How we measure our impact

Sunset over the river Thames, The O2 and London’s skyline.
Sunset over the river Thames, The O2 and London’s skyline. Image courtesy of visitlondon.com/Jon Reid.
Find out more about London & Partners’ economic impact and evaluation methodology.

The additional economic impact of London & Partners is defined as the extra benefits generated as a direct result of our intervention, compared to what would have happened without our work.

Measurement of this additional economic value, "gross value added" (GVA), is calculated mainly by surveying a representative sample of our audiences.

How is London & Partners' impact measured?

What is gross value added (GVA)?

  • GVA is the economic added value created when producing goods or providing services.
  • It is the difference between the price paid for a good or service and the cost of inputs used in its production.
  • GVA measures profits and wages of London-based businesses and London’s employees. By measuring our impact on increasing GVA, we are reporting our economic contribution to London.

What are our performance indicators?

  • We measure the economic benefits to the city with GVA and jobs retained.
  • Economic impact figures are expressed in terms of GVA (economic wealth), unless stated otherwise.
  • We also estimate additional leisure tourists, business delegates, major event-goers and additional sales made by London's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have been part of our programmes.

Jobs created and supported

  • By attracting foreign direct investment in key sectors for London, we generate new, high-value jobs for the London economy.
  • We also create new and safeguard existing jobs in London by attracting the spend of tourists, business delegates and major event spectators.
  • We cannot track these jobs directly, but we use a robust model to estimate the number of jobs that our promotional activities support.

What is our evaluation methodology

The Evaluation Methodology 2021 report outlines the work undertaken by London & Partners and GLA Economics to evaluate impact across our five major business areas: foreign direct investment, business tourism, major events, the Mayor's International Business Programme and the Business Growth Programme.

Read the Evaluation Methodology 2021 [PDF 5.83 MB] report for full information about how we measure our impact.

The evaluation of our impact on the London economy captures only the additional benefits that happen as a result of our interventions. This is ensured by taking account of factors such as over-optimism and displacement.
Jakob Oddershede
Senior Economist & Business Analytics, London & Partners