Change in crowdfunding policy

The Department of Administrative Services (COAS) State Purchasing Division (SPD) has prohibited the use of crowdsourcing vendors for services due to several concerns including:

• Lack of internal controls
• Failure to meet e-verify requirements
• Potential of violating a mandatory contract for temporary services
• Accounts require prepayment

These concerns apply regardless of form of payment (PCard or expense reimbursement are the most common).

SPD recently updated their position on the use of these providers (Mechanical Turk, Prolific, Freelancer.com, Fiverr, Craigslist, Upwork, etc.) allowing for select PCard procurements of these services:

• Limited to research surveys only
• Requires prior approval from SPD
• SPD has created a special approval process to use crowdsourcing services/vendors

To request special approval to use a PCard with these vendors, please contact Dawn Cowart. Please allow five or more business days for the review process.