[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8123-8125]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03013]


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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION


Announcement of 2015 InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business 
Challenge

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is conducting a 
Challenge, called InnovateHER, pursuant to the America Competes Act for 
entrepreneurs to create a product or service that has a measurable 
impact on the lives of women and families, has the potential for 
commercialization, and fills a need in the marketplace.

DATES: The initial round of the InnovateHER Challenge will take the 
form of local competitions that will be run across the country 
beginning March 1, 2015 and ending no later than March 31, 2015. The 
host organizations running the local competitions must select and 
submit one winner from each local competition to SBA, along with a 
Nomination package, no later than April 1, 2015. Winners will be 
announced no later than May 8, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Wager, Office of 
Entrepreneurial Development, U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 
Third Street SW., 6th Floor Washington, DC 20416, (202) 205-7430, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. Subject of Challenge Competition: The SBA is looking for 
innovative products and services that help impact and empower the lives 
of women and families. We know that our workforce looks very different 
from 50 years ago. Women now make up nearly half of the labor force and 
play a critical role in our nation's economic prosperity. Most children 
live in households where all parents work. And as our population ages, 
families are increasingly caring for aging parents while balancing the 
needs of work and home. As the demands on women and families grow, the 
need for products and services that address these unique challenges 
increases. This challenge will provide a platform to fulfill that need.
    Contestants must develop a product or service that meets the 
following competition criteria:
     Has a measurable impact on the lives of women and families 
(30%);
     Has the potential for commercialization (40%); and
     Fills a need in the marketplace (30%).
    2. Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition: This 
Challenge is open only to: (1) Citizens or permanent residents of the 
United States who are at least eighteen (18) years of age at the time 
of their submission of an entry (or teams of such individuals); and (2) 
private entities, such as corporations or other organizations, that are 
incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United 
States. Individuals submitting on behalf of corporations, nonprofits, 
or groups of individuals (such as an academic class or other team) must 
meet the eligibility requirements for individual contestants. An 
individual may belong to more than one team submitting an entry in this 
Challenge. SBA employees are not eligible, nor are Federal entities or 
Federal employees acting within the scope of their employment. 
Individuals or organizations that are currently suspended or disbarred 
by the federal government are not eligible for this competition.
    3. Registration Process for Participants: The initial round of the 
Challenge will take the form of local competitions that will be run 
across the country during the month of March 2015 by host organizations 
such as universities, accelerators, clusters, scale-

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up communities, and SBA Resource Partners. For more information 
regarding these local competitions, please visit sba.gov/InnovateHER. 
While these local competitions will be identified as part of the 
national InnovateHER Challenge and will be conducted in a manner that 
is consistent with these Competition Rules, they will be administered 
solely by the local host organizations and will be judged by 
individuals selected by each host in their sole discretion. At a 
minimum, however, each application must contain a business plan 
covering the contestant's proposed product or service and must satisfy 
the Competition criteria identified by SBA in this notice. Following 
the completion of the local competitions, each host organization will 
identify one winner that will advance to the semi-final round of the 
Challenge. No later than April 1, 2015, each host organization will 
submit a nomination package containing a business plan and other 
required information from each semi-finalist to SBA, which will 
administer the semi-final and final rounds of the Challenge. Selection 
as a semi-finalist following a local competition is the only means of 
registering for the Challenge. All nominations will be screened by SBA 
for eligibility. Contestants cannot submit entries directly to SBA. No 
prize money will be awarded at the local competition level.
    4. Prize for Winners: SBA anticipates that market stimulation cash 
prizes totaling $30,000 will be awarded to the three highest-rated 
contestants in the final round of the competition in the following 
amounts:

 1st Place--$15,000
 2nd Place--$10,000
 3rd Place--$5,000

    For winning entries submitted by teams of competitors, prize money 
will be awarded to the self-identified project leader for distribution 
to the rest of the team at their discretion and independently from SBA.
    5. Process for Host Organizations: Organizations planning to host a 
competition under this Challenge must send an email to 
[email protected] complete with the organization's name, location, 
address, email address, POC for the competition, and Web site (if 
applicable) no later than February 27th, 2015. Additionally, each host 
organization will determine the type of local competition, conducted in 
a manner that is consistent with these Competition Rules, that will 
best identify the most innovative and entrepreneurial business ideas, 
including the type of application that individuals need to prepare in 
order to compete, and will publicize the competition locally.
    Host Organizations must submit the semi-finalist nomination package 
to SBA at [email protected] no later than April 1st, 2015. The 
package must contain the following:

     A single cover page detailing--

    (1) The name of the winning individual or team, best contact 
information including home or business addresses with telephone, Web 
site (if applicable), and email address;
    (2) The host organization's name, place of business, business 
address and telephone number and email address;
    (3) A concise, one-paragraph description of the product or service
     A Business Plan.
     A Statement of Support that explains why the winner of the 
local competition best satisfied the competition criteria and presented 
the greatest potential for success (maximum length: 2 pages).
    6. Selection of Winners. In the semi-final round of the Challenge, 
an executive committee composed of SBA personnel will review the semi-
finalist nomination packages submitted by the local competition host 
organizations and select no more than 10 finalists whose products or 
services, in their sole judgment, best satisfy the competition criteria 
and present the greatest potential for success.
    Each finalist will be offered the opportunity to come to DC during 
National Small Business Week, May 4-8, 2015, to make a live marketing 
pitch to a panel of expert judges drawn from the private sector. The 
panel of judges will select the three finalists whose pitches, in their 
sole judgment, best satisfy the competition criteria and present the 
greatest potential for success and rank them in descending order. 
Finalists will be responsible for covering their own travel costs to DC 
for the national competition.
    6. Applicable Law: This Challenge is being conducted by SBA 
pursuant to the America Competes Act (15 U.S.C. 3719) and is subject to 
all applicable federal laws and regulations. By participating in this 
Challenge, each contestant gives its full and unconditional agreement 
to the Official Rules and the related administrative decisions 
described in this notice, which are final and binding in all matters 
related to the Challenge. A contestant's eligibility for a prize award 
is contingent upon their fulfilling all requirements identified in this 
notice. Publication of this notice is not an obligation of funds on the 
part of SBA. SBA intends to fund all of the prizes through private 
sector sources. The private sector source is liable to the winners for 
payment of the prize. SBA, however, will coordinate with the private 
sector source regarding instructions for award of the prize purse. SBA 
reserves the right to modify or cancel this Challenge, in whole or in 
part, at any time prior to the award of prizes.
    7. Conflicts of Interest: No individual acting as a judge at any 
stage of this Challenge may have personal or financial interests in, or 
be an employee, officer, director, or agent of any Contestant or have a 
familial or financial relationship with a contestant.
    8. Intellectual Property Rights: All entries submitted in response 
to this Challenge will remain the sole intellectual property of the 
individuals or organizations that developed them. By registering and 
entering a submission, each contestant represents and warrants that it 
is the sole author and copyright owner of the submission, and that the 
submission is an original work of the contestant, or if the submission 
is a work based on an existing application, that the contestant has 
acquired sufficient rights to use and to authorize others to use the 
submission, and that the submission does not infringe upon any 
copyright or upon any other third party rights of which the contestant 
is aware.
    9. Publicity Rights: By registering and entering a submission, each 
contestant consents to SBA's and its agents' use, in perpetuity, of its 
name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions, and/or hometown and state 
information for promotional or informational purposes through any form 
of media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration.
    10. Liability and Insurance Requirements: By registering and 
entering a submission, each contestant 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 their participation in 
this Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises 
through negligence or otherwise. By registering and entering a 
submission, each contestant further represents and warrants that it 
possesses sufficient liability insurance or financial resources to 
cover claims by a third party for death, bodily injury, or property 
damage or loss resulting from any activity it carries out in connection 
with its participation in this Challenge, or

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claims by the Federal Government for damage or loss to Government 
property resulting from such an activity. Contest winners should be 
prepared to demonstrate proof of insurance or financial responsibility 
in the event SBA deems it necessary.
    11. Record Retention and Disclosure: All nomination packages and 
related materials provided to SBA in the semi-final and final rounds of 
the Challenge automatically become SBA records and cannot be returned. 
Contestants should identify any confidential commercial information 
contained in their entries at the time of their submission to the local 
Host Organization. SBA will notify contestants of any Freedom of 
Information Act requests the Agency receives related to their 
submissions in accordance with 13 CFR part 102.
    Award Approving Official: Erin Andrew, Assistant Administrator, 
Office of Women's Business Ownership, U.S. Small Business 
Administration, 409 Third Street SW., Washington, DC 20416.

    Dated: February 6, 2015.
Erin Andrew,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Women's Business Ownership.
[FR Doc. 2015-03013 Filed 2-12-15; 8:45 a.m.]
BILLING CODE 8025-01-P