What is the Research Incentive Program?
The Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA)’s pilot Research Participation Incentive recognizes and rewards practising members who volunteer their time to support chiropractic research. Eligible members can receive a 2% refund on their annual OCA membership fee for every hour contributed to research, up to a maximum of 20% per year.
The goal of this initiative is to:
• Strengthen evidence generation in chiropractic.
• Encourage greater member participation in chiropractic research.
• Support chiropractic researchers by easing recruitment challenges.
• Recognize and support practising chiropractors who volunteer their time.
The Incentive: Time-Based Membership Refund
• OCA members receive a 2% refund in membership fees per hour of research participation.
• The discount is capped at 20% per year
• The minimum contribution to qualify for the incentive is 30 minutes of participation in a research study.
• If a member contributes 30 to 59 minutes total, time is rounded up to 1 full hour (2%).
• After the first hour, time is credited as-is in 30-minute increments.
This incentive is available to practising chiropractors who volunteer to participate in research (e.g., completing surveys or interviews, providing patient data, etc.). Researchers conducting their own studies are not eligible. However, full-time researchers are welcome to participate in other research projects to receive the incentive.
After the OCA membership renewal period, you may submit a submission form through Fonteva to claim a refund on your previous membership cycle’s fee, corresponding to the number of hours you volunteered for eligible research activities during that cycle.
Please note this incentive is provided as a refund on your OCA membership fee, not as an upfront discount.
More details on when the submission form becomes available and process for receiving your refund coming soon.
Eligible research activities include, but are not limited to:
• Completing surveys or questionnaires conducted for the purposes of a research study.
• Participating in interviews or focus groups as part of a research project.
• Participating as a study subject in clinical or observational research.
• Participating as a clinician in a research study (e.g., enrolling patients, collecting or contributing de-identified patient data, or following a study protocol as part of routine care).
Any legitimate chiropractic research participation counts.
You will need to track and provide the following information:
• Study Name.
• Study Type (e.g., survey, interview, clinical etc.).
• Principal Investigator / Study Coordinator.
• Institution / Organization.
• Time contributed to this study (minutes).
• When participation took place (month[s] and year, best estimate).
For the membership cycle, you can begin tracking your research participation NOW.
The first incentives issued will apply to research participation completed between January 1, 2026 and July 31, 2026. Any eligible research participation during this period will result in a corresponding percentage refund applied to your 2025-2026 membership fee.
Beginning August 1, 2026, you may begin tracking eligible research participation for the 2026-2027 membership cycle incentive period.
To receive your incentive:
1. Track your research participation
2. After your membership renewal, submit a Fonteva form listing your research participation (details on accessing and submitting this form will become available just prior to membership renewal)
3. Wait to receive your refund!
