives, building alliances, and embedding new norms.
Together: They move events from being isolated projects to being intentional interventions within systems of power, culture, and policy.
Example: The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games’ ToC focused on regional skills and inclusion, while the broader FCE logic showed how these initiatives could shift the UK’s event industry norms on procurement, accessibility, and governance.
6. In Practice: A Hybrid Model
You can think of the relationship like this:
Final Integration
Using both frameworks together means:
Start with Theory of Change to articulate desired impacts and pathways.
Apply Field Configuring Events to analyse the environment, identify leverage points, and understand systemic interdependencies.
Design activities, partnerships, and evaluation metrics that target both project outcomes and field evolution.
In short: Theory of Change gives events direction. Field Configuring Events gives them depth.
Together, they allow practitioners to design events not as one-off experiences but as deliberate, evidence-informed interventions that shape the systems around them — leaving behind a legacy of learning, collaboration, and transformation.
CONCLUSIONS
Events and festivals have long been recognised as platforms for gathering, celebration, and storytelling — but increasingly, they are also being understood as engines of social, economic, and institutional change. The Field Configuring Events (FCE) framework provides a way to make that transformation visible and actionable. It reminds us that every event exists within a larger ecosystem — a field of organisations, norms, resources, and relationships — and that the way an event is designed, governed, and interpreted can reconfigure that system in lasting ways. When seen through this lens, events cease to be isolated spectacles; they become interventions in the evolution of entire sectors, cities, and communities.
Yet understanding this dynamic is not enough. Practitioners must also learn how to pull the right levers of change. This means actively shaping narratives that legitimise new ideas, building alliances across sectors, embedding progressive policies in procurement and governance, and using evidence to demonstrate and sustain impact. Events have the power to convene — to bring together unlikely partners — but this convening power only translates into change when it is guided by intent, coordination, and reflection. The FCE framework helps practitioners recognise those moments of configuration: when conversations, collaborations, and decisions within and around an event shift how the system operates.
Crucially, the FCE approach complements and strengthens a Theory of Change (ToC) mindset. Whereas ToC starts with a desired outcome and works backward to identify the steps and assumptions needed to achieve it, FCE situates those steps within the messy realities of systems — highlighting who must move, what structures must evolve, and which social or political logics must shift. Together, they transform event design and evaluation into a process of strategic system stewardship. Practitioners can use ToC to clarify intent — “what change are we seeking?” — and apply FCE to navigate context — “how can that change realistically occur here, given the field we operate in?” This dual perspective helps ensure that development goals are not only visionary but achievable.
For meaningful change to take root, however, the host environment must also be fertile. Governance systems must be coherent; policy frameworks aligned; social capital strong; infrastructure inclusive and resilient. As the Event Ecosystem Framework shows, transformation depends on a web of enabling conditions — from leadership capacity and knowledge systems to media discourse and environmental readiness. Events thrive where these conditions converge, turning temporary gatherings into long-term catalysts for development.
Ultimately, the power of the FCE perspective lies in its humility and realism. It recognises that change is rarely linear or entirely controllable. Instead, events operate as moments of possibility — temporary windows in which people, ideas, and resources align to reimagine how things are done. The task for today’s event professionals is not merely to deliver smooth logistics, but to design for these moments of systemic renewal: to make visible the mechanisms of transformation, nurture the relationships that sustain it, and ensure that when the stages are dismantled and the crowds disperse, something lasting remains.
“Events are not isolated spectacles but strategic interventions — moments of possibility where people, ideas, and systems align to drive change.”
REFERENCES
See original article for full arguments and references (Duignan, M. B. (2021). Utilizing field theory to examine mega-event-led development. Event Management, 25(6), 705–720. https://doi.org/10.3727/152599520X15894679115583).
AUTHOR(S)
Professeur des universities, University of Paris 1: Pantheon-Sorbonne (France); and Founder/CEO of Centre for Events & Festivals (CEF).
Mike is the Founder and CEO of the Centre for Events and Festivals (CEF); Professeur at the University of Paris 1: Pantheon-Sorbonne; and the Editor-in-Chief of Event Management Journal - the leading academic journal for the study and analysis of events and festivals, founded in 1993, and based in New York (USA). He is also the Editor of Routledge’s book series: ‘How Events Transform Society’. Previously, Mike has been Director of Research, Intelligence and Education at Trivandi; Associate Professor at the University of Central Florida (USA) and Head of Department and Reader at the University of Surrey, where he was also the Director of the UK Olympic Studies Centre - the #1 UK, European and USA universities for the study of events and festivals. For the past 15 years, Mike has been researching, analysing, commentating, writing, publishing, and teaching on the economics and social impacts of staging major events, with the view to improve delivery and leave a sustainable legacy for the communities, people and places that play host. All Mike’s work is available at: www.MikeDuignan.com.
Disclaimer
The views and insights expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and reflect their research and professional expertise. They do not represent the views of the Centre for Events & Festivals CIC or its partners.