Costs of Digital Archiving vol. 2

This project aims at generating a cost model for archiving and disseminating digital scholarly datasets relevant to the circumstances of DANS. It is a follow-up of the work done by Kevin Heerema and Anna Palaiologk, which resulted in a first draft cost model based mainly on the OAIS reference model. It is anticipated that the new and improved model will assist the management of DANS in achieving economic sustainability. Material costs need more attention, but the most challenging task in the new project is implementation of the model described within the organisation, in particular in the current time reporting systems and other planning tools.

For public sector organizations the term sustainability has to be examined through the prism of fixed budget. In the case of data archiving entities, like DANS, the challenge lies in the fact that there are continuous, disproportionate increases in both the quantity of data and the complexity of datasets relative to the funding. Further obstacles to accurate forecasting arise from frequently changing preservation strategies. A cost model is an essential tool for effective cost management which, along with the other elements of a proper business model, ensures economic sustainability.

The model that is being developed in DANS is an ABC Activity Based Cost model as salary is the main cost driver. All DANS activities which surround the core archiving process are taken into consideration and combined using formulae. The variables used determine the estimated costs per dataset. For DANS a dataset is a collection of digital objects coming from a single research project and includes documentation describing the data and their relation. In this project a special matrix is used to rank the complexity of a dataset (formats, number of files, size, metadata, etc). Finally, it is used to examine the influence of the dataset complexity to the costs. The ABC Model is applied in combination with the BSC Balanced Scorecard Method. This method translates the mission of an organisation and the existing business strategy into a limited number of specific strategic objectives that can be linked and measured operationally. This enables us to balance the costs of the various strategic objectives of DANS.

The main areas for attention of the project are the relevance of the generated cost model to the reality of archiving practice, its usability (employees understand it and managers can effectively use it) and its accuracy (no discrepancies with reality). The richness of the problem offers many interesting directions in which to expand the scope of the model.

Duration: 1 April 2011 – 1 September 2011

Coordinator: Heiko Tjalsma T 06 232 972 46 E heiko.tjalsma at dans.knaw.nl

Executor: Zuleica Arias T 070 3446 484 E zuleica.arias at dans.knaw.nl

Consultant: Laurents Sesink T 06 226 91 882 E laurents.sesink at dans.knaw.nl