[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 86 (Tuesday, May 5, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25763-25765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-10428]


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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION


Announcement of ``America's Seed Fund'' Logo Design Competition 
for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business 
Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announces the 
``America's Seed Fund'' Logo Design Competition, pursuant to the 
America Competes Act, to encourage artists and designers to create a 
thoughtful and imaginative visual representation of the government's 
largest innovation effort focused on research-driven, innovative and 
cutting-edge small businesses through the Small Business Innovation 
Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs.

DATES: The submission period for entries begins 12:00 p.m. EDT, May 4, 
2015 or when this notice is published if a later date and ends May 29, 
2015 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. The winning contestant will be announced and 
the winning design will be unveiled during a White House ceremony on 
June 15, 2015. The winning contestant will be notified in advance of 
the public announcement.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nagesh Rao, Chief Technologist, Office 
of Investment and Innovation, U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 
Third Street SW., 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20416, (202) 205-7576, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Competition Details:
    1. Subject of Competition: The SBA is seeking a new design to be 
used as the official logo of the SBIR/STTR Programs and the recently 
redesigned Web site https://www.sbir.gov/. The SBIR/STTR Programs are 
extremely competitive and encourage small businesses to engage in 
federally funded research and development (R&D) through eleven Federal 
agencies with R&D needs. SBIR/STTR awards enable small businesses to 
explore their technological potential, stimulate innovation to meet 
federal R&D needs, and potentially profit from private-sector 
commercialization of developed technologies. Since inception in 1982, 
150,000 awards totaling $40 billion have been awarded to the small 
firms that participate. The programs touch, catalyze and seed the 
creation of STEM driven innovations in industries critical to the 
nation's long term competitiveness and growth--from nanotech to 
robotics to mobile communications to genetic therapies to clean energy 
to advanced weapons to space exploration. Many of today's technology 
giants--or their underlying technological components--received seed 
funding through SBIR or STTR awards via the eleven participating 
Federal agencies; the Environmental Protection Agency, the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation 
and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, 
Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and 
Transportation. (Visit the sbir.gov Web site at https://www.sbir.gov/ 
for more information.) The new logo will serve as the official logo for 
the SBIR/STTR Programs to be used for promotional and educational 
information, including but not limited to, the Programs' Web site, 
SBA's Web site, participating Federal agency Web sites, conferences, 
events, television, print, and other media outlets. The winning logo is 
intended to premiere at the 2015 Tibbetts Awards ceremony on June 15, 
2015, and be highlighted at the National SBIR Conference, June 15-17, 
2015.
    2. Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition: To be 
eligible to win a prize under this Logo Design Competition, you--
    (a) Must register to participate in the competition under the link 
designated for that purpose by SBA on challenge.gov;
    (b) Must comply with all the requirements under this notice and the 
America Competes Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-358);
    (c) Must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States 
before the submission period ends;
    (d) May not be a Federal employee acting within the scope of your 
employment; and,
    (e) May not be an entity with an outstanding, unresolved financial 
obligation to, or that is currently suspended or debarred by, the 
Federal government.
    If you are under 18 years of age, you must have the permission of a 
parent or legal guardian to participate. If you are a Federal grantee, 
you may not use Federal funds to develop applications for this 
competition unless such use is consistent with the purpose of your 
grant award. If you are a Federal contractor, you may not use Federal 
funds from a contract to develop or fund efforts in support of 
applications for this competition. You may use Federal facilities or 
consult with Federal employees during the competition if the facilities 
and employees are made available to all contestants participating in 
the competition on an equitable basis.
    3. Registration Process for Participants: Design competition 
participants must submit their ``America's Seed Fund'' Logo Designs 
online using the link designated for that purpose on challenge.gov, 
either by filtering search criteria to ``Small Business 
Administration'' or going to https://www.sbir.gov/, where the link will 
be posted. SBA will accept logo design competition submissions only 
through challenge.gov.
    Things to keep in mind as you design your ``America's Seed Fund'' 
Logo:
    (a) Translating the common programmatic elements of the SBIR and 
STTR programs--to support scientific excellence and technological 
innovation through the investment of Federal research funds in critical 
American priorities to build a strong national economy . . . one small 
business at a time. (For more information about the SBIR and STTR 
Programs, visit the Web site at https://www.sbir.gov/.);
    (b) Reflecting the importance of the SBIR/STTR Programs in an 
insightful and ultimately innovative manner; and,

[[Page 25764]]

    (c) Evoking through imagery thoughts related to words such as--
Innovation, Inventions, High-Tech, Cutting Edge, Technology, Startups, 
Seed Money, STEM driven, Angel Funding, Seeding Ideas, Business Plans, 
Forward-Looking, Venture Capital, Widely Applicable, High-Growth 
Entrepreneurship, National Competitiveness, and Next Generation 
Solutions.
    When uploading your ``America's Seed Fund'' Logo design, in the 
``Submission Text'' field please also include a brief description about 
your logo entry and thought process behind the design--how it relates 
to the SBIR/STTR Programs as ``America's Seed Fund''.
    4. Prizes for Winners: The winning contestant's design will become 
the official logo for the SBIR/STTR Programs, the Programs' Web site at 
sbir.gov, and any official SBA, SBIR Program and/or STTR Program 
purpose. The winning contestant will be invited to an unveiling of the 
winning logo design during a White House ceremony honoring the 2015 
Tibbetts Award and SBIR Hall of Fame winners in Washington, DC, on June 
15, 2015. The winning contestant will receive a congratulatory letter 
with winning design logo from SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet. 
The winning contestant and winning logo design will also be recognized 
during the National SBIR Conference, June 15-17, 2015, in National 
Harbor, MD. Any and all associated travel costs will be the sole 
responsibility of the winning contestant.
    5. Selection of Winners: SBA will select a judging panel that will 
consist of SBA officials, Program Managers of the SBIR/STTR 
participating Federal agencies, and at least one official from the 
National Endowment for the Arts. Judges will be fair and impartial. A 
judge may not have a familial or financial relationship with an 
individual who is a registered contestant in the competition. Judges 
will fully comply with all applicable government ethics requirements 
for Federal employees.
    Judges will use the following criteria to judge the submitted 
designs:
    (a) Design relates to the SBIR/STTR Programs as ``America's Seed 
Fund''. The subjects and ideas of small business, innovation, 
technological advancement, commercialization, and research and 
development need to be conveyed in the design of the logo. This may be 
done through a realistic or abstract design.
    (b) Creativity and originality. Is the visual quality of the design 
at once informative and representative of imagery connected to the 
SBIR/STTR Programs?
    (c) Design can be easily replicated. Can this design be replicated 
successfully, without excessive cost, for many media formats?
    The judging panel will evaluate the submissions and select up to 
ten logos to recommend to the SBA Administrator, who will choose the 
final winning design from all submissions, including the up to ten 
logos recommended to the SBA Administrator by the judging panel. All 
judging will take place between approximately May 19, 2015, and 
approximately May 29, 2015. SBA will publicly announce the winner and 
unveil the winning logo on June 15, 2015. For questions or further 
information, please see the contact information listed above.
    6. Applicable Law: This design competition 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 design competition, 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 design competition. 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 
reserves the right to modify or cancel this design competition, 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 design competition 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:
    (a) By submitting a design to this competition, you represent and 
warrant that you are the sole author and owner of the submitted design. 
Designs must be your original work, and must not violate or infringe 
the rights of other parties, including but not limited to privacy, 
publicity, or intellectual property rights, or material that 
constitutes copyright or license infringement. Your design may not 
contain any material that is inappropriate, indecent, obscene, hateful, 
defamatory, or in any way disparaging. Your design cannot have been 
submitted previously in another promotion or contest of any kind.
    (b) You understand and agree that if your entry is selected as the 
winning design, it may be modified or altered by SBA, in its sole 
discretion, as deemed appropriate or necessary to execute, produce, or 
distribute the winning design in its final logo format.
    (c) The winning contestant will, in consideration of the prize to 
be awarded, grant to SBA an irrevocable, royalty-free, exclusive 
worldwide license to reproduce, distribute, copy, display, create 
derivative works, and publicly post, link to, and share, the winning 
design or parts thereof, for the purpose of the design competition and 
for any official SBA, SBIR Program and/or STTR Program purpose.
    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 payment or consideration.
    10. Liability and Insurance Requirements: (a) 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 competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises 
through negligence or otherwise.
    (b) By participating in this competition, you agree to indemnify 
the Federal government against third party claims for damages arising 
from or related to competition activities.
    (c) 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 
competition, or claims by the Federal Government for damage or loss to 
Government property resulting from such an activity. Challenge 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 submissions and related 
materials provided to SBA in the course of this Competition 
automatically become SBA records and cannot be returned.

[[Page 25765]]

    Award Approving Official: Javier Saade, Associate Administrator, 
Office of Investment and Innovation, U.S. Small Business 
Administration, 409 Third Street SW., Washington, DC 20416.

    Authority: Pub. L. 111-358 (2011).

    Dated: April 29, 2015.
Javier Saade,
Associate Administrator, Office of Investment and Innovation.
[FR Doc. 2015-10428 Filed 5-4-15; 8:45 a.m.]
 BILLING CODE 8025-01-P