As part of our commitment to honoring the expertise of partners and acknowledging that often university staff and faculty are paid for collaborative work for which partners do not get formal compensation, SCoRE pays collaborating community-based organizations (CBOs). Further, we urge widespread adoption of the practice. We use the term “CBO” to refer to a spectrum of partners we work with, from neighborhood-based grassroots organizations to larger nonprofits (some of whom may decline payment). Small businesses, social enterprises, and start-ups may also be compensated. Note that SCoRE typically does not compensate corporate and government partners. We recommend that when working with CBOs, researchers and academic teams ALWAYS offer compensation as a foundation of the collaboration, and do so based on the guidance below. We refer to both research and course-based engagements below.
Please note that SCoRE focuses primarily on research-related partnerships and educational partnerships with a sustainability theme, while the Office of Community Based Learning (Director: Sarah Brackmann at sarah.brackmann@gatech.edu) is the primary point of contact for partners seeking students teams and/or course-based partnerships across all disciplines/topics.
Guidance for Compensating Community Partners
Type of Engagement | Amount | Rationale | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner Participation in a Symposium, Workshop or Conference Panel | $100-1000 | Payment will vary depending on how much value the partner is expected to gain from participating | Community partners are invited to participate in an all-day symposium at Georgia Tech that brings together faculty, students, and partners to learn about a new emerging technology and discuss associated community engagement and community benefits. Suggested Amount: $300 for partners with speaking roles (e.g., participating on a panel); no compensation required for partners who will just participate, unless you have a specific funding source to compensate partners for participation in the symposium or project. If you are fundraising for an event or a project, we strongly encourage you to include a budget line for partner participation. Suggested Amounts: $300 for one day, $1000 for a 4-day workshop or short course. |
| Visit to a Course | $150-$350 | Payment will vary depending on whether the visit is virtual or in-person and amount of preparation and/or follow-up required by the presenter. | A sustainability staff member from a food justice organization leads an online activity for a class. Suggested Amount: $150 A partner hosts a class at their site for a 1.5 hour visit. Suggested Amount: $350 |
| Engagement with Student Course Project or Capstone Team | $350-$1000 | Payment will vary widely depending on the nature of partner involvement. | Students meet twice with the education liaison at the civil rights museum at the beginning and middle of the semester, and then the liaison reviews and sends two rounds of feedback on five teams' digital exhibits near the end of the term. Suggested Amount: $500 A single ISYE capstone team designs a food delivery and collection system for a food bank; partner is engaged over two semesters in both proposal development and design. Suggested Amount: $1000 (Arrived at in consultation with ISYE advising staff who were able to estimate time expected of partners in each semester of engagement.) |
| Collaboration on Grant Proposal | $300-$1000 | Payment will vary depending on how much time and work the partner contributes to proposal development and writing. Meetings should be compensated at $100 - $150 per hour.
| A partner joins 3 1-hour meetings and reviews and provides input into a draft (1-2 hours of time). Suggested Amount: $300-$700 A partner joins 3 1-hour meetings and drafts a short section of the proposal. Suggested amount: $500-$1000 |
| Input on Project or Policy | $100-$300 | Payment will depend on the duration of feedback meetings and level of specific expertise required. | A GT unit asks for community feedback on the design of a web platform intended to showcase university-community partnerships and facilitate new connections. The partner reviews the tool in advance and joins a 1.5 hour call, providing substantive feedback. Suggested Amount: $150 |
| Site Visit for Faculty or for Students Hosted by Partner | $350 - $1000 | Payment will vary depending on number of faculty or students, length of visit, and amount of preparation required
| A partner hosts faculty at their site for 1.5 hours, including a presentation and site walk-through. Suggested Amount: $350
Two partners co-host a 3-hour workshop and tour for faculty and students. Suggested Amount: $500 per partner. |
Relationship-Building Meetings
| $10-$100 for hospitality | Generally, we do not recommend paying partners for meetings whose sole intention is for faculty and partners to get to know each other/build relationships. However, we do recommend that faculty practice hospitality, for example by bringing lunch or paying for coffee. If partners come to campus, faculty should definitely arrange for parking validation. | Two partners come to campus to meet with faculty about a research idea of shared interest. Suggested Amount: $25 for coffee and pastries. |
How do I pay my partner?
Working with the SCoRE office can help you quickly and easily get community partners listed as vendors in Georgia Tech’s procurement system so that any payments you have requested can be processed. Please read the following instructions closely and carefully and consult with YOUR UNIT's Financial Analyst first with any questions. The process differs depending on whether your partners are being paid as an individual or an organization, and whether your partner is being paid by SCoRE directly or by funds that have already been transferred to your unit.
Is your partner being paid as an INDIVIDUAL?
If your partner chooses to be paid as an individual, they will register under their name following the instructions FOUND HERE and their payment will be considered an honorarium. Once they are registered and approved in the vendor system, they do not need to submit any additional paperwork. To process the honorarium that you have offered, once the service or visit has occurred, you will simply submit a copy of an email as the documentation. The email can be your invitation to the partner to participate in your class prior to the event OR an email after the event, thanking them for their participation. In both cases, the email should detail the date(s) of the service, what was provided by the partner, and the amount of the honorarium.
Is your partner being paid as an ORGANIZATION?
If your partner chooses to be paid as an organization, they will register their organization following the instructions FOUND HERE and their payment will be considered a stipend. This registration process should occur well in advance of any anticipated visit or event. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS PROCESS CAN TAKE TIME AND SHOULD BE INITIATED AT LEAST A MONTH PRIOR TO THE DATE OF SERVICE. Once they are registered and approved in the vendor system, they will need to submit a quote for the agreed upon stipend prior to the date(s) of service - AT A MINIMUM, 10 DAYS PRIOR TO THE DATE OF SERVICE. The quote should be entered by your unit Financial Analyst into the Workday system and a Requisition will be issued. Once that is approved, the service can be provided by the partner. After the date(s) of service, your partner should then submit an invoice to you for payment of the agreed upon stipend. This invoice can be identical to the original quote - but the title should be changed to say "INVOICE." Your Financial Analyst will then submit the invoice for payment against the requisition. IF THIS PROCESS IS NOT FOLLOWED IN ADVANCE OF THE VISIT, THE ORGANIZATION CANNOT BE PAID.