[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 180 (Thursday, September 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55861-55864]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23358]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Bridging the Word Gap Competition Challenge

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA, Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), 
Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), announces the funding 
opportunity for the Bridging the Word Gap Incentive Prize Challenge.
    MCHB is sponsoring the Word Gap Challenge (Challenge) to spur 
innovative solutions to promote the early language environment and 
address the ``word gap,'' the large difference in exposure to language 
for children from low-income families as compared to children from 
higher-income families. This Challenge will reward the development and 
testing of scalable innovations that drive behavior change among 
parents and caregivers.
    The goal of the Challenge is to develop a low-cost, scalable 
technologically-based intervention that drives parents and caregivers 
to talk and engage in more back-and-forth interactions with their young 
children (ages 0-4).
    This Challenge, structured in three phases, with a narrowing of 
applicants through each phase to result in one final winner, will reach 
a diverse population of innovators and solvers, including coders, 
public health experts, individuals affiliated with academic 
institutions, research and development communities in the private 
sector, and others.
    All submissions will be evaluated; separate prizes will be awarded 
for each of the three phases below.
Phase 1: Design
Phase 2: Development and Small Scale Testing
Phase 3: Scaling
    The statutory authority for this challenge competition is Section 
105 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (COMPETES Act, 
Pub. L. 111-358).
    Estimated dates for each phase are as follows:
Phase 1: Effective on September 30, 2015
Phase 1 Submission ends: December 31, 2015, 11:59 p.m. ET
Phase 1 Judging Period: January 1-January 31, 2016

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Phase 1 Winners Announced: February 10, 2016
Phase 2 Begins: February 11, 2016
Phase 2 Submission Period Ends: July 11, 2016
Phase 2 Judging Period: July 12-August 12, 2016
Phase 2 Winners Announced: August 20, 2016
Phase 3 Begins: August 21, 2016
Phase 3 Submission Period Ends: February 21, 2017
Phase 3 Winner Announced: March 1, 2017

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessie Buerlein, MSW, 301-443-8931, or 
James Resnick, 301-443-3222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Subject of Challenge Competition

    There is evidence that socioeconomic status (SES) is a strong 
indicator of school achievement, and that children from lower SES 
backgrounds exhibit a delay in early literacy skills, a slower 
vocabulary acquisition rate, and lower school readiness rates.\1\ Once 
American children enter kindergarten, there is a significant, prevalent 
gap between children from higher versus lower SES backgrounds in 
average oral language skills,\2\ referred to as the ``word gap.'' There 
is also growing evidence that early language exposure for children may 
not only have a significant influence on language development and 
school achievement, but on the overall trajectory of children's lives, 
including later academic and occupation success.\3\ Existing literature 
reveals several key themes in addressing the language gap, including 
the significant role of the caregiver in the home, and the 
effectiveness of engaging parents in language interventions.\4\ A 
significant influence on children's language development is the context 
of parenting and parent responsiveness to children's early language 
acquisition.\5\ Research in this area shows that both the quality and 
quantity of speech spoken at home during daily interactions influences 
the relationship between SES and child language skills at school 
entry.\6\ However, research also shows that interventions engaging 
parents and increasing their knowledge of child development and the 
importance of child-directed talk may be an effective route to 
preventing and addressing the SES language gap.\7\
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    \1\ Suskind D., Kuhl, P., Leffel, K.R., Landry, S., Cunha, F., & 
Necherman, K.M. (2013). Bridging the early language gap: A plan for 
scaling up. (A White Paper prepared for the White House meeting on 
``Bridging the Thirty-Million-Word Gap).''
    \2\ Rowe, M.L., Suskind, D., & Hoff, E. (2013) Early language 
gaps: Sources and solutions. (A White Paper prepared for the White 
House meeting on ``Bridging the Thirty-Million-Word Gap).''
    \3\ Suskind D., Kuhl, P., Leffel, K.R., Landry, S., Cunha, F., & 
Necherman, K.M. (2013). Bridging the early language gap: A plan for 
scaling up. (A White Paper prepared for the White House meeting on 
``Bridging the Thirty-Million-Word Gap).''
    \4\ Roberts, M.Y., & Kaiser, A.P. (2011). The effectiveness of 
parent-implemented language interventions: A meta-analysis. American 
Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20, 180-199.
    \5\ Suskind D., Kuhl, P., Leffel, K.R., Landry, S., Cunha, F., & 
Necherman, K.M. (2013). Bridging the early language gap: A plan for 
scaling up. (A White Paper prepared for the White House meeting on 
``Bridging the Thirty-Million-Word Gap).''
    \6\ Hoff, E. (2009) Do vocabulary differences explain 
achievement gaps and can vocabulary-targeted interventions close 
them? (Prepared for the National Research Council workshop on the 
Role of Language in Education.)
    \7\ Ibid.
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    The research base has improved markedly over the last two decades, 
making a strong case that addressing the word gap is a critical social 
challenge that may help promote equitable opportunity for all children. 
The frequency and quality of child-directed talk and back and forth 
interactions between children and their parents have consequences for 
what is learned and is associated with significant disparities in 
vocabulary size, school readiness, and long-term educational outcomes.
    Technologies now exist to support low-cost, broadly scalable 
approaches to helping parents and caregivers focus on the early 
language environment, and the technical expertise exists to address the 
issue in creative ways. This challenge aims to cultivate an environment 
to attract a broad array of innovators from outside disciplines to 
propose inventive, creative, and effective ideas to address the word 
gap by encouraging higher frequency and higher quality interaction 
between parents/caregivers and children. This is an opportunity for 
applicants to get national visibility, by the leading experts and 
organizations in the field, for new ideas on solving this problem of 
national importance. This is also an opportunity for applicants to 
access testing environments and design expertise as they move forward 
through the Challenge phases.
    When developing submissions, participants should consider the 
context of the user. The submission should be easily utilized by those 
of diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and literacy level backgrounds, 
including parents and children who are dual language speakers.

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 Health Resources and Services 
Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
    (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) May not be employees of HRSA or any other company, 
organization, or individual involved with the design, production, 
execution, judging, or distribution of the Challenge and their 
immediate family (i.e., spouse, parents and step-parents, siblings and 
step-siblings, and children and step-children) and household members 
(i.e., people who share the same residence at least 3 months out of the 
year).
    (7) In the case of a federal grantee, may not use federal funds to 
develop COMPETES Act challenge applications unless consistent with the 
purpose of their grant award.
    (8) In the case of a federal contractor, 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.
    (9) 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.
    (10) 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.
    (11) Must also agree to indemnify the federal government against 
third party claims for damages arising from or related to competition 
activities.
    (12) Shall not be currently on the Excluded Parties List (https://www.epls.gov/).

[[Page 55863]]

Submission Requirements

    The Challenge has three phases.

Phase 1--Design

    The first stage of the prize competition aims to attract a large 
set of ideas and innovators. The target product of the first stage will 
be the conceptualization of the most promising innovations to help 
support parental and caregiver behavior change around the early 
language environment. The submissions should aim to demonstrate that 
the proposed intervention will be accessible across diverse backgrounds 
and easily implemented by users.
    The Phase 1 Submission shall include:
    1. A comprehensive description of the proposed intervention in 5 
pages or less, including:
    a. A one-paragraph executive summary that clearly states the 
question to be solved;
    b. Background information linking the evidence to support the 
intervention;
    c. A descriptive analysis of how the applicant arrived at their 
idea;
    d. Descriptions of the methods and technologies involved in 
implementation of the intervention; and
    2. An assessment describing the applicant's ability to execute the 
proposed solution in Phase 2 and 3.

Phase 2--Development and Small Scale Testing

    The winners of Phase 1 of the prize competition will then advance 
to a second stage focused on prototyping the intervention, and testing 
the effectiveness of the intervention. Using support from the Phase 1 
prize funding, intervention developers will test the efficacy of their 
models to show that the proposed intervention demonstrates an impact on 
the outcomes of interest for children and families. The applicants 
should demonstrate both the evidence base for the intervention and its 
usability. Mentors will be made available to help solvers design 
appropriate testing methodologies and learn more about the evidence 
base.

Phase 3--Scaling

    The winners of Phase 2 will move to the final phase of the Word Gap 
Incentive Prize, which will involve testing the most promising models 
at greater scale through rollout at the program or community level. 
This will test the scalability of the device at low-cost, the 
feasibility of implementation, and the impact on the intended outcomes. 
Applicants will be assisted in matching their submission with a 
community or program.

Registration Process for Participants

    Participants can find out more information at https://www.challenge.gov/list/.

Prizes

     Total: Up to $300,000 in Prizes
    [cir] Phase 1: 7-10 winners, up to $10,000 each
    [cir] Phase 2: 3-5 winners; up to $25,000 each
    [cir] Phase 3: 1 winner; up to $100,000

Payment of the Prizes

    Prize will be paid by HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

Basis for Winner Selection

    The challenge entries will be de-identified and then will be judged 
by a review panel composed of HHS employees and experts in compliance 
with the requirements of the COMPETES Act and the Department of Health 
and Human Services judging guidelines: http://www.hhs.gov/idealab/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/HHS-COMPETITION-JUDGING-GUIDELINES.pdf. The 
review panel will make selections based upon the following criteria:

Phase 1

    In Phase 1, proposed interventions to be judged on the following 
criteria:
Accessibility
     Is the proposed intervention able to be easily utilized by 
parents of diverse economic, social, and cultural backgrounds? Is it 
functional across disciplines/users?
Measurability
     How easily will the proposed intervention be evaluated in 
order to determine its efficacy (in both lab testing and in the real 
world)? Is the proposed intervention measurable among various 
audiences?
Sustainability
     Is the proposed intervention ``sticky?'' Does it fit into 
daily life? Is it fun to use?
Impact
     Does the applicant present a theory or explanation of how 
the proposed intervention would inspire behavior change?

Phase 2

    In Phase 2, interventions will be judged on the following criteria:
Impact
     How did the intervention impact target outcomes for 
parents/caregivers and children? What did the data show?
Evidence base
     Is the intervention grounded in existing science related 
to the word gap, behavior change, etc.?
Sustainability
     Was the intervention ``sticky'' among users? Did users 
want to continuously engage with the program?
Implementation
     How feasible is the intervention? How much support for 
implementation will the intervention require (estimated financial and 
time commitment)?

Phase 3

    In Phase 3, interventions will be judged on the following criteria:
Impact
     How effective was the intervention when implemented at 
scale? Did the impacts on parents/caregivers from Phase 2 remain 
consistent?
Implementation
     How feasible was the intervention on a larger scale? How 
much support for implementation did the model require (financial and 
time commitment)? How challenging was the actual program 
implementation?
Scalability
     How costly was the intervention in a real-world setting? 
How likely are cost efficiencies for program delivery at greater scale? 
Can the device be used in existing platforms?
    In order for an entry to be eligible to win this Challenge, it must 
meet the following requirement:

Additional Information

    General Conditions: HRSA reserves the right to cancel, suspend, 
and/or modify the contest, or any part of it, for any reason, at HRSA's 
sole discretion.
    The interventions submitted across all phases should not use the 
HHS or HRSA logos or official seals in the submission, and must not 
claim endorsement.

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 HRSA 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

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administer the challenge, and to publically perform and publically 
display the submission, including, without limitation, for advertising 
and promotional purposes relating to the challenge.
     Record Retention and FOIA: All materials submitted to HRSA 
as part of a submission become HRSA records and cannot be returned. Any 
confidential commercial information contained in a submission should be 
designated at the time of submission. Submitters will be notified of 
any Freedom of Information Act requests for their submissions in 
accordance with 45 CFR 5.65.

    Dated: September 14, 2015.
James Macrae,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2015-23358 Filed 9-16-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P