REDCap was introduced at National Jewish Health in 2016 and has grown steadily in use due to its ease of use, flexibility, and compliance with research and regulatory requirements. Over time, it has evolved from a project-specific tool into core infrastructure supporting the quality, compliance, and sustainability of the research enterprise and beyond.
In parallel, NIH and other funding agencies have updated policies around research data collection, storage, and sharing, explicitly recognizing these activities – and the platforms that support them — as allowable and expected direct costs in grant budgets. Aligning our REDCap funding model with these national standards allows us to sustainably support the expanding needs of our research community while maintaining a high-quality, secure, and compliant service.
As a result, transitioning from a fully subsidized model to a cost-recovery approach represents a strategic investment in the continued availability, reliability, and appropriate operation of REDCap as a shared institutional resource.
What does this mean?
- REDCap has moved to a modest annual per-project fee:
- Projects created before 3/1/26:
- $50 for Year 1, $100 for Year 2+
- Projects created after 3/1/26:
- $100 per year
- Projects created before 3/1/26:
- The first 90 days remain free to support project development and testing
- Projects marked as Completed or Deleted are not charged
- Fees apply only after a project moves beyond the 90-day grace period
- Institutional Operation projects are exempt and centrally funded, including those within:
- Corporate Affairs Units
- Finance
- Human Resources
- IST
- Research Administration
- Grants Management
- Sponsored Programs
- Morgridge Academy
- CRS (Non-Research Use)
- Compliance
- General Counsel & Risk Management
- Research Regulatory Affairs
- Clinical Operations
- Tucker Medical Library
- Corporate Affairs Units
To keep a project active, complete a survey for it or it will be taken OFFLINE after the 90-day grace period.
What should I do if I want to keep my REDCap project active?
If you want to keep a REDCap project active, please fill out this survey. Depending on the type of project, you may be required to provide a speedtype to charge for the annual fee.
What should I do if my REDCap project no longer needs to be active?
If you no longer need a REDCap project to be active, you have a couple of options to avoid the annual fee.
· Mark the project as Completed to take it offline while preserving the data.
· Permanently Delete the project and its data.
Any downloaded sensitive information (PII/PHI) must comply with the NJH Data Classification, Handling, and Disposal policy requirements. Information on approved NJH HIPAA-compliant data storage systems is available on RICC’s website. Storing sensitive information on workstations, laptops, or external hard drives in prohibited without authorization from the CIO.
What if I don’t do anything with my REDCap project?
If you don’t go through any of the steps above to keep your project active or to change it to Completed or Deleted, your project will be taken OFFLINE. You will still see your project in your list of My Projects, but it will have “OFFLINE” next to it, and you won’t be able to access the project. To restore your access, you will need to fill out this survey. Once a survey is completed, a project will be active again within one minute.
Billing
For projects you want to keep active, you will need to fill out a survey to gather invoicing information, such as a speedtype.
For high-volume REDCap groups and units, an unlimited-use annual subscription is available. To learn more about this option, please contact Julie Banta (bantaj@njhealth.org) and Bob Schell (schellr@njhealth.org) for more information.
REDCap costs may be incorporated into research grant proposals as allowable expenses, enabling investigators to offset these fees for future projects.
Questions?
Please contact Ruthie Knowles (KnowlesR@NJHealth.org) with any questions regarding this REDCap policy change.