Rules

Understand the legal rules governing the competition

Thank you for your interest in the NIH Institutional Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Biomedical and Behavioral Research Prize Competition (the “Competition”). The Competition has now concluded and all funds have been awarded. This page is being maintained for awardees who may need to access this information during the administration of their grant.

The Competition is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (“Competition Sponsor”) with platform support provided by Carrot. Please know that by participating in this Competition and in accordance with these Rules you are eligible to receive various forms of recognition and a possible Award from the NIH of up to $100,000 (USD) as a Winner. The Rules governing this Competition ("RULES") are stated here as an extension of the official challenge.gov announcement, and as an extension of Terms & Conditions ("TERMS") for use of this website. The full TERMS are available for your review by accessing them on this Website. The RULES constitute "Competition Terms and Conditions" under Clause 2.3 of the TERMS. Capitalized words used but not defined in the RULES have meanings given to them in the TERMS. Further, any language contained on this website, including but not limited to these RULES, are also an extension of the TERMS, and therefore You are required to read and understand the entirety of the Website content before proceeding.  

Please read these RULES and the TERMS carefully, as they describe the conditions under which you are allowed to participate. As you participate, you may periodically be asked to recognize your acceptance of these RULES and the TERMS by clicking "accept" at various pages on this website, but by continuing any use of this website you expressly consent to all of these RULES and the TERMS.

SUBMISSION OF AN ENTRY INTO THIS COMPETITION CONSTITUTES FULL AND UNCONDITIONAL AGREEMENT TO AND ACCEPTANCE OF THESE RULES AND THE TERMS.

1. Eligibility Rules

To be eligible to win a prize under this prize competition, a participating entity:

1. Must be a U.S.-based, accredited public or private non-profit academic institution, as listed in the U.S. Department of Education database of accredited institutions and programs, that grants associate, baccalaureate, or advanced degrees in biomedical, behavioral, or health sciences. All such institutions are eligible to submit an entry into the prize competition, however, to compete as an LRI please refer to the guidance provided below on LRI eligibility.
2. Shall have registered to participate in the prize competition under the rules promulgated by the National Institutes of Health, as set forth in this announcement.
3. Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this announcement.
4. Shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States.
5. Shall not be a federal entity or federal employee acting within the scope of their employment.
6. Shall not be an employee of the Department of Health and Human Services (or any component of HHS) acting in their personal capacity.
7. Who is employed by a federal agency or entity other than HHS (or any component of HHS) should consult with an agency ethics official to determine whether the federal ethics rules will limit or prohibit the acceptance of a prize under this prize competition.
8. Shall not be a judge of the prize competition or any other party involved with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the prize competition or the immediate family of such a party (i.e., spouse, parent, stepparent, child, or stepchild).

‍Limited Resource Institution (LRI) Eligibility

Up to five of the ten $100,000 awards will be set aside for consideration for limited-resourced institutions (LRIs). For an institution to be eligible to compete as an LRI, all components of the institution must be R15 eligible, as appropriate (i.e., undergraduate-focused components must be AREA-eligible and Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools must be REAP-eligible as defined at NIH Research Enhancement Award (R15). For Institutions with multiple campuses (e.g., main, satellite, etc.) LRI eligibility can be considered for an individual campus only if a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and a unique NIH eRA Institutional Profile File (IPF) number are established for the individual campus. For institutions that use one UEI or NIH IPF number for multiple campuses, LRI eligibility is determined for the campuses together. For a partnership to be eligible to compete as an LRI, all partners must be eligible to compete as LRI.

‍Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions and Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools

• The Lead Organization must be an accredited public or non-profit private school that grants baccalaureate (AREA) or advanced degrees in health professions (REAP) or advanced degrees in biomedical and behavioral sciences (REAP). 
• At the time of entry submission, all the non-health professional components of the institution together have not received support from the NIH totaling more than $6 million per year (in both direct and F&A/indirect costs) in four (4) of the last seven (7) fiscal years. Note that all activity codes are included in this calculation except the following: C06, S10, and all activity codes starting with a G.
• A signed letter is required from the Provost or similar official with institution-wide responsibility verifying the eligibility of the entry institution at the time of entry submission.

2. Participation Rules

1. Only one entry per institution is permitted, either an individual entry or a partnership entry with other institution(s). Two or more institutions that have formed close collaborations to enhance DEIA across the institutions may submit to this prize competition as a partnership. Eligible institutions may submit only one entry, either individually or jointly with other institution(s).
2. Federal grantees may not use federal funds from a grant award to develop their prize competition entries or to fund efforts in support of their prize competition entries.  
3. Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to develop their prize competition entries or to fund efforts in support of their prize competition entries.
4. By participating in this prize competition, each entity 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 participation in this prize competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
5. Based on the subject matter of the prize competition, 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 prize competition participation, no entity participating in the prize competition is required to obtain liability insurance, or demonstrate financial responsibility, or agree to indemnify the Federal Government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to prize competition activities in order to participate in this prize competition.
6. An entity shall not be deemed ineligible because the entity used federal facilities or consulted with federal employees during the prize competition if the facilities and employees are made available to all entities participating in the prize competition on an equitable basis.
7. By participating in this prize competition, each entity warrants that it is the sole author or owner of, or has the right to use, any copyrightable works included in the entry, that the works are wholly original with the entity (or is an improved version of an existing work that the entity has sufficient rights to use and improve), and that the entry does not infringe upon any copyright or any other rights of any third party of which the entity is aware.  
8. By participating in this prize competition, each entity selected to win a prize under this prize competition grants to the NIH an irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free, nonexclusive worldwide license to reproduce, publish, post, link to, share, and display publicly the entry on the internet or elsewhere. Each entity will retain all other intellectual property rights in their entries, as applicable. To participate in the prize competition, each entity must warrant that there are no legal obstacles to providing the above-referenced nonexclusive license of the entity's rights to the Federal Government. To receive a prize award, the entity will not be required to transfer their intellectual property rights to NIH, but the entity must grant to the federal government the nonexclusive licenses recited herein.
9. Each entity agrees to follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.
10. Each entity participating in this prize competition must comply with all terms and conditions of these rules, and participation in this prize competition constitutes each entity’s full and unconditional agreement to abide by these rules. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements herein.

Contact Information:

You may email us with any questions or comments about these RULES.