[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 228 (Monday, November 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85581-85583]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28497]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for ``Storytelling 
About Health and Wellness in American Indian and Alaska Native 
Communities'' Challenge

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 3719.
SUMMARY: In recognition of Native American Heritage Month, the Tribal 
Health Research Office in the Division of Program Coordination, 
Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, in the Office of the Director of 
the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announces the ``Storytelling 
about Health and Wellness in American Indian and Alaska Native 
Communities'' Challenge. The goal of this Challenge is to develop a 
brief digital story (i.e., a video) that communicates how traditions 
and heritage promote health in American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/
AN).

DATES: The Challenge begins November 28, 2016.

Submission Period: November 28, 2016 to January 31, 2017.
Judging Period: February 1, 2017 to February 24, 2017.
Winners announced: Week of March 6, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact NIH's Tribal Health 
Research Office at [email protected] or 301-402-9852 with 
questions about this challenge.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Statutory Authority to Conduct the Challenge: This challenge is 
consistent with the statutory authority of the Division of Program 
Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, National Institutes 
of Health. The Division identifies research that represents important 
areas of emerging scientific opportunities, rising public

[[Page 85582]]

health challenges, or knowledge gaps that deserve special emphasis and 
would benefit from conducting or supporting additional research that 
involves collaboration between two or more national research institutes 
or national centers, or would otherwise benefit from strategic 
coordination and planning. As part of this authority, the Division 
oversees the Tribal Health Research Office, whose function includes 
managing information dissemination related to tribal health research 
coordination. The winning videos submitted for this challenge will help 
communicate about health and wellness of AI/AN communities. The NIH is 
also conducting this challenge under the America COMPETES 
Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-358), codified at 15 U.S.C. 
3719.
    Subject of Challenge: Tribal communities are revered for preserving 
their culture and passing on their history, customs, and traditions 
through their use of vivid, verbal narratives. Storytelling is an 
enriching tradition that serves to entertain, educate, and inspire.
    To commemorate Native American Heritage Month, the NIH wishes to 
celebrate the use of storytelling to convey stories of health and 
wellness. The AI/AN population has long experienced a disparity in 
certain health conditions compared with other Americans. AI/AN 
communities have higher rates of diseases and disorders across several 
areas of health such as: diabetes, chronic liver disease, certain 
cancers, mental health, and substance use (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr65/nvsr65_05.pdf and http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/disparities/cancer-health-disparities). Factors known to 
contribute to health status and disparities are complex, and include 
social and historical factors, ethnicity, culture, historical trauma, 
socioeconomic status, gender/sex, age, geographical access to care, and 
levels of insurance as well as underlying biology, physiology, and 
genetics. The NIH hopes that this Challenge will incentivize the public 
to showcase the strengths and resilience of these communities, their 
heritage and traditions, and how their culture promotes their health 
and well-being.
    The NIH invites the public to participate in this challenge to 
share stories about: (1) How heritage and tradition leads to health and 
wellness in AI/AN communities; and (2) how future research can improve 
the health of American Indians and Alaska Natives. The videos will 
augment the agency's ongoing efforts to inform a strengthened research 
portfolio that advances AI/AN research needs. This challenge is also 
designed to attract more interest and attention to the research needs 
of these communities and communicate these needs in a culturally 
appropriate manner.
    Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Challenge; Official 
Rules: The Challenge is open to any ``Contestant.'' A ``Contestant'' 
may be (i) an entity, or (ii) an individual or group of individuals 
(i.e., a team), each of whom is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of 
the United States and 18 years of age or older. For example, 
Contestants may be communities or community members, schools, 
organizations, research participants, and others. Contestants may 
submit more than one entry.
    1. To be eligible to win a prize under this Challenge, the 
Contestant--
    a. Shall have registered to participate in the Challenge under the 
rules promulgated by the NIH as published in this notice;
    b. Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this 
notice;
    c. 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;
    d. May not be a federal entity; Tribal governments and employees 
are eligible to submit;
    e. May not be a federal employee acting within the scope of the 
employee's employment and, further, in the case of Department of Health 
and Human Services employees, may not work on their submission(s) 
during assigned duty hours. Federal employees seeking to participate in 
this Challenge outside the scope of their employment should consult 
their ethics official prior to developing their submission;
    f. May not be an employee of the NIH, a member of the technical 
evaluation panel or judge of the Challenge, or any other party involved 
with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the 
Challenge or the immediate family of such a party (i.e., spouse, 
parent, step-parent, sibling, step-sibling, child, or step-child).
    2. Federal grantees may not use federal funds to develop their 
Challenge submissions.
    3. Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to 
develop their Challenge submissions or to fund efforts in support of 
their Challenge submissions.
    4. Submissions must not infringe upon any copyright or any other 
rights of any third party.
    5. By participating in this Challenge, a Contestant agrees to 
assume any and all risks and waive claims against the federal 
government and its related entities (as defined in the COMPETES Act), 
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 
Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through 
negligence or otherwise.
    6. Based on the subject matter of the Challenge, the type of work 
that it will possibly require, as well as an analysis of the likelihood 
of any claims for death, bodily injury, property damage, or loss 
potentially resulting from Challenge participation, Contestants are not 
required to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial 
responsibility in order to participate in this Challenge.
    7. By participating in this Challenge, each Contestant agrees to 
indemnify the federal government against third-party claims for damages 
arising from or related to Challenge activities.
    8. A Contestant shall not be deemed ineligible because the 
individual or entity used federal facilities or consulted with federal 
employees during the Challenge if the facilities and employees are made 
available to all Contestants participating in the Challenge on an 
equitable basis.
    9. By participating in this Challenge, each Contestant grants to 
the NIH irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free, nonexclusive worldwide 
license to post, link to, share, and display publicly on the web the 
submitted document. Each participant will retain all other intellectual 
property rights in their submissions, as applicable.
    10. The NIH reserves the right to (a) cancel, suspend, modify the 
Challenge, and/or (b) not award any prizes if no entries are deemed 
worthy.
    11. Each Contestant agrees to follow all applicable federal, state, 
and local laws, regulations, and policies.
    12. Each Contestant participating in this Challenge must comply 
with all terms and conditions of these rules, and participation in this 
Challenge constitutes each such participant's full and unconditional 
agreement to abide by these rules. Winning is contingent upon 
fulfilling all requirements herein.
    Registration and Submission Process for Participants: The 
registration and submission process for entering the Challenge can be 
found at: https://dpcpsi.nih.gov/thro/news and at https://www.challenge.gov/.
    Submission Requirements: The submission is a video that describes: 
(1) How heritage and tradition leads to

[[Page 85583]]

health and wellness in AI/AN communities; and (2) how future research 
can improve the health of American Indians and Alaska Natives.
    Submissions are limited to a video that may not exceed five 
minutes. Winning entries may be posted on the NIH Web site. Submissions 
must be substantially free of scientific jargon and understandable by 
viewers without scientific/technical backgrounds. The video must 
include at least one member of a federally recognized tribe(s) and 
address the following:
     A brief historical background that puts the story in 
context. For example, what is the traditional or cultural practice? How 
does it contribute to health and wellness in AI/AN populations?
     A description of how this tradition or culture affects 
people's lives. The impact could be lives saved, suffering reduced, 
fewer visits to health care facilities, adopting a healthier lifestyle, 
and similar such benefits. How is this practice promoted within tribal 
populations?
     Information about the unmet health and wellness needs of 
AI/AN communities. What is the unmet need? Is there an understanding of 
what interventions or actions may help address these needs?
     A discussion of how biomedical or behavioral research can 
further Tribal health and wellness. What are the current gaps in Tribal 
health research and opportunities for improving health in AI/AN 
communities? What are some of the barriers or challenges in closing 
these gaps? How would addressing them reduce mortality, improve quality 
of life, or otherwise positively affect Tribal communities? The video 
must convey the research question of interest as part of a holistic 
picture of Tribal health or AI/AN communities.
    Contestants may submit more than one entry. However, the cultural 
and traditional practices and research described in each submission 
must be distinct. If a Contestant enters substantially similar 
submissions, as determined by the NIH, the agency may disqualify the 
later entries or require the Contestant to choose one entry to enter 
into the Challenge.
    Contestants must include a link to a public or unlisted video on 
YouTube.com, Vimeo.com, or other internet accessible site. The 
submission may be disqualified if the video is commercially 
promotional, contains inappropriate material or language, or presents 
material unrelated to this challenge, as determined by the NIH. A video 
must:
     Be in English, if dialogue is present. Use of Native 
language is encouraged but must include an English caption or other 
method of translation to English.
     Be no longer than five minutes. The NIH recognizes that 
there may be a desire to prepare a longer video. However, any part of a 
video exceeding five minutes will be disregarded as part of the judging 
process.
     Not include copyrighted material, such as music or photos, 
unless the Contestant has obtained written permission to use such 
material.
     Not include proprietary information.
     Include captioning or submission of a written transcript 
in English for any video with dialogue, to ensure the video can be 
understood by viewers with disabilities.
    [cir] The video must remain posted at the URL submitted with the 
entry for at least one year after the Challenge closes. The video (or 
the link to it) may be displayed publicly on the NIH Web site.
    [cir] Before posting a video online, a Contestant must obtain 
consent from anyone appearing in the video. If a minor appears in the 
video, the contestant must obtain consent from the minor's parent or 
legal guardian.
    Amount of the Prize: The Challenge will have no more than five 
winning submissions. Winning submissions will receive an award and 
recognition on the NIH Tribal Health Research Office Web site and 
possibly other NIH outlets. The first place winner will receive $4,000; 
second place will receive $3,000; third place will receive $2,000; and 
two honorable mentions will each receive $500. The first place winner 
will also be invited to an upcoming meeting of the NIH Tribal 
Consultation Advisory Committee. Travel will be reimbursed for those 
invitees. If two or more submissions describe the same general advance 
and are judged to be equally meritorious, the prize will go to either 
the first submitted submission or the prize will be split between or 
among the Contestants at the discretion of the NIH. If a team submits a 
winning entry, a single prize will be awarded to that team to divide 
amongst the winners, as determined by that entrant. Winning is 
contingent upon fulfilling all requirements of the Challenge rules. The 
name, city, state, and submission of winning Contestants will be posted 
on the NIH Tribal Health Research Office Web site.
    The award-approving official will be the NIH Deputy Director for 
Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives. The winners 
will be notified by email, telephone, or mail after the date of the 
judging. Prizes awarded under this Challenge will be paid by electronic 
funds transfer and may be subject to federal income taxes. The NIH will 
comply with the Internal Revenue Service withholding and reporting 
requirements, where applicable.
    Basis Upon Which Submissions Will Be Evaluated: This section 
describes judging criteria and the evaluation process. Submissions 
first will be assessed by a technical evaluation panel consisting of 
individuals who will review the relevance of the entry to the AI/AN 
communities, the accuracy of the advance and impact on AI/ANs, cultural 
sensitivity, and confirmation of the unmet research need(s) in AI/AN 
populations. The technical evaluation panel will forward its assessment 
of each submission to a qualified judging panel composed of NIH program 
directors and other federal employees involved in AI/AN research. The 
judging panel will evaluate all submissions and recommend winners based 
on the assessments from the technical evaluation panel and the 
following judging criteria:
     Quality, clarity, and historical accuracy. Is the 
information presented accurately and clearly?
     Impact. Is the story educational, inspiring, and 
persuasive? Does it clearly convey how the culture or tradition being 
practiced promotes health and wellness? Does it clearly convey where 
research could continue to improve health and well-being?
     Originality. The Challenge submission cannot have been 
previously published.
     Digital technology. Does the video effectively use 
lighting, sound, and editing to tell the story? Is the dialogue clear 
and easy to understand? Do visual effects (if any) contribute to the 
message or detract from it? Does the video convey the intended message 
in the five minute limit? Is the video of sufficient quality to be 
posted on the Web? Is captioning or English translation available?
    Additional Information: If Contestants choose to provide the NIH 
with personal information by providing a submission to this Challenge, 
that information will be used to respond to Contestants in matters 
regarding their submission, announcements of entry, finalists, and 
winners of the Challenge.

    Dated: November 19, 2016
Lawrence A. Tabak,
Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2016-28497 Filed 11-25-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4140-01-P