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 two per cent rebate on their annual OCA membership fee for every hour contributed to research, up to a maximum of 20 per cent 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 Rebate
• OCA members receive a two per cent rebate in membership fees per hour of research participation.
• The discount is capped at 20 per cent 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 one full hour (two per cent).
• 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.
Now that the 2025/26 OCA membership renewal period has wrapped up, you may submit a form through the OCA member portal to claim a rebate on your 2025/26 membership cycle’s fee, corresponding to the number of hours you volunteered for eligible research activities during that cycle.
You can access the “Research Incentive Form” through the OCA member portal under “Forms”.
You will have until December 1st to submit your form detailing your research participation from January 2026 to July 2026. We will then process all of the submissions, and you can expect to receive your rebate by February 2027.
Please note this incentive is provided as a rebate on your previous OCA membership fee; not as an upfront discount for the current membership cycle.
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 the study (minutes).
• When participation took place (month[s] and year, best estimate).
You are now able to submit your research participation completed between January 1, 2026 and July 31, 2026. Any eligible research participation during this period will result in a corresponding percentage rebate applied to your 2025-2026 membership fee.
Beginning August 1, 2026, you can also start tracking eligible research participation for the 2026-2027 membership cycle incentive period, later to be submitted in August 2027, as that will count towards next year’s rebate.
To receive your current eligible rebate:
1. Gather your tracked research participation from January to July 2026.
2. Submit the “Research Incentive Form” through the OCA Member Portal listing your research participation.
3. Wait to receive your rebate and start tracking your research participation for next year!
