The Notice of Collection and Disclosure of Personal Information form is to be used for all standard studies where sharing of participant information is not prohibited by the conditions of the study protocol per the MREB/HiREB ethics certification.  The Notice of Collection and Disclosure of Personal Information document includes instructions for researchers that address additional situations when the consent form is not to be used and also provides clarity on which version to use.

The Notice of Collection and Disclosure of Personal Information form requests research participants consent to collect their personal information for McMaster’s internal financial accounting processes and to inform them that research incentive payments, including monetary payments and gift cards, are considered possible taxable income. In some cases this information is also needed for McMaster to send the research participant their payment.

Notice of Collection forms must be retained on file by the research team for seven (7) years and made available if requested during audit.

The Attestation Form is to be used for:

1. Studies where the research is anonymous such that participant names are not available; or
2. Restricted studies where the sharing of participant names outside of the research team is prohibited by the study protocol per the conditions of MREB/HiREB ethic certification (further detail on restricted studies is shown in the FAQ below)

The Principal Investigator (or Faculty Supervisor, for student projects) is asked to sign to verify that:

1. The names cannot be shared as outlined in (a) or (b) above; and
2. To the best of their knowledge, gift cards or cash issued to the participant will not exceed $500 in a calendar year (Researchers are not expected to have knowledge of research led by other research teams)

This form is to be retained on file by the research team for seven (7) years following the project conclusion and must be made available if requested during audit.

Some research is anonymous, and names are either never collected or are only kept by the research team for a limited duration.  In other cases, names may be collected by the research team however the conditions of the MREB/HiREB ethics certification per the study protocol prohibits the sharing of participant names outside of the research team, even with the finance office which facilitates payment. As these studies have explicit ethical and/or methodological restrictions on the provision of identifying information for the purposes of processing research participant payments both types of studies are referred to as “restricted” for the purposes of the AP-01 guidelines. For restricted studies the research/finance administrator will provide only a research participant ID number in place of the name. The maximum payment for anonymous or restricted studies is $450 per year.

Studies that are considered ‘standard’ do not have a restriction on providing name, address, and contact information for the purposes of processing research participant payments. For standard studies the PI (Principal Investigator) must employ the “Notice of Collection and Disclosure of Personal Information for Research Payment Purposes” form to ensure participants have provided consent for the collection of personal information when needed.

The majority of studies are considered ‘standard’.

Financial Affairs is updating the AP-01 guidelines to manage financial risk to the University by better meeting the requirements of the Canada Revenue Agency while also respecting the needs of researchers, research participants and the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans – TCPS 2.

The guidelines come into effect on January 27, 2025. The new guidelines will be put in place on an interim basis for 24 months. During the interim period data and statistics will be collected to assist in assessing the success of the guidelines.  A pulse check review will be completed every 6 months during the interim period.

• A new form ‘Notice of Collection and Disclosure of Personal Information for Research Participant Payment Purposes’ will ensure participants are aware that incentive payments are potentially taxable. The new form will include instructions for researchers.
• For new studies:
  • There are limits for gift cards and cash payments
  • Cash payments must be pre-approved by the Office of the Vice-President Research and confirmed before participants are advised that cash payments will be made

Please see the AP-01 Guidelines for Reimbursement for full details.

For existing studies as of January 26, 2025, amounts paid will be as per existing protocols.  This process will be applied to new studies as of January 27, 2025 and existing studies that have not yet made arrangements to pay participants.

Research participants may receive incentive payments by cheque, EFT (direct deposit from AP to the recipient), gift card or in-kind, and in pre-approved cases by cash.

For new studies, requests for use of cash should be submitted to rschadmn@mcmaster.ca.  These requests will be reviewed by the Vice-President Research with approvals given on a case-by-case basis.

Please refer to AP-01 Guidelines for a detailed overview of the process to follow for each incentive payment type.

Incentive payments may be considered taxable income. Where the total compensation (direct payment, gift cards, and /or cash) to a research participant from McMaster is equal to or greater than $500 in a calendar year, a T4A will be issued to that participant. To facilitate the issuance of the T4A Finance will ask research participants for personal information such as, but not limited to, name, address and Social Insurance Number (SIN). Participants may provide their SIN through a confidential link in encrypted/protected portal, by phoning AP or emailing fin2go@mcmaster.ca to request a call back. For studies where collection of personal information is not prohibited by the study protocol the PI (Principal Investigator) should employ the “Notice of Collection and Disclosure of Personal Information for Research Payment Purposes” form to ensure participants have provided consent for the collection of personal information when needed. The PI is responsible for ensuring that the monies are disbursed, accounted for, recorded, and reported.

Participants may receive reimbursement payments to cover their study expenses (e.g., travel to the study location, parking, etc.). Reimbursement for expenses is not considered taxable income. Please reimburse for out-of-pocket expenses separately from research participant fees. Receipts are required for reimbursement of expenses.

If you are unsure what qualifies as a study reimbursement, please contact Accounts Payable (rpphelp@mcmaster.ca) to receive a determination.

Please see the AP-01 Guidelines for further details.

For guidance on the limits and use of cash/gift cards for anonymous studies or for studies where sharing participant names outside of the research team is prohibited by the conditions of MREB/HiREB ethics certification per the study protocol please refer to Appendix A. Interim Process for Compensating Research Participants by Cash/Gift Card. 

The definition of Prizes shall follow CRA’s criteria that need to be met for a payment received to be considered a ‘Windfall’. Factors indicating that a particular receipt is a ‘windfall’ include that the recipient has no expectation of a payment, and the payment is not in recognition of services provided.

For prizes to meet the “no expectation” requirement referenced in CRA Guidance, the prizes need to be awarded on a random basis. For further clarity if prizes are awarded to most or all participants, this would not comply with the CRA guidance that the participants did not have an expectation to receive a prize.

All reimbursements must be accompanied by a tracking spreadsheet. Claimants will only be reimbursed for gift cards already distributed to research participants. It is recommended that such gift cards be purchased in small quantities.

Training videos are available through the Mosaic Finance Training Hub, accessible through Mosaic or on the Financial Affairs Research Participant Payment Hub Training tab.

Drop-in sessions with Finance will take place Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Please visit the Finance Training Hub to access the link.

If you need help please contact rpphelp@mcmaster.ca.

Feedback from the research community will be collected throughout the 24-month interim period to refine the guidelines and processes as needed.  Representatives from Financial Affairs and from the Office of the Vice-President Research will be involved in these reviews.