Sustaining digital resources: Ithaka toolkit
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Contents |
OVERVIEW
As organisational budgets tighten and economic uncertainty threatens, many digital projects struggle to develop coping strategies when the funding to support core operations and/or essential development is not forthcoming. Work on business models and sustainability has been undertaken for the Strategic Content Alliance by Ithaka through a multi-year investigation of innovative funding models to sustain digital projects. The results of their studies illustrate the varied and creative ways in which leaders of digital initiatives, particularly those developed in the higher education and cultural heritage sectors, are managing to identify sources of support and generate revenue. A number of reports, briefing papers and case studies have been published to provide advice and guidance to those in the public sector who manage digital content.
The Ithaka business modelling and sustainability toolkit
Revenue models
Two reports Sustainability and revenue models for online academic resources and Sustaining Digital Resources: an on-the-ground view of projects today take a broad look the issues surrounding the mechanisms for pursuing sustainability in not-for-profit projects. Whilst the focus is on online academic resources (OARs), projects whose primary aim is to make content and scholarly discourse available on the web for research, collaboration, and teaching, the advice and guidance is transferrable across the public sector and beyond. A range of revenue models is identified providing an overview of the key factors that operate in each model, along with benefits and risks.
Revenue models identified
Direct beneficiaries pay
- Subscription or one-time payment
- Pay per use
- Contributor pays
Indirect beneficiaries pay
- Host institution’s support
- Corporate sponsorships
- Advertising
- Philanthropic funding
- Licence content
The second report Sustaining Digital Resources: an on-the-ground view of projects todaylooks in more depth at these models through a close analysis of twelve illustrative case studies. Finally, from these reports, briefing papers for digital project managers and staff in a range of public sector domains have been prepared as useful starting points on the topic.
This report is available in a number of options:
- The full report with a preface for funders.
- The full report but without case studies.
- Each individual case study (see below)
Briefing papers
There are three briefing papers, each aimed at a different audience and setting out why sustainability is important, key factors to be borne in mind when planning for sustainability and giving some examples of current work and suggestions for further reading.
Case studies
The twelve case studies demonstrate different approaches to sustainability and revenue models. The are considered in more depth at Sustaining digital resources: case studies but are listed here for convenience, giving links to both the case study report and the URL.
Workshop materials
Three peer review workshops were held in 2008 and 2009 to discuss the Ithaka reports on sustainability. For the first event, held in London on 10 April 2008, to look at the first report, a live blog report is available which covers some of the discussion and the bullet point outcomes of break out group work on the report itself and on gaps in service and infrastructure which may have an impact on sustainability.
A follow-up event was held in May 2008 in New York for which detailed notes are avialable which cover the main areas of discussion: mindset, scale, revenue generation, measurement, information-sharing, lifecycle and next steps for moving forward with sustainaiblity.
The third event, also held in London, on 25 March 2009 was a peer review of the second of the Ithaka reports focusing on the case study work done. Here the emphasis was on looking at ways in which it is possible to move away from the cycle of repeated grant making to parent institutions to sustain digital services and the case studies formed the basis of the discussion. Notes and a powerpoint from the workshop are available.
Related Digipedia articles
Sustaining digital resources: case studies
Sustaining digital resources: revenue models
Further information
Abadia and Lin. Nonprofit Cost Analysis Toolkit. Boston: The Bridgespan Group, 2009.
Bishoff and Allen. Business Planning for Cultural Heritage Organisations, CLIR, 2004
Rappa. Business models on the web. 2008
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