[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 148 (Thursday, August 3, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36118-36122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16342]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for U.S. Department 
of Agriculture (USDA) Innovations in Food and Agricultural Science and 
Technology (I-FAST) Prize Competition

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is 
announcing the I-FAST prize competition (the ``I-FAST Competition'' or 
the ``Competition'') to develop and implement the Innovations in Food 
and Agricultural Science and Technology (I-FAST) Program. USDA NIFA 
will partner with the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation 
Corps (I-Corps) to provide entrepreneurship training to USDA NIFA 
grantees under this I-FAST pilot program. The goals are to identify 
valuable product opportunities that can emerge from NIFA supported 
academic research. Selected USDA NIFA I-FAST project teams will have 
the opportunity to concurrently participate in the educational programs 
with NSF I-Corps awardees. Over a period of six months the USDA NIFA 
supported teams in the I-FAST program will learn what it will take to 
achieve an economic impact with their particular innovation. The final 
goal of the I-FAST Competition is to facilitate technology transfer of 
innovations that can make an impact in the marketplace and the global 
economy.

DATES: Competition Submission Period--Pre-Application and Evaluation 
Interviews:
    Pre-Application Open Period: August 3, 2017 to September 8, 2017.
    Pre-Application Evaluation and Interviews: September 11, 2017 to 
September 14, 2017.
    Full Application Open Period: September 15, 2017 to October 6, 
2017.
    Final Evaluation and Judging--Full Application: October 9, 2017 to 
October 11, 2017.
    Verification of Winners: October 13, 2017.
    Announcement of Winner(s): October 17, 2017.
    NSF I-Corps Training for Winner(s): Winning team(s) will need to be 
available to travel to and attend one of the following NSF I-Corps 
training sessions with the following dates and locations:
    Winter 2018 COHORTS:
    Winter Cohort #1: Location TBD (Likely DC metro area).
     Kickoff (on-site): January (arrive 16) 17-19.
     Web sessions (online): Thursdays 1-4 p.m. ET--January 25, 
February 1, 8, 15, 22.
    Lessons Learned (on-site): March 1-2.
    Winter Cohort #2: Location TBD (Likely Atlanta metro area).
     Kickoff (on-site): January (arrive 21) 22-24.
     Web sessions (online): Mondays 1-4 p.m. ET--January 29, 
February 5, 12, 19, 26.
    Lessons Learned (on-site): March 5-6.
    The Pre-Application Phase Competition Submission Period begins 
August 3, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. ET and ends September 8, 2017 at 12:00 
a.m. ET. USDA NIFA's receiving computer set to Eastern Time is the 
official time keeping device for the Competition.
    Pre-Application Interviews will take place September 11, 2017 to 
September 14, 2017.
    The Full-Application Phase Competition Submission Period begins 
September 15, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. ET and ends October 6, 2017 at 12:00 
a.m. ET. USDA NIFA's receiving computer set to Eastern Time is the 
official timekeeping device for the Competition.
    Competition dates are subject to change. Entries submitted before 
or after the Competition Submission Period will not be reviewed or 
considered for award. For more details, please visit the 
www.challenge.gov Web site.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Changes or updates to the Competition 
rules will be posted and can be viewed at https://nifa.usda.gov/program/innovations-food-and-agricultural-science-and-technology-i-fast-prize-competition. Questions about the Competition can be directed 
to Scott Dockum at [email protected], or phone 202-720-6346.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Subject of Challenge Competition

    The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) mission 
is to

[[Page 36119]]

invest in and advance agricultural research, education, and extension 
to solve societal challenges. As part of this mission NIFA is charged 
with providing grant funding for research, education, and extension 
that address key problems of national, regional, and multi-state 
importance in sustaining all components of agriculture. A majority of 
NIFA grant funding is provided to academic institutions to focus on 
developing research in the areas of farm efficiency and profitability, 
ranching, renewable energy, forestry (both urban and agroforestry), 
aquaculture, rural communities and entrepreneurship, human nutrition, 
food safety, biotechnology, and conventional breeding.
    USDA NIFA will partner with the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) who 
will provide an Entrepreneurial Immersion course and training to USDA 
NIFA grantees through this I-FAST Competition. The goals of this 
Competition are to spur translation of fundamental research to the 
market place, to encourage collaboration between academia and industry, 
and to train NIFA-funded faculty, students and other researchers to 
understand innovation and entrepreneurship.
    The purpose of the I-FAST Competition is to identify NIFA-funded 
research teams who will receive additional support, in the form of 
mentoring, training, and funding to accelerate the translation of 
knowledge derived from fundamental research into emerging products and 
services that can attract subsequent third-party funding. NIFA-funded 
research teams will be required to participate in Entrepreneurial 
Immersion courses provided by the NSF I-Corps program. Each team that 
receives an I-FAST award is required to participate in the following 
NSF I-CORP activities: (1) Attendance by the entire team at an on-site 
three-day NSF I-CORP Entrepreneurial Immersion course; (2) Mandatory 
participation in the I-CORPs weekly Webinars following the in-person 
three day on-site meeting; (3) Completion of approximately 15 hours of 
preparation per week over the duration of the program; (4) Attendance 
of a two day lessons learned in-person meeting at the end of the 
training. During the training, teams are expected to engage in at least 
100 contacts with potential customers and provide a 5-page summary 
report back to USDA NIFA on the outcome of the training and milestones 
to be met by the team (i.e., commercialization, market proposition, and 
lessons learned from the program). The major focus of I-FAST is for the 
selected teams (an I-FAST team includes the Principal Investigator 
(PI), the Entrepreneurial Lead, and the Mentor) to participate in an 
Entrepreneurial Immersion course provided by the NSF I-Corps program. 
The NSF I-Corps is a program specifically designed to broaden the 
impact of select, basic research projects by preparing scientists and 
engineers to focus beyond the laboratory. Leveraging experience and 
guidance from established entrepreneurs and a targeted curriculum 
within the NSF I-Corp program, USDA I-FAST teams will learn to identify 
valuable product opportunities that can emerge from USDA NIFA supported 
academic research. The I-FAST Competition will help create a stronger 
national ecosystem for innovation that couples scientific discovery 
with technology development to address agricultural and societal needs.

Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition

    The I-FAST Competition is open to teams (``Teams'' or 
``Participants'') that are made up of individuals from academic/
university institutions that have received a prior award from NIFA (in 
a scientific or engineering field relevant to the proposed innovation) 
that is currently active or that has been active within five years from 
the closing date of the I-FAST deadline. The lineage of the prior award 
extends to the PI, Co-PIs, Senior Personnel, Postdoctoral Scholars, 
Professional Staff, or others who were supported under the NIFA award. 
The prior award could range from a modest single-investigator award to 
a large, distributed center and also includes awards involving 
students.
    To be eligible to win a prize under the Competition, Teams:
    (1) Shall have registered to participate in the Competition under 
the rules;
    (2) Shall have complied with all the requirements of the 
Competition rules;
    (3) May not include a Federal entity or Federal employee acting 
within the scope of their employment; and
    (4) In the case of a private entity Team member, the member shall 
be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the 
United States. In the case of an individual Team member, shall be a 
citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
    Makeup of I-FAST Competition Teams: Each Team shall consist of 
three members:
    (1) Entrepreneurial Lead (EL).
    (2) I-FAST Team Mentor.
    (3) Principal Investigator (PI).
    I-FAST teams are made up of individuals from an academic/university 
institution except for the Mentor who may reside with an outside 
organization as described below.
    The Entrepreneurial Lead (EL) could be a postdoctoral scholar, 
graduate, or other student with relevant knowledge of the technology 
located at the academic/university institution and a deep commitment to 
investigate the commercial landscape surrounding the innovation. The EL 
should also be capable and have the will to support the transition of 
the technology, should the I-FAST Team's project demonstrate the 
potential for commercial viability. The EL will be responsible for: (1) 
Developing the team to include the mentor and PI, (2) leading the 
development of the pre-application, participating in the I-FAST 
interviews and developing the full application, if selected, (3) 
starting and completing all training activities in the Entrepreneurial 
Immersion course provided by the NSF I-Corps program, (4) communicating 
and coordinating with team members to achieve the goals of the team, 
(5) developing and monitoring team activity milestones from the 
Entrepreneurial Immersion course, (6) ensuring the team milestones are 
completed on time, and (7) ensuring the team is in communication with 
the NIFA I-FAST Competition Director and the NSF I-Corps Program 
Director as needed.
    The I-FAST Teams Mentor will typically be an experienced or 
emerging entrepreneur with proximity to the academic/university 
institution and have experience in transitioning technology out of the 
academic arena. The Mentor should be selected as a third-party 
resource, or may be a person that has an established relationship with 
the team (e.g., Board Member), but cannot be an employee nor directly 
involved with the technology development. Ideally, the Industry Expert 
should have prior experience developing and commercializing other 
products within the broader technology space related to the specific 
project under development. The EL will need to identify a Mentor that 
has business expertise in the proposed technology sector and has 
entrepreneurial experience. A Mentor will be someone with the right 
``rolodex'' of contacts in the technology area of commercialization 
which are critical for ``getting the technology out of the 
university.'' The EL of the team should contact their University 
Technology Transfer Office for ideas of potential Mentors. The I-FAST 
Team's Mentor will be responsible for guiding the team forward using 
existing entrepreneurial experience and tracking the team's

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progress through regular communication with the EL, PI, the NIFA I-FAST 
competition director, and the NSF I-Corps Program Director, as needed.
    The PI will have in-depth knowledge of the innovation developed 
under the earlier USDA NIFA Grant and will be responsible for: (1) 
Coordinating with the university on the transfer of prize funds from 
NIFA, if the team is selected, (2) tracking of the prize funding for 
team activities, (3) reporting to NIFA on disbursements and obligations 
of the prize funding, (4) guiding the EL and Mentor on technical 
aspects of the innovation, (5) communicating as needed with the NIFA I-
FAST Competition Director and the NSF I-Corps Program Director, (6) 
ensuring the EL meets the required milestones for the NSF I-CORP 
training, and (7) participating as a team member. The Principal 
Investigator who received the earlier NIFA grant for the technology is 
allowed to participate on the team, but cannot be the Entrepreneurial 
Lead.
    During the I-Corps course, each participating team, including all 
its team members, will be required to:
     Attend, in person, an evening reception and 3-day kick-off 
Entrepreneurial Immersion course;
     Conduct approximately 100 customer interviews over the 6-
week program, and submit interview summary reports. This process of 
customer discovery ``outside the building'' is expected to require a 
minimum of 15 hours per week for at least five weeks;
     Participate in 5 weekly webinar sessions and submit 
regular updates to the team's business model canvas. In addition, it is 
expected that I-Corps teams will take advantage of instructor office 
hours; and
     Attend, in person, the final 2-day course close out/
lessons learned session (to be held in the same region as the kick-off 
course).
    If one or more team members cannot meet these requirements, the 
team should not pursue the program.

Amount of the Prize

    The USDA NIFA I-FAST Competition Prize Purse will be a maximum of 
$400,000 which will be divided to provide $50,000 each to a maximum of 
eight (8) Teams. Prize Purse funds are required to be used by winning 
Teams to fully participate in the NSF I-Corps program curriculum. USDA 
NIFA reserves the right to award less than the maximum number of 
available prizes.

Payment of the Prize

    Prizes awarded under this Competition will be paid by electronic 
funds transfer to the academic/university institution the Team(s) 
represent(s). Prize winners will be required to complete the required 
financial documents and forms to be supplied by NIFA to set up the 
electronic transfer. All Federal, state and local taxes are the sole 
responsibility of the winner(s).

Submission Process for Participants

    The Competition will have a three-phase selection process. 
Initially, Teams will submit a pre-application. From the pre-
applications, USDA NIFA will conduct phone interviews. Selected Teams 
will be invited to submit a full application. From the full 
applications, USDA NIFA will select the winning Team(s).
    Participants will register for the Competition and will submit the 
pre-application to the Competition via www.challenge.gov. Teams can 
enter the contest by submitting the pre-application through the ``Enter 
a Submission'' function on Challenge.gov, and then send the pre-
application, with name and contact info, to [email protected]. The 
pre-application shall contain the following information:
    Prepare a three-page Executive Summary that describes the 
following:
    (1) Composition of the Team and roles (EL, PI, Mentor) of the 
members proposing to undertake the commercialization feasibility 
research.
    (2) Point of Contact information for ALL of the members.
    (3) Relevant current/previous NIFA award(s) including award number, 
Title of the Project, and the NIFA program the award was funded under.
    (4) Brief description of the potential commercial impact.
    (5) Brief description of the current commercialization plans for 
the innovation.
    After the interviews, Teams that are selected to submit a full 
application will submit it via challenge.gov through the ``Enter a 
Submission'' function and then send the application with name and 
contact info to [email protected]. The full application shall 
include the following project description information:

1. I-Corps Team (One Page Limit)

    a. Briefly describe the I-Corps team and provide rationale for its 
formation, focusing on members' entrepreneurial expertise, relevance to 
the innovation effort, and members' experience in collaborating on 
previous projects.
    b. Include point of contact information for all team members.

2. Lineage of the Proposed Innovation (One Page Limit)

    a. Provide the current/previous NIFA award(s) including award 
number, Title of Project and the NIFA program the award was funded 
under.
    b. Briefly describe how this research has led the Team to believe 
that a commercial opportunity exists for the effort moving forward.

3. Description of the Potential Commercial Impact (Two Page Limit)

    a. Provide a brief profile of a typical customer of the proposed 
innovation.
    b. Describe the customer need that you believe will be met by the 
proposed innovation.
    c. Describe how the customer currently meets those needs.
    d. Your approach--What is the proposed innovation? How does it 
relate to the fundamental research already conducted under previous 
award(s)?
    e. How much do you think a customer would pay for your solution?

4. Brief Description of the Project Plan (One Page Limit)

    a. Current Status--In what stage is the development: Proof-of-
principle, proof-of-concept, prototype (alpha, beta), etc . . .
    b. Provide a brief description of the proof-of-concept or 
technology demonstration that will be provided at the end of the 
project.
    The total page limit for the project description full application 
is five (5) pages.
    From the Teams submitting full applications, a maximum of eight 
Teams will be selected as winners to enter into the I-FAST Program.

Judging

    The information on the Competition will be provided via 
www.challenges.gov.
    USDA NIFA will screen all entries for eligibility and completeness. 
Entries from Teams that do not meet the eligibility requirements and/or 
that fail to include required submission elements will not be evaluated 
or considered for award. Eligible and complete entries will be judged 
by a fair and impartial panel of individuals from USDA NIFA and NSF 
(the ``Judging Panel'').
    Pre-Application Evaluation: The Judging Panel will evaluate the 
pre-application to determine the following:
    (1) Did the technology proposed receive past NIFA funding?

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    (2) Does the team have the required team members and are the roles 
of each team member clearly described?
    (3) Does the commercialization plan provide a good understanding of 
the team's knowledge of the current state of the art and how the 
technology could enter into a potential market?
    (4) Were the page limits met?
    Following the evaluation, the Judging Panel will conduct a phone 
interview with each selected team. This will emphasize the time 
commitment and availability of the entire team to complete the NSF I-
CORPS program during one of the winter 2018 cohorts.
    Full-Application Evaluation: The Judging Panel will evaluate the 
Full-application to determine the following and approximately equal 
consideration will be given to each criterion except for item (3), 
which will receive twice the value of any of the other items:
    1. I-Corps Team: Does the application clearly describe: The I-Corps 
team, the rationale for the team's formation, members' entrepreneurial 
expertise, relevance to the innovation effort, and members' experience 
in collaborating on previous projects?
    2. Lineage of the Proposed Innovation: Does the application provide 
a table of previous NIFA awards and identify the original Principle 
Investigator (PI)? Does the application clearly describe how this 
research has led the Team to believe that a commercial opportunity 
exists for the effort moving forward?
    3. Description of the Potential Commercial Impact: Does the 
application clearly describe the profile of a typical customer of the 
proposed innovation? Does the application describe the customer needs 
to be met by the proposed innovation? Does the application describe how 
the customer currently meets those needs? Does the application clearly 
describe the proposed innovation and how it relates to the fundamental 
research already conducted under previous award(s)? Does the 
application describe how much a customer would pay for the solution?
    4. Project Plan: Does the project plan clearly describe the current 
status including the stage of development? Does the application provide 
a description of the proof-of-concept or technology demonstration that 
will be provided at the end of the project?
    5. Page Limits: Did the application meet the required page limits?

Additional Rules and Conditions

A. General Conditions

    By entering the Competition, each Team guarantees that its entry 
complies with all applicable Federal and state laws and regulations.
    Each Team warrants that its entry is free of viruses, spyware, 
malware, and any other malicious, harmful, or destructive device. Teams 
submitting entries containing any such device will be held liable and 
may be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
    Entries containing any matter which, in the sole discretion of USDA 
NIFA, is indecent, defamatory, in obvious bad taste, demonstrates a 
lack of respect for public morals or conduct, promotes discrimination 
in any form, shows unlawful acts being performed, is slanderous or 
libelous, or adversely affects the reputations of USDA NIFA or NSF will 
not be accepted. If USDA NIFA, in its sole discretion, finds any entry 
to be unacceptable, then such entry shall be deemed disqualified and 
will not be evaluated or considered for award.
    The winning Team(s) must comply with all applicable laws and 
regulations regarding Prize Purse receipt and disbursement.
    USDA NIFA's failure to enforce any term of any applicable rule or 
condition shall not constitute a waiver of that term.

B. Entry Conditions, Release & Liability

    By entering the Competition, each Team agrees to:
    (1) Comply with and be bound by all applicable rules and 
conditions, and the decisions of USDA NIFA, which are binding and final 
in all matters relating to this Competition.
    (2) Release and hold harmless USDA NIFA and NSF and all their 
respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents, and 
representatives (collectively the ``Released Parties'') from and 
against any and all claims, expenses, and liability arising out of or 
relating to the Team's entry or participation in the Competition and/or 
the Team's acceptance, use, or misuse of the Prize Purse or 
recognition. Provided, however, that Participants are not required to 
waive claims arising out of the unauthorized use or disclosure by USDA 
NIFA or NSF of the intellectual property, trade secrets, or 
confidential business information of the Participant.
    The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) Any incorrect or 
inaccurate information, whether caused by Teams, printing errors, or by 
any of the equipment or programming associated with or used in the 
Competition; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not 
limited to, malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone 
lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human 
intervention in any part of the entry process for the Competition; (4) 
technical or human error that may occur in the administration of the 
Competition or the processing of entries; or (5) any injury or damage 
to persons or property that may be caused, directly or indirectly, in 
whole or in part, from Team's participation in the Competition or 
receipt or use or misuse of the Prize Purse. If for any reason a Team's 
entry is confirmed to have been deleted erroneously, lost, or otherwise 
destroyed or corrupted, that Team's sole remedy is to submit another 
entry in the Competition.

C. Termination and Disqualification

    USDA NIFA reserves the authority to cancel, suspend, and/or modify 
the Competition, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures, 
or any other factor beyond USDA NIFA's reasonable control impairs the 
integrity or proper functioning of the Competition, as determined by 
USDA NIFA in its sole discretion.
    USDA NIFA reserves the right to disqualify any Team it believes to 
be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Competition 
or to be acting in violation of any applicable rule or condition.
    Any attempt by any person to undermine the legitimate operation of 
the Competition may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, 
should such an attempt be made, USDA NIFA reserves the authority to 
seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by 
law.

D. Verification of Potential Winner(s)

    All potential Competition winners are subject to verification by 
USDA NIFA whose decisions are final and binding in all matters related 
to the Competition.
    Potential winner(s) must continue to comply with all terms and 
conditions of the Competition rules, and winning is contingent upon 
fulfilling all requirements. The potential winner(s) will be notified 
by email and/or telephone. If a potential winner cannot be contacted, 
or if the notification is returned as undeliverable, the potential 
winner forfeits. In the event that a potential winner, or an announced 
winner, is found to be ineligible or is disqualified for any reason, 
USDA NIFA may make award, instead, to the next runner up, as previously 
determined by the Judging Panel.
    Prior to awarding the Prize Purse, USDA NIFA will verify that the 
potential winner(s) is/are not suspended, debarred, or otherwise 
excluded from doing business with the

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U.S. Federal Government. Suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded 
parties will not be eligible to win the Competition.

E. Intellectual Property

    By entering the Competition, each Team warrants that it is the 
author and/or authorized owner of its entry, and that the entry is 
wholly original with the Team (or is an improved version of an existing 
project plan the Team is legally authorized to enter into the 
Competition), and that the submitted entry does not infringe on any 
copyright, patent, or any other rights of any third party. Each Team 
agrees to hold the Released Parties harmless for any infringement of 
copyright, trademark, patent, and/or other real or intellectual 
property right that may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or 
in part, from that Team's participation in the Competition.
    All legal rights in any materials produced or submitted in entering 
the Competition are retained by the Team and/or the legal holder of 
those rights. Entry into the Competition constitutes express 
authorization for USDA NIFA, NSF, and the Judging Panel to review and 
analyze any and all aspects of submitted entries, including any trade 
secret or proprietary information contained in or evident from review 
of the submitted entries.

F. Privacy & Disclosure Under FOIA

    Personal and contact information is not collected for commercial or 
marketing purposes. Information submitted throughout the Competition 
will be used only to communicate with Teams regarding entries and/or 
the Competition.
    Teams' entries to the Competition may be subject to disclosure 
under the Freedom of Information Act (``FOIA''). If a Team believes 
that all or part of its Competition entry is protected from release 
under FOIA (e.g., if the information falls under FOIA exemption #4 for 
``trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a 
person [that is] privileged or confidential'') the Team will be 
responsible for clearly marking the page(s)/section(s) of information 
it believes are protected.

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 3719.

    Done at Washington, DC, this 27th day of July, 2017.
Kim L. Hicks,
Branch Chief, Grants and Agreements Management Branch USDA, 
Agricultural Research Service, Financial Management and Agreements 
Division.
[FR Doc. 2017-16342 Filed 8-2-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P