Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Prize Competition: The prize competition is limited to U.S.- based, accredited public or private non-profit academic institutions that grant baccalaureate or advanced degrees in biomedical, behavioral, or health sciences, as listed in the U.S. Department of Education database of accredited institutions and programs2. This includes Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs). It also includes both biomedical and behavioral research-intensive institutions and low- or limited-resourced institutions (see definition of “low- or limited-resourced institutions” below, the R15 definition link, and the determination page).
Each institution (also defined here as an “entity”) must designate a point of contact who is responsible for all correspondence regarding this prize competition. A point of contact representing the entity should be employed by and/or acting at the behest of the entity, such as the President, Provost, Chancellor, Dean, Department Chair, or other senior-level administrator.
- To be eligible to win a prize under this competition, an entity—
- Shall have registered to participate in the prize competition under the rules promulgated by the NIH, as published in this announcement;
- Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this announcement;
- Shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States;
- Shall not be a federal entity or federal employee acting within the scope of their employment;
- Shall not be a federal employee of the Department of Health and Human Services (or any component of HHS) acting in their personal capacity;
- Who is employed by a federal agency or entity other than HHS (or any component of HHS), should consult with an agency ethics official to determine whether the federal ethics rules will limit or prohibit the acceptance of a prize under this prize competition;
- Shall not be a judge of the prize competition, or any other party involved with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the prize competition or the immediate family of such a party (i.e., spouse, parent, step-parent, child, or step-child)
- To be defined as a “low- or limited-resourced institution” that engages in biomedical or behavioral research, the entity must meet the eligibility criteria of one of the two categories listed below–
- Undergraduate-Focused Institutions
- The entity must be an accredited public or non-profit private school that grants baccalaureate degrees in biomedical sciences.
- At the time of prize competition submission, all the non-health professional components of the entity together have not received support from the NIH totaling more than $6 million per year (in both direct and F&A/indirect costs) in 4 of the last 7 fiscal years.
- Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools
- The entity must be an accredited public or non-profit private school that grants baccalaureate or advanced degrees in health professions or advanced degrees in biomedical and behavioral sciences.
- At the time of the prize competition submission, the entity must not have received support from the NIH totaling more than $6 million per year (in both direct and F&A/indirect costs) in 4 of the last 7 fiscal years.
- Only one submission per institution is permitted.
- Federal grantees may not use federal funds from a grant award to develop their prize
competition submissions or to fund efforts in support of their prize competition submissions.
- Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to develop their prize competition submissions or to fund efforts in support of their prize competition submissions.
- By participating in this prize competition, each 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 prize competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
- Based on the subject matter of the prize competition, 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 prize competition participation, no entity participating in the prize competition is required to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility in order to participate in this prize competition.
- By participating in this prize competition, each entity agrees to indemnify the Federal Government against third party claims for damages arising from, or related to, prize competition activities.
- An entity shall not be deemed ineligible because the entity used federal facilities or consulted with federal employees during the prize competition if the facilities and employees are made available to all entities participating in the prize competition on an equitable basis.
- By participating in this prize competition, each entity warrants that it is the sole author or owner of, or has the right to use, any copyrightable works included in the submission, that the works are wholly original with the entity (or is an improved version of an existing work that the entity has sufficient rights to use and improve), and that the submission does not infringe upon any copyright or any other rights of any third party of which the entity is aware. In addition, by participating in this prize competition, each entity grants to the NIH an irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free, nonexclusive worldwide license to reproduce, publish, post, link to, share, and display publicly (e.g., on websites) the submission and its contents on the web or elsewhere. Each entity will retain all other intellectual property rights in their submissions, as applicable. To participate in the prize competition, each entity must warrant that there are no legal obstacles to providing the above-referenced nonexclusive license of entity's rights to the Federal Government. To receive an award, the entity will not be required to transfer their intellectual property rights to NIH, but the entity must grant to the federal government the nonexclusive license recited herein.
- Each entity agrees to follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.
- Each entity participating in this prize competition must comply with all terms and conditions of these rules, and participation in this prize competition constitutes each participant’s full and unconditional agreement to abide by these rules. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements herein.
