Procedures for Paying Participants and Cooperating Professionals Involved in Research Projects
There are two categories of individuals working with investigators in research projects who may be provided a stipend for the participation outside of the procedures for payroll and contractual arrangements. These include research participants and cooperating professionals. The definition of each is below followed by the procedures to provide them with stipends. The procedures described below pertain to the use of external funds only (accounts that start with a 5). Internal funds (accounts that start with a 1) may be used to pay both participants and cooperating professionals; however, payments made to both groups must follow the procedures listed below for cooperating professionals.
Research Participants – Children and/or adults who participate in a research project under the conditions set forth by the procedures governed by James Madison University’s Internal Review Board. Research participants are volunteers who have signed consent/assent forms after being fully informed about the procedures and risks and benefits of their participation.
Participants may be given “Gift Cards” such as those offered by VISA and individual stores. These cards or certificates are only acceptable for this purpose if they may not be redeemed for cash. To obtain the VISA cards you can go to the Simon Valley Mall office. Other cards or certificates may be obtained from many retail stores and restaurants. To obtain the VISA cards you will complete a form requesting the number of cards and denominations needed. They will process your request and prepare the cards. The JMU Master Card Small Purchase Charge Card must be used for the payment of these gift cards. If the vendor does not accept the card, JMU will issue a check using the standard payment processes of the University.
Students of James Madison University are an exception to this method of payment. Providing them with gift cards may jeopardize some students’ financial aide. As a result, all students who are research participants must be paid using the procedures outlined for cooperating professionals.
Cooperating Professionals (CP) – Individuals who provide a service for a research project based on the agreement of their employer and the investigators. CPs are employed by companies external to the research team and investigators have no authority over their voluntary participation. CPs may discontinue their voluntary participation without risking any future relationships with the investigators. One common example of a CP is a school teacher who provides information about a student, who is a research participant, to the investigators on a one time or repeated basis as a result of an agreement between the investigator and the school district.
Cooperating professionals are provided with stipends by completing a W-9 form providing a full name, complete address, social security number and signature. A payment is then requested by completing an Accounting Voucher (found on the JMU Accounts Payable website) and submitting both forms to JMU Accounts Payable. CP’s should be informed that this process may take four to six weeks. Once the CP has completed a W-9 form they are on file in the accounts payable office and will not need to complete additional paperwork in order to receive payments as a CP in the future.
