Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Development Strategy Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Development Strategy case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Development Strategy case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by V. Kasturi Rangan, Marie Bell. The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Development Strategy (referred as “Development Farber” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Sales & Marketing. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Marketing.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Development Strategy Case Study

Despite revenues in excess of $93 million in 1998, world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute constantly faces an operating shortfall and looks to its highly successful development office to help cover the deficit. The development office raises money annually (with a $42 million goal for 1999) through its two major fund-raising arms: the Development Fund and the Jimmy Fund. In addition, it conducts a major capital campaign about every five years. A new chief development officer, Susan Paresky, needs to establish the development strategy going forward. The case reviews the major fund-raising programs in the development office and presents additional growth options. Students examine the existing programs, assess the value of the new options, and devise a development strategy consistent with the mission and philosophy of the institute.

Case Authors : V. Kasturi Rangan, Marie Bell

Topic : Sales & Marketing

Related Areas : Marketing

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Development Strategy Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10013464)	-10013464	-	-
Year 1	3457783	-6555681	3457783	0.9434	3262059
Year 2	3973821	-2581860	7431604	0.89	3536687
Year 3	3972257	1390397	11403861	0.8396	3335184
Year 4	3237381	4627778	14641242	0.7921	2564309
TOTAL			14641242		12698239

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2684775

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Profitability Index
2. Payback Period
3. Internal Rate of Return
4. Net Present Value

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Development Farber have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.
2. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Development Farber shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Development Strategy

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Sales & Marketing Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Development Farber often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Development Farber needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10013464)	-10013464	-	-
Year 1	3457783	-6555681	3457783	0.8696	3006768
Year 2	3973821	-2581860	7431604	0.7561	3004780
Year 3	3972257	1390397	11403861	0.6575	2611823
Year 4	3237381	4627778	14641242	0.5718	1850983
TOTAL					10474354

The Net NPV after 4 years is 460890

(10474354 - 10013464 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10013464)	-10013464	-	-
Year 1	3457783	-6555681	3457783	0.8333	2881486
Year 2	3973821	-2581860	7431604	0.6944	2759598
Year 3	3972257	1390397	11403861	0.5787	2298760
Year 4	3237381	4627778	14641242	0.4823	1561237
TOTAL					9501081

The Net NPV after 4 years is -512383

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9501081 - 10013464 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Development Farber to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Development Farber has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Development Farber can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Development Farber, then the stock price of the Development Farber should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Development Farber should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Development Strategy

References & Further Readings

V. Kasturi Rangan, Marie Bell (2018), "Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Development Strategy Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.