Cost Resources

Cost data for an intervention being evaluated should be collected using the “ingredients method”, described in detail by Levin and McEwan in their 2001 book Cost-effectiveness analysis: methods and applications. CBCSE is developing a set of resources to constitute a Cost Tool Kit to facilitate the collection of cost data using this method. The goal of the ingredients method is to determine all resources required to implement an intervention, including all personnel, facilities, equipment and materials.

The Cost Tool Kit is currently in alpha version. It includes spreadsheets that allow the user to list all ingredients required for an intervention being evaluated and, if necessary, to make adjustments for inflation, geographical location, urbanicity, and time value of money. A brief user manual includes an example cost analysis to illustrate use of the Cost Tool Kit. The Database of Educational Resource Prices can be used to find national prices for the most common ingredients used in educational interventions. The Amortization Calculator can be used to spread the costs of certain items such as facilities and equipment over expected life-time use.

If you would like to pilot the Cost Tool Kit and provide us with feedback, please contact us at cbcse@tc.columbia.edu. The beta version will become available on this page in mid to late 2013.

If you need to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis to compare the productivity of different programs with the same goals, it is necessary to collect data on both the costs and effectiveness of the educational interventions being compared, as well as for the “business-as-usual” conditions. Effectiveness data may be obtainable from existing evaluation reports, or you may be designing your own impact study to collect this data yourself. Once you have determined the costs of a program using the ingredients method, you can combine the cost data with the available effectiveness data to calculate a cost-effectiveness ratio for the intervention. The Cost Tool Kit will facilitate such analyses.

Download Database of Educational Resource Prices

Download Amortization Calculator