Funding

Costs

smartvote is a very costly and time consuming project. The costs differ considerably per year, based on how many elections there are. The following numbers represent the costs of smartvote for an average year:

Labour costs
Research staff and project management	120,000 CHF
IT (maintenance, support)	40,000 CHF
Administration	30,000 CHF

Infrastructure
Office expenses	20,000 CHF
IT infrasturcture	5,000 CHF
Server hosting	5,000 CHF
Translation costs	10,000 CHF
Charges	3,000 CHF

Additional costs
Depreciation of development costs^*	90,000 CHF
Total	323,000 CHF
^* Every three to four years, smartvote needs a general re-design to improve the offered features and to modernize the layout design. The corresponding costs between 2009 and 2011 add up to 360,000 CHF. These costs must be depreciated within four years.

Funding

smartvote still depends to a large degree on voluntary work of its team members. The following numbers also represent an average year.

Paid services
Income from parties and candidates	80,000 CHF
Income from media partners	100,000 CHF
Donations and support from partners
Contributions from universities and scientifc organisations^*	50,000 CHF
Contributions from foundations	15,000 CHF
Donations	5,000 CHF
Additional earnings
Share of unpaid voluntary work	73,000 CHF
Total	323,000 CHF
^* Often not in the form of financial contributions, but as free support services (e.g. working places).