[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 101 (Friday, May 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31571-31572]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12430]



[[Page 31571]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for the 
``Technology-based Products to Prevent High-Risk Drinking Among College 
Students Challenge''

AGENCY: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
(SAMHSA), an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services, announces a new opportunity for individuals and 
organizations to help prevent high-risk drinking among college 
students. Excessive and underage drinking among college students are 
significant public health problems on college and university campuses 
across the United States, which often result in life-altering 
consequences such as death, injury, assault, sexual abuse, unintended 
pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, academic difficulties, 
suicide attempts, and alcohol dependence. This challenge seeks 
technology-based products to decrease the acceptability of and 
engagement in high-risk drinking among college students. SAMHSA is 
seeking solutions to this problem through cost-effective, portable, 
technology-based products that effectively reach a diverse population 
of college students and their parents, as well as administrators, 
faculty, and staff, and that can be adapted to meet the local needs of 
these institutions throughout the United States. Technology-based 
products may include, but are not limited to, web applications, mobile 
apps, short message services (SMS), and podcasts.
    This challenge aligns with SAMHSA's mission to reduce the impact of 
substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities. SAMHSA 
recognizes that preventing high-risk drinking among college students 
will save lives, improve academic success, and decrease other risks to 
students' health and safety.
    The statutory authority for this challenge competition is Section 
105 of the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote 
Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Reauthorization Act of 
2010 (COMPETES Act).

DATES: 
     Submission period begins: May 24, 2013.
     Submission period ends: July 8, 2013.
     Winners are expected to be announced on or about September 
13, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Lucey, Jr., Special Assistant 
to the Director, SAMHSA/Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, 1 Choke 
Cherry Road, Room 4-1049, Rockville, MD 20857. Phone: (240) 276-2603. 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Subject of Challenge Competition

    This Challenge is a call for developers, substance abuse prevention 
practitioners, and others to develop technology-based products to 
prevent high-risk drinking among college students. For the purpose of 
this Challenge, high-risk drinking is defined as those situations that 
may involve but not be limited to: binge drinking (commonly defined as 
five or more drinks on any one occasion for males, four or more drinks 
for females); underage drinking; drinking and driving; situations when 
one's condition is already impaired by another cause, such as 
depression or emotional stress; and combining alcohol and medications, 
such as tranquilizers, sedatives, and antihistamines.
    Each entrant shall submit a written proposal (maximum of 20 double-
spaced pages, not including appendices, and hereafter referred to as 
Submission) that describes the product's design, performance, and 
developer's qualifications (for more detailed information, read the 
section titled ``Basis upon Which Winners Will Be Selected''). Up to 
five finalists will advance to the final product evaluation phase, 
during which time those entrants will participate in a proof-of-concept 
meeting with federal staff to discuss and demonstrate their technology-
based product.
    Eligibility Rules for Participation in the Competition: To be 
eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an entrant:
    1. Shall register to participate in the competition under the rules 
promulgated by SAMHSA;
    2. Shall comply with all requirements under this section;
    3. In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and 
maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the 
case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, must 
be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States;
    4. May not be a federal entity or federal employee acting within 
the scope of their employment;
    5. May not be a federal employee working on their application or 
submission during assigned duty hours;
    6. May not be an employee of SAMHSA;
    7. Federal grantees may not use federal funds to develop COMPETES 
Act challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their 
grant award; and
    8. Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to 
develop COMPETES Act challenge applications or to fund efforts in 
support of a COMPETES Act challenge submission.
    An entrant will not be deemed ineligible because the individual or 
entity used federal facilities or consulted with federal employees 
during a competition if the facilities and employees are made available 
to all entrants participating in the competition on an equitable basis.
    Registration Process for Participants: To register for this 
Challenge, entrants must visit the www.challenge.gov Web site and 
search for ``Technology-based Products to Reduce High-Risk Drinking 
among College Students Challenge.'' A registration link for the 
Challenge can be found on the landing page under the challenge 
description.

Amount of the Prizes

    Total: $100,000 in prizes: $60,000 for first place, $30,000 for 
second place, and $10,000 for third place. Awards may be subject to 
federal income taxes and HHS will comply with IRS withholding and 
reporting requirements, where applicable.

Basis Upon Which Finalists Will Be Selected: (100 points possible)

    Each Submission will be assigned to a three-person panel of 
objective reviewers from within the federal government who will 
evaluate and score the technology-based product proposal according to 
the selection criteria below. Each Submission will receive a score from 
0 to 100 depending how well it addresses and responds to the 
requirements of the following selection criteria:
     Quality of the Product Design (50 points maximum): 
detailed description of the product, including instructions on how to 
install and operate it, and system requirements to run it (10 points); 
description of the connection between the product and a reduction in 
high-risk drinking among college students (20 points); description of 
the evidence base for the product's design; description of the 
product's

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development plan, including any testing conducted with potential end 
users (5 points); description of the prevention-related information 
that targeted populations can use to decrease high-risk drinking among 
college students (10 points); and description of which platforms the 
technology-based product can be accessible through (5 points).
     Quality of Product Performance (40 points maximum): 
description of how the product can garner high engagement among college 
students; campus faculty, staff, and administrators; and parents of 
college students (10 points); description of how the product can be 
adopted and used by colleges and universities using their existing 
communication systems (20 points); and description of how the product 
can be updated and maintained (10 points).
     Quality of Project Personnel (10 points maximum): 
description of the applicant's relevant background and experience 
related to the product.
    Based on the review panel's recommendation, each finalist will 
participate in a virtual or in-person meeting with federal staff to 
discuss their technology-based product and demonstrate its operation. 
The purpose of these meetings is to further evaluate the entrant's 
product, provide an additional source of information about each 
entrant's product to SAMHSA, and clarify any concerns or questions 
raised by the review panel.
    For a Submission to be eligible to win this Challenge, it must meet 
the following requirements:
    1. Acceptable platforms--The product must be designed for use with 
existing Web, mobile, voice, electronic health record, or other 
platform to support interactions with other capabilities.
    2. Section 508 Compliance--Entrants must acknowledge, as a 
prerequisite to any subsequent acquisition by federal contract or other 
method, they may be required to make their product compliant with 
Section 508 accessibility and usability requirements at their own 
expense. Any electronic information technology that is ultimately 
obtained by HHS for its use, development, or maintenance must meet 
Section 508 accessibility and usability standards. Past experience has 
demonstrated that it can be costly for solution-providers to 
``retrofit'' solutions if remediation is later needed. The HHS Section 
508 Evaluation Product Assessment Template, available at www.hhs.gov/od/vendors/index.html, provides a useful roadmap for developers to 
review. It is a simple, Web-based checklist utilized by HHS officials 
to allow vendors to document how their products do or do not meet the 
various Section 508 requirements.
    3. No HHS or SAMHSA logo--The product must not use HHS's or 
SAMHSA's logos or official seals in the Submission and must not claim 
endorsement.
    4. Functionality/Accuracy--A Submission may be disqualified if the 
product fails to function as proposed by the entrant, or if the product 
provides inaccurate or incomplete information.
    5. Security--Submissions must be free of malware. Entrant agrees 
that SAMHSA may conduct testing on the product to determine whether 
malware or other security threats may be present.

Additional Information

    General Conditions: SAMHSA reserves the right to cancel, suspend, 
and/or modify the Challenge, or any part of it, for any reason, at 
SAMHSA's sole discretion. Participation in this Challenge constitutes 
an entrant's full and unconditional agreement to abide by the 
Challenge's Official Rules found at www.challenge.gov. Privacy Policy: 
ChallengePost collects personal information from you when you register 
on Challenge.gov. The information collected is subject to the 
ChallengePost privacy policy located at www.challengepost.com/privacy. 
Ownership of intellectual property is determined by the following:
     Each entrant retains title and full ownership in and to 
their submission. Entrants expressly reserve all intellectual property 
rights not expressly granted under the Challenge agreement.
     By participating in this Challenge, each entrant hereby 
irrevocably grants to the federal government a limited, non-exclusive, 
royalty-free, worldwide license and right to reproduce, publicly 
perform, publicly display, and use the Submission to the extent 
necessary to administer the Challenge, and to publicly perform and 
publicly display the Submission, including, without limitation, for 
advertising and promotional purposes relating to the Challenge.

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 3719.

Summer King,
Statistician.
[FR Doc. 2013-12430 Filed 5-23-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P