A grant programme that celebrates international association conferences for making “inspiring, lasting impacts to their meeting destinations” is calling out for final submissions for 2018 – with a chance to secure US $7,500 towards creating a legacy with future events.

Association events organisers are invited to apply for the Incredible Impacts Grants Programme – run by BestCities Global Alliance, the network of 12 premier meeting destinations, and ICCA, the global meetings industry network – by submitting entries featuring innovative legacy examples before the deadline on Wednesday 1st of August.

Conference ‘legacy’ has become an intregal part of event planning within the meetings world and is the foundation for the programme being developed by BestCities Global Alliance and ICCA since 2017.

With only three weeks to go until the first round of submission ends, associations will need to act quick to be considered for this year’s programme.

Now in its second year, the Incredible Impacts Grants Programme presents an opportunity for associations to be rewarded for creative approaches – delivering above and beyond traditional business tourism measures to deliver their events. Powerful examples from the programme are also utilised as a tool for inspiring other planners, with each example shared as a case study online.

Submissions will be put to an independent jury who will determine which three associations will be awarded grants, with winners set to be announced at the ICCA Congress in Dubai from 11-14 November 2018. Factors such as accessibility, environmental impacts and knowledge sharing are all considered in the judging process.

Paul Vallee, Managing Director of BestCities said: “We created the Incredible Impacts Grants Programme along with ICCA to help those in the industry make their own mark on the assocations industry and consider ways they can leave a lasting impact in the early stages of planning. Throughout the last year we’ve seen some incredible events delivered, so with only a few weeks to go, we want to give assocations one final opportunity to submit their legacy project, and reward those who are leading the way in the industry with a grant to deliver further positive change.

“We were impressed with the quality of powerful examples we received last year and we’re confident we will have even more great examples in 2018.

ICCA Acting CEO Dennis Speet said: “This is the second edition of the Incredible Impacts Programme, and last year’s entries provided some amazing cases that helped us to communicate the vast quantities of knowledge that are created and shared, the inward investment and business connections that are stimulated, and the societal, healthcare and economic challenges that are addressed and solved at international association meetings.

“We’re grateful for BestCities’ generous support, and look forward to hearing some amazing new stories about the power of meetings. We strongly encourage our industry peers to join this select group of associations, and celebrate some of the best examples of projects that showcase the wider impact of these meetings, and more importantly, to encourage greater awareness and new projects.”

Last year’s programme saw 20 associations submit their unique and innovative legacy examples, with the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH): World Thrombosis Day Campaign, World Parkinson Coalition (WPC): World Parkinson’s Congress and World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) taking home the prize.

Associations interested in applying can nominate themselves or candidate associations can be nominated by any ICCA member.

The first round of submissions must be received before 1 August 2018.  Shortlisted applicants will be asked to share further information for the second stage of the programme.

For further information on the Incredible Impacts Grant and for details on how to submit your nomination visit: www.bestcities.net or ICCA’s Knowledge Hub on www.iccaworld.org/knowledge.