Through your dashboard, Kanopy provides all of the tools necessary to run various return-on-investment (ROI) analyses to great depth.
How to Calculate Your ROI
The most common method employed by libraries running a ROI analysis of their PPU program:
- Understand Cost
You can gain perspective on how much you have spent with Kanopy through your Orders tab, which lists all your active invoices. - Download Historical Usage
Using the Analytics tab, you can simply export historical usage data for any set timeframe. Most libraries will use "plays" as the most reliable and true metric for value delivered to an end user. - Calculate Total Usage
For users on the PPU program, the total plays figure will be an accurate metric to use for your ROI calculation. - Calculate ROI
Divide total cost paid by total plays to get your ROI. This can then be compared to other databases.
Two words of warning when using ROI analysis:
- When comparing ROI across resources, it is important to recognize the difference in how resources are consumed. For example, one eBook or Journal access is quite reliably one person - generally only one person reads a book at a time - whereas one video play could just as easily be a group viewing session in an auditorium with 100 people in attendance as it could be one person watching at home.
For academic libraries, many faculty suggest they regularly show films in class. This use case should be accounted for in comparing ROI and usage across resources. One play benefiting the viewing of 100 students would typically be considered more "valuable" than one play benefiting one person. - While usage (access, plays, etc.) is a useful metric and indicator of "value," it is important to note that the engagement analytics and direct user feedback should be used in conjunction with this to build a total picture of the true value of Kanopy as a resource. Usage analytics and ROI are very valuable metrics, but so too is subjective information on the value of the platform.