“Cold Hard Cash”: The Value of Direct Unconditional Compensation for People With Lived Expertise of Homelessness

INTRODUCTION: Academic research projects that are oriented toward social and environmental justice have long recognized that participant compensation is part of reciprocal, just, community-engaged relationships. Participant compensation acknowledges and accounts for people's expertise, skills, time and effort associated with contributing to research outcomes. However, a combination of institutional barriers and researcher hesitancy often limits the types of compensation used by research teams, and thus received by research participants. In keeping with best practices for research that engages with marginalized communities, this study considers the importance of direct unconditional cash compensation for people with lived expertise of homelessness. METHODS: This research presents the results of semi-structured interviews, group dialogues, and public presentations from people with lived experience of homelessness. RESULTS: Our findings demonstrate (a) the epistemological and practical benefits that research participants receive from direct cash transfers, and (b) the institutional and moralistic barriers associated with direct cash transfers. DISCUSSION: We conclude with a series of practical recommendations for researchers looking to incorporate this prioritization of justice-focused compensation into their research projects. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: People with lived experience of homelessness were collaborators, researchers and participants in this research, and were thoroughly involved in all parts of the research process, from ideation and study design to analysis and manuscript preparation.