Case Studies in Sustainability

An SCA-Ithaka Peer Review Workshop

Kevin GuthrieLaura BrownNancy MaronKirby Smith

Ithaka25 March 2009

Why are we here?

• Many scholarly, cultural and other digital projects keep returning to funding agencies for additional grants to support core operations.

• This limits the funds available to support new initiatives.• The problem is heightened as the current economic crisis puts

pressure on all sources of revenue.

The questions:• What sustainability models are currently in place across

the digital scholarly landscape?• How have these models been successful for specific

projects, and what challenges do they bring?• How can the stories behind these digital resources inform

project managers and funders in the community?

Brief Background: Sustainability and Revenue Models

The Ithaka report (2008) identified the need for a change in the cultural environment surrounding grant-funded Online Academic Resource projects (OARs).

1. OARs must aim to benefit users, not providers. Impact?2. Project leaders must not assume ongoing grant support.3. Sustainability plans should anticipate and pursue future growth.4. Projects should consider benefits of scale—if not on their own,

then through partnerships.5. In a competitive world, strategic planning is essential.6. Needs of users and the competitive environment are changing.7. OAR leaders must embrace accountability.8. Creating structures that encourage creativity, risk-taking and

innovation is imperative.

From theory to practice

Sustainability and Revenue Models for Online Academic Resources (2008)The Ithaka report, sponsored by JISC and the SCA, outlined broad recommendations for OARs to survive and thrive in the big pond of Internet-based resources.

Case Studies in Sustainability(2009)This stage of work takes the ideas expressed in the report and examines how they are taking shape at different OARs today. Beyond studying revenue models, we explore the evolution of strategy and the decision-making process of those managing the projects.

Selection criteria and methodology

We evaluated the cases with an eye to assembling a set that would provide a wide range of:

• Revenue models we think will be most instructive to the community

• Sectors• Organizational models• Outcomes

Important factors for selection included:

• Evidence of a track record and measurable results• Many projects have recently implemented interesting models, but

these would be difficulty to analyze at an early stage.

• Preference for content-based projects in a range of media• We sought projects offering a variety of content types, including text,

data, images, audio and video.

• Willingness to participate• Many organizations are not willing to be open and candid about their

sustainability strategies, particularly in fields that are highly competitive.

Research methodology

1. Target 2-4 interviewees for each case, including• Project leaders• Business development personnel• Content developer or contributor• Funding ally (fundraiser, sponsor)• Liaison within a partner or host institution

2. Conduct interviews, based on discussion guide• On-site or by telephone

3. Follow up with calls or emails as necessary4. Fact-check with project leaders and other key sources

The Cases

8 SCA/JISC-funded cases in the UK and abroad:

• Centre for Computing in the Humanities• Electronic Enlightenment• V&A Images, Victoria & Albert Museum• The National Archives• University of Southampton Library• Hindawi Publishing Corporation (Egypt)• DigiZeitschriften (Germany)• L’Institut national de l’audiovisuel (France)

As well as 4 cases in the US:• eBird• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy• Thesaurus Linguae Graecae• NSDL Middle School Pathway

Centre for Computing in the Humanities

• Academic department at King’s College London focuses on research in the digital humanities. Currently engaged in 34 diverse research projects

• Achieves economies of scale for research projects through shared infrastructure and staffing

• In addition to generating income through research and teaching, offers consultancy services to outside organizations

Primary contacts: Harold Short, CCH Director; Simon Tanner, Director, King’s College Digital Consultancy

Electronic Enlightenment

• Online edition of correspondence fromthe long 18th century

• Funded throughinstitutional subscriptions

• Partnerships within an institution: started at the Voltaire Foundation, now overseen by the Bodleian Library and distributed by Oxford University Press

Primary contact: Robert McNamee, Director of Research and Development

V&A Images

• Provides digital images of objects from the Victoria & Albert Museum’s holdings for commercial, educational, and personal uses

• Generates revenue through image licensing, custom photography, and on-demand generation of prints

• Sustainability is dependant not just on direct costs and revenues, but also on the unit’s integration into the work—and mission—of the Museum as a whole

Primary contact: Andrea Stern, Head of V&A Images

The National Archives

• Public-private partnerships: outside partners digitize TNA content in exchange for exclusive partner benefits

• Licensing arrangements generate some revenue but save a huge amount in upfront digitization and ongoing hosting and delivery costs

• Demonstrates a pragmatic solution for large-scale digitization and a market-focused content selection strategy

Primary contact: Caroline Kimbell, Head of Licensing

University of Southampton Library Digitization Initiatives

• Constellation of hosted digitization projects, including British periodicals and parliamentary papers

• Experimenting with a variety of revenue streams: funding from JISC, institutional memberships, and partnerships (with ProQuest and JSTOR)

• How to maintain infrastructure when first flow of projects has concluded?

Primary contact: Mark Brown, University Librarian

Hindawi Publishing Corporation

• Cairo-based publisher of open access STM journals

• Entirely Open Access and funded through Article Processing Charges to individuals and institutions

• Sustainability model based on rapid growth through new journal launches

• Partnerships with publishers and societies help to manage editorial process and provide marketing support; partners value Hindawi’s platform and OA expertise

Primary contact: Paul Peters, Head of Business Development

DigiZeitschriften

• The “German JSTOR”: an archive of German-origin academic journal back issues

• Operates under a partnership model, with 14 special collections libraries contributing discipline expertise and help with content selection and rights negotiations

• Funding model is based on institutional subscriptions

Primary contact: Norbert Lossau, Chairman of DigiZeitschriften and Director of the Göttingen State and University Library

L’Institut national de l’audiovisuelina.fr and Inamédiapro

• French national archive for radio and television broadcasts

• Government-supported through an audiovisual tax, plus diverse revenue streams including rights licensing, advertising, and sales of its original productions and custom DVDs

• Exemplifies ability to use free and toll content to support both audience and revenue goals.

Primary contact: Roei Amit, Head of Publishing, ina.fr

eBird

• Joint project of Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society with the National Science Foundation

• Solicits observations of bird migration from bird-watching enthusiasts; aggregates, cleans, and packages the observation data for download and use by researchers

• eBird model demonstrates key elements to address to build a thriving two-sided market of researchers and hobbyists

Primary contact: Steve Kelling, Director of Information Science, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

• Online reference work for philosophy; entries volunteered by academics

• Operates from an endowment funded by academic libraries, with additional direct funding from institutional host Stanford

• Demonstrates significance of addressing user needs and building community support as a key factor to sustainability strategy

Primary contact: Edward Zalta, Principal Editor

Thesaurus Linguae Graecae

• Online corpus of ancient and Byzantine Greek texts

• Funded through institutional subscriptions, an endowment created with a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, and direct funding from its host, the University of California, Irvine

• Highly specialized content which is necessary for researchers in the classics and medieval studies

• In existence nearly 40 years!

Primary contacts: Maria Pantelia, Project Director and Betsy Shanor, Assistant Director

Today’s Objectives

• To get your input on which models and mindsets resonate the most.

• To hear your thoughts on which elements of these cases may help you think of your projects in new ways.

• To understand common obstacles to sustainability and start to think about ways to deal with them as a community.

Goal of Morning Breakout Sessions

For each case, we’d like to hear your thoughts on the following questions:

• What lessons does this case offer?In terms of revenue model? Mindset? Organizational structure?

• To what extent could the lessons from this case be transferrable to other projects?

• What might limits of this model be, for this or other projects?

End of Day Summary Slides

Three themes

• What are the revenue models people are trying out to support open content?

• What are some key factors in successful efforts to build virtual communitiesi?

• What types of partnership are being pursued. Bi-lateral? Peer-to-peer?

Models Supporting Open Access

• Build or partner to provide services on top of raw/free content

• Advertising

• Licence content to third parties

• Take advantage of contributors to lower costs (metadata)

• In-kind contributions from host institution

• Premium content

• Increases in visits (physical visits)

• Analog productions (cd, book, etc.)

• Let users help improve the content to develop new products

Some Comments on Community Building

• Must invest in a good platform

• There is a need for experimentation and prototyping

• Not just money, about generating loyalty and fulfilling mission

• Must know what community YOUR institution must build. Let others build other communities

• Create incentives for interaction. What can I do for you, instead of what you can do for me.

• Put all the systems together, editorial, marketing, technology. They cannot function as independent silos.

What Types of Partnerships are Being Pursued

• Commercial monetization

• Using others’ infrastructure. For dissemination. For preservation.

• Relying on peer-to-peer networks facilitated by portals (i.e. Europeana)