Cost-Sharing Models

eHLbc Licensing Models Overview

To meet the needs of its diverse membership, eHLbc's licensing cost-sharing model takes into account the differences between health and post-secondary communities to achieve a cohesive pricing model that is equitable, rational, and coherent. 

Post-Secondary institutions are grouped by (1) type of institution, and then (2) FTE (full-time equivalent students). 

The Health Authorities cost-sharing model is based on the Patient Safety & Learning System Cost Sharing Formula, used by the Ministry of Health to allocate the global BC health care budget.

Government & Health Professional Organizations are priced by headcount and often align with the groups used in the post-secondary sector.

Pricing models are a key point of negotiation with vendors. Typically vendors come to the negotiating table with their company's “standard” pricing model. eHLbc’s approach, whenever possible, is to encourage vendors to accept an eHLbc licensing model as the way to determine prices for individual member organizations.

eHLbc Groupings and Definitions

Post-Secondary Structure

The eHLbc model groups post-secondary libraries based on:

1. Type of institution and then,
2. FTE (full-time equivalent students).

Many cost-sharing models used by both vendors and other consortia follow this approach. Typically they recognize two basic "types" of institutions, two-year academics (colleges) and four-year academics (universities). Two-year academics are priced at a discount to reflect the fact that the student body includes a significant proportion of students in non-academic programs who will make little use of standard licensed electronic resources.

The following represent post-secondary members within the criteria above. Current academic FTEs are in effect for products licensed from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027.

Note: The FTEs for Affiliate post-secondary members used for calculating Core Suite costs are set at the beginning of the Core Suite term and do not change, though FTEs are updated yearly for other agreements.

The full-time enrolment figures correspond to funded FTEs and are taken from institutional budget letters supplied by the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills (whenever possible).

Health Authority Structure

The Health Sector licensing cost-sharing is based on the BC Ministry of Health's allocation of the global health care budget. 

These percentages are in effect for products licensed from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2030.

Health Authorities: Bed Counts

These bed counts come from the Health Sector Information, Analysis, and Reporting Division, BC Ministry of Health. They are in effect until March 31, 2027.

Government and Professional Health Organizations Tier Structure

The pricing model used is based on FTEs or tiers or may vary depending on the licensed product and vendor agreement.

Current FTEs are in effect for products licensed from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2030.