At a glance

The teaching units provided by Iconomix systematically promote economic literacy and equality of opportunity in Switzerland. To meet this overarching mission the programme is guided by clear values:

The relevant metric for measuring the reach of Iconomix is the number of active users. For this we count the number of teachers at upper secondary level who are registered at iconomix.ch and log onto the platform at least once in a calendar year.

In 2020, 1,630 teachers of economics and the humanities at Swiss upper secondary schools made active use of the Iconomix web platform. In relation to the target group of over 4,200 teachers, this translates into a reach of around 39%. 

Some 15% of the teachers of economics and the humanities at Swiss upper secondary schools logged onto Iconomix.ch five times or more in 2020. We regard them as power users, nearly two-fifths of the teachers at upper secondary level who actively used Iconomix come under this category. The power user figure serves as an indicator of the intensity with which iconomix.ch is used.
 

A central bank’s decisions have far-reaching consequences for the population. As many people as possible should therefore be able to comprehend the considerations involved. In Switzerland, where citizens regularly vote on economic issues, a good understanding of how the economy works is especially important. This prompted the SNB to set up the Iconomix educational programme in 2007.

Iconomix is 100% financed and supported by the SNB. The unit’s basic funding was limited in 2011 by the bank’s management to CHF 0.7 million per year (approximately EUR 0.65 million) and staff numbers are limited to 3.3 full-time equivalents (0.5 of which are managerial) plus an average of 2.0 interns. This allocation of financial and human resources has proven to be sustainable over the years.

The largest cost item (services provided by third parties not on the payroll) is the operation and maintenance of the web platform and digital learning tools: it accounts for nearly 50% of expenditure. A further 15% is spent on content creation and update, 15% on communication and outreach, 15% on management support and 8% on product evaluation. These cost ratios have remained largely stable over the years.

Iconomix seeks to maintain high standards of accountability, effectiveness and efficiency vis-à-vis its sponsor, the SNB. Some of its key figures are published regularly , both in the SNB’s annual sustainability report and on the Iconomix web platform.