In May 2026, IAPCO (International Association of Professional Congress Organisers) released a report on meeting sizes. Out of a total of 23,512 meetings organised by its members, who are professional congress organisers, the number of meetings rose by a recorded 20.77%, but there was a noticeable drop in average attendee size, from 408 to 328. This statistic can be taken as an indicator that meetings are becoming smaller.
The reality is that most organisations are cutting budgets, and meetings are one of the elements on the chopping block.
Since 2020, online meetings have been a good alternative for companies with tight event budgets. So how do you, as the programme lead or organisational meeting planner, make the case for why meeting budgets should be allocated?
How do you build a case for convening when event budgets are contested?
- There is an opportunity cost in not meeting. The cost of not meeting is real but invisible. The main reason meetings exist is to give industry peers and counterparts a face-to-face opportunity to meet, discuss issues, create solutions, measure impact, and ultimately push industries forward. The cost of not meeting is deferred decision-making, fewer opportunities for partnerships to form, and a lack of collaboration amongst industry players.
- Meetings themselves present an opportunity to unlock funds. Industry convenings, summits and workshops are how budgets are unlocked, replenished and negotiated, and how multi-year financing is renewed. They provide space to close deals and are a strong fundraising opportunity across sectors. A good case study is the Africa Investment Forum in Rabat, which hosted 2,000 delegates over three days, with total investment interest across 39 bankable projects of US$15.3bn.
- Convening facilitates collaboration and consolidation, especially amongst industry experts. Meetings provide opportunities to brainstorm and create think tanks around pressing industry issues; most summits, meetings and conferences end with action plans that steer the industry forward.
- The direction should not be to cancel meetings; instead, it should be to reimagine and redesign how meetings are done. If budget is a hindrance, consider smaller meeting sizes with simpler formats: cheaper meeting spaces such as convention centres instead of traditional five-star hotels, more local guests, fewer attendees flying in, and giving up high-cost extras in favour of simpler meeting spaces.
The metric that justifies the meeting
So what is the key thing you need to track as a convenor or programme director to justify hosting a meeting? The golden metrics are the return per attendee and the cost per outcome. Create a measurable metric that helps you justify your meeting spend. Typical metrics event organisers use include engagement (for sponsors), deal sizes (from deal rooms), and attendee feedback on whether they would consider attending your event again.
There are plenty of technology tools available to track engagement and ROI.
