POPULATION DATA BC CHARGES

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

The following is a visual overview of the timeline for communications of costs on a project:

A Feasibility and Cost Estimate letter is required at the earliest opportunity in order to support the budgeting process. This is an estimate and a maximum amount PopData will charge based on your rough project parameters.  This amount must be included in grant budgets. 

The cost quote, the actual amount to be charged, is only available after the DAR is approved and the details of the project are final. The invoiced amount equals the cost quote.

Important details of each of these cost communications is provided below. 

Feasibility and Cost Estimate Letters (FCE)

Researcher Liaison staff can provide researchers with a letter that indicates the feasibility of data access and / or linkage for their specified research topic, and an estimate of costs that is to be used for budgeting. Each project should have a Feasibility and Cost Estimate letter associated with it, whether a grant is being applied for or not.

• FCEs are project and grant specific; they should not be re-used for multiple grant applications
• FCEs do not include costs for data or other services that are not provided by Population Data BC
• FCEs are not approval letters; Population Data BC has no ability to influence approvals
• FCE estimates are broad in order to accommodate possible changes in the project through the grant application process
• Researchers must include the amount on the FCE in their budget submitted to the granting agency
• Projects that have not requested an FCE letter will be issued one upon initial work with PopData on the DAR
• Population Data BC has made a commitment that charges will not exceed the amount on the FCE letter, provided the project remains substantially similar

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

See also: third party and associated costs

Proceeding with the DAR

Non-Student Researchers may not proceed with DAR applications before funding is secured. If grant funding is not yet secured or in the case that grant funding is unsuccessful, researchers are required to show proof of financial support, in order to proceed with the DAR process.  Researchers must still show proof of Peer Review in order to satisfy DAR requirements.

See the section below for information on student charges. 

Cost Quote

• Concrete cost quotations are only available after a Data Access Request (DAR) has been approved. The reason for this delay is because projects may change significantly from time of grant application to time of approval. 
• 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 must sign the quote in acceptance of the cost.
• The Researcher must also sign a Population Data BC - Researcher Services Agreement which formalizes the requested services and costs to be reimbursed to Population Data BC.
• There may be multiple Cost Quotes for a single project, depending on the anticipated number of Amendments, data deliveries or  Extensions desired. 

Invoice

Invoices match the Cost Quotes provided, and include details for payment.  These are issued once the service is provided to the Researcher(s). 

About Population Data BC Charges

Project charges fall into two general categories: the service costs for the data request itself, and the charges for use of the SRE during analysis. 

Service costs

The charges for a project are driven by the complexity of the study population, 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.

The charges are based on a 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 or linkage of the study population
• 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

Project service charges, often fall between $8,000.00 and $15,000.00 per project. Complexity and external linkages can drive the charges higher.  Population Data BC reserves the right to change its cost recovery structure at any time, however will maintain its commitment to researchers for initial application and SRE access fees to not exceed the amount on the FCE letter. 

The table below outlines the standard cost recovery model. Services are broken down into Data, Administrative and SRE services.

Note the below does not include the costs that external data provider may also charge.  They also do not include the costs for possible Amendment or other requests.

Researcher driven changes post application

Changing the DAR once submitted requires additional work by PopData as well as the Data Stewards. 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).

Amendments

Researchers may make a request to change key aspects about their projects, such as:

• Data updates or more years of data
• Data files and / or fields requested
• Research questions posed
• Change in study population

These require a formal application to the Data Stewards in the form of an Amendment. New service charges apply for amendment applications, and confirmation of funds will be requested by Population Data BC. 

Data Retention Extensions

Currently there is no fee for the coordination of a Data Retention Extension request.

SRE costs

SRE charges start at $2,500 per annum and vary slightly depending on the resources required by the project. The minimum billing increment is 3 months. Typically the first two years are charged at the outset of the project, with additional SRE needs being charged as needed after two years.

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.

Waivers may be granted to graduate students up to a maximum of $7,500 for the service charges and $5,000 for SRE access (standard SRE package) for a total of $12,500 per student, per degree. 

Students will be responsible for any charges in excess of the waiver ceiling with no exceptions. Confirmation of funding will be requested at the time of DAR submission if the request is anticipated to exceed the ceiling amount. 

No other parties are permitted to use the data under a student application, whether the student has received a waiver or not, for their own means or Research Materials.

what's next? > Population Data BC - Researcher Services Agreement