[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]
BILLING CODE 4151-17-P