[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 60 (Tuesday, March 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17458-17460]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07032]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[Notice-ID-2016-01; Docket No. 2016-0002; Sequence No. 6]


Government-Wide Earth Day Hackathon, April 22, 2016

AGENCY: Innovative Technologies and 18F (OCSIT/18F), Office of Citizen 
Services, General Services Administration (GSA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to announce a software 
programming and data innovation competition hosted by GSA's, Office of 
Citizen Services, Innovative Technologies and 18F (OCSIT/18F). GSA's 
OCSIT/18F Organization will be partnering with the White House Council 
on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA), the General Services Administration (GSA), the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the United States Forest Service 
(USFS) to present a Government-wide Earth Day Hackathon, on Friday, 
April 22, 2016. OCSIT/18F is inviting coders, developers, designers, 
engineers, data scientists, and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from 
industry, academia, and the federal government to participate. GSA, 
along with the agencies listed above, will present green and 
sustainable projects for participants to work on. The competition 
details can be viewed at http://open.gsa.gov/EarthDayHackathon/.
    Participants will be competing on teams to develop smart technology 
solutions in the form of an application, application programming 
interface (API), web/mobile application, data mashup, etc., that have 
the capability to provide the federal government with key insights 
pertaining to data.

DATES: Online registration for this event will open on March 29, 2016, 
and will close Tuesday, April 19, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard 
Time (EST). The competition will be open on Friday, April 22, 2016, 
from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST); on-site 
registration at GSA will begin at 8:00 a.m. (EST).

ADDRESSES: Registration: Registration for this event will be 
accomplished online at the following link: http://open.gsa.gov/EarthDayHackathon/.
    The event space is limited to the first 200 people; once 
registration is complete, participants will receive a confirmation 
email.
    Event Location: GSA Headquarters, 1800 F Street NW., Washington, DC 
20405. A government-issued ID shall be required to gain access into the 
building. All participants must enter through the main entrance located 
on 1800 F Street NW.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Cindy A. Smith at [email protected] or 
816-823-5291.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Purpose: In this competition, participants are asked to develop a 
technology-driven solution using publicly available data that allows an 
agency to identify opportunities for improvements and transparency. As 
such, the Federal Government challenges the participants to create a 
solution using the data provided. Electronic links to publicly 
available datasets will be provided through the competition details Web 
page.
    Details of Challenge: Participants will be asked to design and 
create a digital interactive solution that utilizes federal data 
collected. The solutions should not simply be analysis tools that tell 
what is already known; rather, they should be forward-thinking 
solutions that enhance transparency.
    The solution should be a data-driven solution to provide meaningful 
insights that can help drive smarter decisions by federal employees. 
The ultimate goal is to help federal agencies use data to identify 
opportunities for improvements, share data with other federal agencies, 
and become more transparent to the American public.
    The solution should--
    1. Visually display or transmit data in a way that will enhance the 
way federal government works; and
    2. Identify relationships through the analysis of the data, if they 
exist, while providing valuable insights that could be gained through 
improved data collection efforts.
    Predetermined teams (consisting of 5 individuals) are welcome to 
include a stand-alone or mix of private industry, academia, and 
eligible individuals. Cash prizes will be awarded to the best projects.
    Data: Participants will be provided all final project ideas, 
existing code, and publicly available datasets in advance of the event. 
Event information will be posted on the event page at, http://open.gsa.gov/EarthDayHackathon/, and will be updated as necessary.
    Projects: Hackathon Projects may include the following:
     CEQ Challenges:
    1. Create a visual dashboard on sustainable purchasing, by agency, 
using data captured in the government-wide procurement system.
    2. Create a Web site and/or app that allows federal agencies and/or 
the public user, if appropriate, to assess whether or not their 
property is located in an area of wildfire risk.
     EPA's Challenges:
    1. Develop a method to identify fraudulent reporting to the EPA 
using Benford's law of statistical probability.
    2. Develop a mobile app that improves environmental awareness 
through the use of geo-fences.
    3. Develop code that can be deployed on Android and iOS mobile apps 
that displays UV Index Forecast information specific to a defined 
beach.
    4. Develop improved data visualizations or a consolidated dashboard 
associated with the climate change indicator data.
     GSA's Challenges:
    1. Create a browser extension or add-on (for IE or Chrome) that 
allows users to determine whether the product they are viewing meets 
federal and agency sustainability requirements.
    2. Develop a streamlined management tool to help teams collaborate 
and incorporate sustainability into any building project.
    3. Build an app that allows a user to take a photo of products, 
building materials, and systems and receive green tips and sustainable 
purchasing information.
    4. Create a phone application (Android or iOS) that allows a user 
to scan a barcode, or lookup a product, and then notifies the user if 
the product meets the latest sustainability requirements.

[[Page 17459]]

     NIST Challenge: Create an environmentally-friendly product 
selection Web Interface API.
     NOAA Challenges:
    1. Create an API, browser extension or addon (for IE or Chrome) 
that allows users to compute their custom normals from NOAA's records 
of surface temperature and precipitation.
    2. Create an API or tool that allows users to easily find Next-
Generation Radar (NEXRAD) data on Amazon AWS 33.
    3. Create an app, browser extension or add-on (for IE or Chrome) 
that allows users to visualize and/or compute on NOAA's current Multi-
Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS).
     USDA Challenge: Develop methods to present and compare 
performance on energy and water use in Forest Service facilities.
     USFS Challenge: Develop a prototype of a tool available on 
the web or as a phone app, that allows users to quickly and easily 
access shade scores for any neighborhood in the United States.
    Eligibility for Challenge: Eligibility to participate in the 
Government-wide Earth Day Hackathon and win a prize is limited to 
entities/individuals--
    1. That have registered to participate in the competition and 
complied with the rules of the competition as explained in this 
posting; and
    2. That have been incorporated in and maintain a primary place of 
business in the United States. In the case of an individual, whether 
participating singly or in a group, the participant must be a citizen 
or permanent resident of the United States.
    Participants may not be a federal entity or federal employee acting 
within the scope of employment. However, an individual or entity shall 
not be deemed ineligible to win prize money because the individual or 
entity used federal facilities or consulted with federal employees 
during a competition if the facilities and employees are made available 
to all individuals and entities participating in the competition on an 
equitable basis.
    Participants 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 participation in this competition, whether 
the injury, death, damage, or loss arose through negligence or 
otherwise. Entrants are not required to obtain liability insurance or 
demonstrate financial responsibility in order to participate in this 
Hackathon.
    As the Federal Government is under a strict duty not to give 
preferential treatment to any private organization or individual, 
participants must agree to take diligent care to avoid the appearance 
of Federal Government endorsement of competition participation and 
submission. Participants must agree not to refer to the Federal 
Government's use of their submission (be it product or service) in any 
commercial advertising or similar promotions in a manner that could 
reasonably imply (in the judgment of a reasonable person) that the GSA 
or the Federal Government endorses, prefers, sponsors, or has an 
affiliation with participants' products or services. Participants agree 
that GSA's trademarks, logos, service marks, trade names, or the fact 
that GSA awarded a prize to a participant, shall not be used by the 
participant to imply direct GSA endorsement of participant or 
participant's submission. Both participants and GSA may list the other 
party's name in a publicly available customer or other list so long as 
the name is not displayed in a more prominent fashion than any other 
third-party name.
    Prizes: GSA may award prizes of no more than $1,000 to each member 
of a winning team (3 teams total). GSA is not required to award all 
prizes if the judges determine that a smaller number of entries meet 
the scope and requirements laid out for this competition, or if the 
agency only plans to use code from a smaller number of entries.
    Funding for the Government-wide Earth Day Hackathon award will come 
from GSA. Prizes will be awarded to each member of a winning team via 
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), within 60 days of announcing the 
winner(s).
    Requirements: The final solution should be open source code and 
placed on a GSA site to be specified to participants the day of the 
event. ``Open source'' refers to a program in which the source code is 
available to the general public for use and/or modification from its 
original design free of charge. In order to be Open Source Initiative 
Certified, the solution must meet the following ten criteria:
    1. The author or holder of the license of the source code cannot 
collect royalties on the distribution of the program.
    2. The distributed program must make the source code accessible to 
the user.
    3. The author must allow modifications and derivations of the work 
under the program's original name.
    4. No person, group, or field of endeavor can be denied access to 
the program.
    5. The rights attached to the program must not depend on the 
program being part of a particular software distribution.
    6. The licensed software cannot place restrictions on other 
software that is distributed with it.
    7. The solution must be an online, interactive solution that meets 
the goals and objectives provided in this document.
    8. The solution must include documentation of all data sources 
used.
    9. The solution must include a description of how the solution can 
be updated with additional data from other agencies.
    10. The solver must provide recommendations to enhance government 
insights through improvements in data collection.
    The winner(s) of the competition will, in consideration of the 
prize(s) to be awarded, grant to GSA a perpetual, non-exclusive, 
royalty-free license to use any and all intellectual property to the 
winning entry for any governmental purpose, including the right to 
permit such use by any other agency or agencies of the Federal 
Government. All other rights of the winning entrant will be retained by 
the winner of the competition.
    Scope: Any federal data and information that is publicly available 
is included in the scope of this challenge. Final project ideas, 
existing code, and public datasets will be provided in advance of the 
event.
    Judges: There will be a panel of judges, each with expertise in 
government-wide policy, information technology, and/or acquisition. 
Judges will award a score to each submission. The winner(s) of the 
competition will be decided based on the highest average overall score. 
Judges will only participate in judging submissions for which they do 
not have any conflicts of interest.
    Judging Criteria: Each solution will be assessed based on technical 
competence and capabilities, use of data to provide effective outcomes, 
creativity/innovation, and valuable information and insights.
    Submissions will be judged based on the following metrics--

Technical Competence and Capabilities/Weight 50%

    The solution addresses the primary goals of the Hackathon. It is a 
finished product that can provide insightful analysis and show the 
Federal Governmentgovernment how to

[[Page 17460]]

enhance/improve existing functions, share data across federal agencies 
and more efficiently utilize existing applications.

Use of Data To Provide Effective Outcomes/Weight 20%

    The solution displays in a way that is easy to understand, visually 
appealing, and will help drive understanding of current trends as well 
as recommendations.

Creativity/Innovation/Weight 10%

    The solution exceeds any internal capability that GSA has for 
analysis of data through its incorporation of creative design elements 
and innovative capabilities.

Valuable Information & Insights Regarding Data/Weight 20%

    The solver provides recommendations for additional data elements to 
be collected by the Federal Government. The solver identifies gaps in 
the data and utilizes external data sources and research to aid the 
government in setting future data collection policies.
    Challenge Objectives:
     Utilize data to create an application, API, and/or data 
mashup.
     Provide a better understanding of use and needs of current 
and future data assets.
     Post all open source solutions on the GSA open source code 
site for future use by the Federal Government developer community and 
GSA.
    All participants are required to check in with Security upon 
arriving at the GSA Central Office Building. Follow the posted signs to 
the Conference Center, Rooms 1459, 1460, and 1461.
    All participants must sign the document titled: Gratuitous Service 
Agreement.

    Dated: March 23, 2016.
Kris Rowley,
Director, Enterprise Information & Data Mgmt. Ofc.
[FR Doc. 2016-07032 Filed 3-28-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-34-P