Rules and Eligibility

The August 28, 2020 submission deadline has passed. Winner(s) will be announced in November 2020.

1. To be eligible to win a prize under this Challenge, a Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity):
   • Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this announcement.
   • In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in the United States and also maintain a primary place of business in the United States. In the case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. However, non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents can participate as members of a team that otherwise satisfies the eligibility criteria. Non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents are not eligible to win monetary prizes (in whole or in part). Their participation as part of a winning team, if applicable, may be recognized when the results are announced.
   • Shall not be a federal entity or federal employee acting within the scope of their employment.
   • Shall not be an employee of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), or any other component of HHS, acting in a personal capacity.
   • Shall, if employed by a federal agency or entity other than HHS or any component of HHS, consult with an agency ethics official to determine whether the federal ethics rules will limit or prohibit the acceptance of a prize under this Challenge.
   • Shall not be a judge of the Challenge, or any other party involved with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the Challenge, or the immediate family of such a party (i.e., spouse, parent, step-parent, child, or step-child).

2. Federal grantees may not use federal funds from a grant award to develop their Challenge Solutions or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge Solution.


3. Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to develop their Challenge Solutions or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge Solution.


4. Federal awardees may not use federal funds from an Other Transaction (OT) award to develop their Challenge Solutions or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge Solution.


5. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) agrees to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the federal government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from participation in this Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.


6. Based on the subject matter of the Challenge, the type of work that it will possibly require, as well as an analysis of the likelihood of any claims for death, bodily injury, property damage, or loss potentially resulting from Challenge participation, no Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) participating in the Challenge is required to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility in order to participate in this Challenge.


7. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) agrees to indemnify the federal government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to Challenge activities.


8. A Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) shall not be deemed ineligible because the Participant used federal facilities or consulted with federal employees during the Challenge if the facilities and employees are made available to all Participants participating in the Challenge on an equitable basis.


9. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) warrants that he, she, or it is the sole author or owner of, or has the right to use, any copyrightable works that the Solution comprises, that the works are wholly original with the Participant (or is an improved version of an existing work that the Participant has sufficient rights to use and improve), and that the Solution does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third party of which the Participant is aware.


10. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) grants to the NIH an irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free nonexclusive worldwide license to reproduce, publish, post, link to, share, and display publicly the contents of the Participant’s Solution Package on the web or elsewhere, and a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice, or have practiced for or on its behalf, the Solution throughout the world. Additionally, each Participant agrees to make freely and openly available (via GitHub or other applicable open-source development platforms) to the public any tools or other resources developed as part of the Solution. Each Participant will retain all other intellectual property rights in their Solutions, as applicable. To participate in the Challenge, each Participant must warrant that there are no legal obstacles to providing the above-referenced nonexclusive licenses of the Participant’s rights to the federal government. Participants will not be required to transfer their intellectual property rights to NIH; however, by participating in this Challenge, Participants grant to the federal government the nonexclusive licenses recited herein.


11. Each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) agrees to follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.


12. Each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) in this Challenge must comply with all terms and conditions of these rules, and participation in this Challenge constitutes each Participant’s full and unconditional agreement to abide by these rules. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements herein.


13. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) agrees to allow NHLBI to publicly display (e.g., on the web) the Participant’s Solution(s).


14. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) assures NHLBI that any data used for the purpose of developing a Solution for this Challenge were obtained legally through authorized access and data use procedures.


15. Each individual Participant in this Challenge must be at least 18 years old.