Managing resources and ensuring accountability: understanding return on investment

Leaders of colleges of nursing face increasing challenges associated with insufficient resources coupled with growing market demands. Managing financial resources and ensuring accountability are essential leadership skills for deans and academic leaders across the nation. An understanding of "return on investment" or "ROI" analysis as a mechanism to negotiate and validate outcomes with varied stakeholders is critical to building a financial business case. ROI analysis is one component of metrics for knowledge management and must be understood from a business perspective. Providing leadership to a resilient college of nursing requires a willingness to utilize innovative strategies and effective metrics to measure outcomes. By raising the effectiveness of base spending, thereby increasing ROI, an academic leader is better positioned to innovate, which is crucial to the future success of nursing education.