[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