POPULATION DATA BC CHARGES

Population Data BC provides an extremely cost-effective and efficient way for researchers to access population-based, longitudinal data.

Upon receiving notification from the relevant Data Steward(s) that a data request has been approved, Researcher Liaison staff  will prepare a cost quote.

If the researcher accepts the quote, both parties sign a Population Data BC - Researcher Agreement which formalizes the requested services and costs to be reimbursed to Population Data BC.

Feasibility and Cost Estimate Letters for grant applications

Researcher Liaison can provide researchers with a letter of reference outlining the feasibility of their research topic using data from Population Data BC, and an informal estimate of costs to assist in the budgeting process. Please be advised that the estimate is not official and is for budgeting or funding applications only.  Because projects may change significantly from time of grant application to time of Data Access Request (DAR) approval, cost estimates are only supplied to a researcher after their Data Access Request has been approved, and the Research Agreement with the Data Steward(s) has been signed.  Unless the project has changed dramatically from time of grant letter to time of DAR approval, Population Data BC has made a commitment for its cost quotes to not exceed the grant letter estimates. 

The estimate is also not to be considered a letter of approval. Such approvals can only be granted by the Data Steward(s) upon receipt of a completed DAR. 

Population Data BC can provide a Feasibility and Cost Estimate Letter within one to two weeks. You can request this letter online.

See also: third party and associated costs

Estimates and budgeting timeline

Population Data BC Charges

The charges for a project are driven by the complexity of the study population definition, the number and type of data files requested, the number of different Data Stewards involved, and whether any external linkages are required. Costs are not, as a rule, determined by the size of the study population, the number of fields requested or the number of years of data requested.

For projects that have approval to use the Secure Research Environment (SRE), an annual fee will be included in the estimate.

The charges are based on a marginal cost recovery for the following activities:

• Application support including answering questions regarding the approval process, application process, study population definition and suitability
• Application review and coordination
• Preparation of the approved data files
• Provision of relevant available documentation to support use of the data
• Support for use of the data, including answering questions about data fields and coding specifics
• If applicable, SRE access, including software and support

Additional fees will be incurred if researchers require study population definition or data field amendments after data delivery. In these cases, an amendment request must be submitted, via Population Data BC, to the relevant Data Steward(s.)  Once approved, a new cost quote will be provided for the new / updated data extract. Requesting modifications to a DAR after its submission to the Data Stewards, but before its approval, may incur a fee up to $2,500 depending on the complexity of the project and the requested modification(s).

Project charges, not including SRE charges, often fall between $8,000.00 and $15,000.00. Complexity and linkages can drive the charges higher.

SRE charges are annual and vary slightly depending on the resources required by the project. Base charges are $2,500.00 per year for 3 user access. 

Fees For Students
Graduate students who have received research funding are expected to reimburse reasonable cost recovery charges to Population Data BC. If a master's or doctoral student doesn't have access to funding, they may apply to have the costs waived.

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