I don’t see this as any different from human subject payments in the form of cash.  We do it.  One snag we’ve just run into, though, is how to reconcile the need to verify that the gift cards were distributed to survey participants while meeting the IRB protocol’s requirement for complete anonymity.  We have a PI conducting a survey of fishermen around some very sensitive policy issues, and if the fishermen had to give their name in any form, even dissociated from their survey results, they wouldn’t participate.  So having them sign off of something saying they received the gift card would be a violation of the IRB protocol, but we can’t think of any other way to document that they were given to the participants.

Heather

Heather Sears, PhD, MBA
Business and Operations Manager
Northeastern University
Marine Science Center
430 Nahant Rd
Nahant, MA 01908
P: 781.581.7370 x316
F: 781.581.6076
E: xxxxxx@neu.edu




On Jun 14, 2017, at 9:56 AM, Angela Carron <xxxxxx@TRUMAN.EDU> wrote:

Hello,

Would gift cards used as survey participant incentives be allowable from federal funds, or would it require the federal agency's preapproval?   The survey is associated with research in the grant.  The federal grant allows for the cost of research expenses, but I know gifts, prizes, and awards are not allowable under the uniform guidance rules.

Thank you,

Angela Carron
Supervisor of Accounts Payable & Grants
Truman State University
xxxxxx@truman.edu
660-785-4157

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