[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 139 (Monday, July 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42322-42324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-17065]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
VizRisk Prize Competition Challenge
AGENCY: Office of Business Management and Transformation, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: VizRisk is the first-ever behavioral health data visualization
challenge hosted by the US Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS). Its goal is to foster increased utilization, innovation, and
critical analyses of publically available but underutilized government
health data to better inform personal and health policy decisions.
This 3 month challenge, July 28th to October, 28th 2014 will call
on talented designers, coders, data scientists, public health experts,
and others from around the country to analyze, organize, and visualize
behavioral health risk data. We will be asking participants to use
CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data in combination
with other publicly available government data sets to reveal key
insights, trends, and relationships.
Submissions will be graphic, dynamic visualizations that combine
three or more variables (e.g. showing the relationship between
behavioral patterns, health risks, and medical costs). Participants are
free to use any pre-existing, customized, or new tools to produce these
visualizations.
All submissions will be evaluated; separate sets of prizes will be
awarded for excellence in each of the criteria below. A total of up to
7 prizes and $15,000 will be offered.
Innovation--evaluated for novel combination, integration,
and application of data.
Relevance--evaluated for meaningful health data
relationships that are comparable across time, geographies, and
populations.
Design--evaluated for visually appealing, elegant,
intuitive interface and visualizations.
Scientific Excellence--evaluated for rigorously measured
relationships that adhere to the principles of scientific inquiry.
The statutory authority for this challenge competition is Section
105 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-
358).
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DATES:
Submission period: 9 a.m. July 28th to 12 a.m. October,
28th 2014.
Judging: October 28th-November 15th, 2014.
Awards Announced: November 30th, 2014 on hhsvizrisk.org
and via email.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandeep Patel, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Subject of Challenge Competition
These visualization tools and user-centered applications should be
created to be used for two purposes: (1) Informing both the public and
policymakers on current trends in health and (2) assisting in active
decision-making processes, especially involving health risks in the
context of behavior, environment, medical history, etc. The software
visualizations should be customizable by the user; for example, users
must be able to filter/retrieve detail regarding particular
relationships between data. A potential application could also be that
patients can enter their own health and/or claims information, such as
demographic features or clinical attributes, for comparison with
population statistics and trends to better inform decision-making.
We are particularly interested in visualizations using behavioral
health data and its relationships to medical use, environment,
nutrition, socioeconomic status, and cost. These visualizations can
reveal not just the most common trends in behavior that lead to
particular conditions and costs, but also ways to sidestep preventable
health conditions through health behaviors. Detailed Behavioral Risk
Factor and Surveillance System data, enhanced with Medical Provider
Utilization and Payment data, reports of adverse drug events, National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2010 Census data, Envirofacts
data, and Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project data can enhance
analysis of behavioral health risks on a multifaceted level. The
combination of data from multiple sources, and quality measure data in
particular, can be used to create tools providing deep insight into
trends in population health.
Behavioral health is influenced by many factors, so participants
are encouraged to explore a variety of publically-available and
relevant datasets in addition to the seven listed above.
When developing the project, participants should consider the
context of the user. Would the viewer/user be a patient seeking to
learn more about his/her health, or a doctor seeking to find trends in
behavioral health, or a policymaker seeking to use data to drive health
policy. For visualizations, at least three ``dimensions,'' or contexts
of data should be included, one of which must incorporate the
Behavioral Risk Factor and Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. For
example, visualizations may include the BRFSS data, air toxicity data
from EPA, and personal health data.
Participants will build out their visualizations to the most
complete extent possible. If finalists choose to create live or static
visualizations embeddable for use on the web, mobile, or print, they
should be sure to cite the data sources used and provide access or
links to the source data. Participants are also free to publish an API
for their visualization so that others can build on and extend the
work.
Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition
To be eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an individual
or entity--
(1) Shall have registered to participate in the competition under
the rules promulgated by the Office of Business Management and
Transformation.
(2) Shall have complied with all the 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,
shall 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) Shall not be an HHS employee working on their applications or
submissions during assigned duty hours.
(6) Shall not be an employee of Office Business Management and
Transformation at HHS.
(7) Federal grantees may not use Federal funds to develop COMPETES
Act challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their
grant award.
(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 individual or entity shall 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
equitably available to all individuals and entities participating in
the competition.
Entrants must agree 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 my participation in this prize contest,
whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or
otherwise.
Entrants must also agree to indemnify the Federal Government
against third party claims for damages arising from or related to
competition activities.
Registration Process for Participants
To register for this Challenge, participants can access the
challenge Web site: http://www.hhsvizrisk.org/ and click on Sign up,
which will lead participants to an Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hhs-vizrisk-tickets-12020604953.
Prizes
Total: $15,000 in Prizes
Awarded to best overall projects based on the three
criteria established.
[cir] Grand Prize--$6,000
[cir] Second Prize--$3,000
[cir] Third Prize--$2,000
Awarded to projects best embodying each of the
characteristics below.
[cir] Relevance Prize--$1,000
[cir] Design Prize--$1,000
[cir] Innovation Prize--$1,000
[cir] Scientific Excellence Prize--$1,000
Payment of the Prizes
Prize will be paid by HHS Office of Business Management and
Transformation.
Basis Upon Which Winner Will Be Selected
The review panel will make selections based upon the following
criteria:
25% Innovation--novel combination, integration, and
application of data
25% Relevance--health data relationships are comparable across
time, geographies, and populations
25% Design--visually appealing, elegant, intuitive interface
and visualizations
25% Scientific Excellence--rigorously measured relationships
adhere to the principles of scientific inquiry
Projects built around suggested directions and de novo projects
will be weighted equally. In order for submissions to be evaluated,
they must include clear, detailed processes on how
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they were produced, including any code if applicable. The processes can
be submitted in text document.
In order for an entry to be eligible to win this Challenge, it must
meet the following requirements:
1. Acceptable platforms--The tool must be designed for use with
existing Web, mobile Web, electronic health record, or other platform.
2. Section 508 Compliance--Contestants must acknowledge that they
understand that, as a prerequisite to any subsequent acquisition by FAR
contract or other method, they are required to make their proposed
solution 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 http://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 OBMT logo--The app must not use HHS' or OBMT's logos
or official seals in the Submission, and must not claim endorsement.
4. Functionality/Accuracy--A submission may be disqualified if it
fails to function as expressed in the description provided by the user,
or if it provides inaccurate or incomplete information.
5. Security--Submissions must be free of malware. Contestant agrees
that OBMT may conduct testing on the app to determine whether malware
or other security threats may be present. OBMT may disqualify the
Submission if, in OBMT's judgment, the app may damage government or
others' equipment or operating environment.
Additional Information
General Conditions: OBMT reserves the right to cancel, suspend,
and/or modify the Contest, or any part of it, for any reason, at OBMT's
sole discretion.
Intellectual Property
Each entrant retains full ownership and title in and to
their submission. Entrants expressly reserve all intellectual property
rights not expressly granted under the challenge agreement.
By participating in the challenge, each entrant hereby
irrevocably grants to OBMT a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free,
worldwide license and right to reproduce, publically perform,
publically display, and use the submission for internal HHS business
and to the extent necessary to administer the challenge, and to
publically perform and publically display the Submission, including,
without limitation, for advertising and promotional purposes relating
to the challenge.
Dated: July 11, 2014.
E.J. Holland, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary for Administration, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2014-17065 Filed 7-18-14; 8:45 am]
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