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Quantified Value Add (“QVA”)

Details about QVA, and the Calculation Methodology

Written by Helpdesk

We have built, and continue to build, many ways for platform users to interact with Insights, and with each other. It is this interaction that we measure when we assess Quantified Value Add (“QVA”), which forms the basis of how we allocate subscription revenue among Insight Providers.

QVA Calculation Methodology

Key Definitions

  • Total QVA points = Total points generated by all clients’ engagement, based on their Smartkarma subscriptions

  • Your QVA points = Points distributed to an Insight Provider, based on client engagement on their Insights

  • QVA Share (%) = Your QVA / Total QVA

  • QVA Share Change (%) = The month-on-month change in your QVA Share

  • QVA 3M Share (%)(or QVA 3M) = 3-month rolling average of your QVA Share

  • Your Monthly Payment = ~70% * Monthly Smartkarma Subscription Revenue * Your QVA 3M Share (for every month where you publish at least one Insight)

Methodology

  • For computing QVA, the Smartkarma platform captures three essential engagement metrics from clients (Figure 1. Consumption Analytics).

  • These three metrics are equally weighted in importance.

  • QVA is distributed to Insight Providers based on these metrics from clients.

  • Adding up the monthly QVA points for every Insight Provider gives us the Total QVA and thus, every Insight Provider’s pro-rata QVA Share.

  • We then compute the three (3)-month rolling average of QVA Share. This smooths out periods of lower activity (vacations, for example).

  • ~70% of the Monthly Smartkarma Subscription Revenue is distributed to Insight Providers on the basis of Insight Providers’ QVA 3M Share (%).

Key Notes:

  • The number of Insights published is not in itself a good guide to the value added to clients. QVA is designed to be a much broader and wholesome measure. It is reflective of a consistent improvement in quality and usefulness. For instance, your QVA can go up while you keep the number of Insights published constant so long as those Insights are driving more viewership, discussions and appreciation.

  • No payment is made to Insight Providers in months where no Insights are published.

  • We do not count public views at all. This is about not causing controversy or click-bait among the “public” (we work hard to market the platform and do deals to increase subscriber numbers for you!).

  • Repeat views by clients on the same Insights count towards QVA.

  • Views by clients in the current month on Insights published in previous months count towards the current month’s QVA.

  • It is important to stick to your areas of expertise when publishing research. This helps position your Insights to interested clients, allowing you to gain more client engagement and hence QVA. This positioning of your research also helps when offering Premium Services, another way for Insight Providers to monetize their services. You can read more about offering Premium Services here.

Figure 1. Consumption Analytics

Key Client Engagement Metrics

We continually strive to improve the QVA methodology to deliver value to our clients and to our Insight Provider (IP) community. The goal is to fairly and meritocratically share revenue by rewarding those Insight Providers that add value to clients. Here is a table of the three engagement metrics that are taken into account in QVA calculations.

Month-To-Date (MTD) QVA points

You can track your QVA points on a daily basis in your Payment Analytics tool (MTD QVA points).

Your MTD QVA points gives you real-time feedback on the breadth and engagement level of clients, and hence is a good predictor of your monthly payout.

Key Notes:

  • While the Total QVA points, the sum of the QVA points of all Insight Providers, is a monotonic function and can go only up as the days in a month go by, the specific day-to-day allocation to Insight Providers (measured by their personal MTD QVA points) can go up, down or remain flat on a daily basis, depending on client activity.

  • As an example, say Client A on Day 1 of the month reads 1 Insight from Analyst X. They are effectively allocating their entire monthly QVA to Analyst X. As the month progresses, and assuming Client A reads the work of other analysts, some of that QVA gets redistributed. If Client A’s reading of Analyst X’s Insight on Day 1 is the only activity on Analyst X’s Insights in the month, Analyst X will see a downtrend in the MTD QVA as the month progresses.

QVA for Teams

Due to the rising participation of teams of analysts on Smartkarma, we allow Team Leaders to monitor their analysts’ metrics across the team and platform using the QVA Analytics tool. Please contact your Smartkarma Account Lead to assign your Team Leader.

A Final Point

Quantified Value Add (QVA) is at the core of our ranking and rewards model at Smartkarma, and it is one of the key differentiators between us and the ‘aggregators’. QVA drives value from all active clients to you, so you benefit directly from their interaction with your work.

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