81_FR_66447 81 FR 66260 - Announcement of Requirements and Registration for National Institute of Standards and Technology Prize Competition-Federal Impact Assessment Challenge

81 FR 66260 - Announcement of Requirements and Registration for National Institute of Standards and Technology Prize Competition-Federal Impact Assessment Challenge

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 187 (September 27, 2016)

Page Range66260-66264
FR Document2016-23239

In 2011, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum-- Accelerating Technology Transfer and Commercialization of Federal Research in Support of High-Growth Businesses--which called on Federal agencies to establish performance goals, metrics, evaluation methods, and implementation plans to improve the effectiveness of Federal technology transfer activities. The President's charge has stimulated agency interest in studies that assess the impact of technologies transferred from Federal laboratories. In an effort to encourage research in this area, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Journal of Technology Transfer present a Federal Impact Assessment (FIA) Challenge for researchers to develop impact studies of Federal technology transfer activities. The FIA Challenge calls on researchers to perform original retrospective studies that assess the impact of federally developed technologies that (1) have been developed completely or in part by Federal researchers working at any Federal agency at any time over the past 30 years, and (2) have been transferred to an entity other than the agency which developed the technology.

Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 187 (Tuesday, September 27, 2016)
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66260-66264]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-23239]



[[Page 66260]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket Number: 160914846-6846-01]


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for National 
Institute of Standards and Technology Prize Competition--Federal Impact 
Assessment Challenge

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In 2011, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum--
Accelerating Technology Transfer and Commercialization of Federal 
Research in Support of High-Growth Businesses--which called on Federal 
agencies to establish performance goals, metrics, evaluation methods, 
and implementation plans to improve the effectiveness of Federal 
technology transfer activities. The President's charge has stimulated 
agency interest in studies that assess the impact of technologies 
transferred from Federal laboratories.
    In an effort to encourage research in this area, the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology and the Journal of Technology 
Transfer present a Federal Impact Assessment (FIA) Challenge for 
researchers to develop impact studies of Federal technology transfer 
activities.
    The FIA Challenge calls on researchers to perform original 
retrospective studies that assess the impact of federally developed 
technologies that (1) have been developed completely or in part by 
Federal researchers working at any Federal agency at any time over the 
past 30 years, and (2) have been transferred to an entity other than 
the agency which developed the technology.

DATES: 
    Submission Period: September 27, 2016-March 31, 2017.
    Announcement of Winners: April 28, 2017.
    The Submission Period begins September 27, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. 
Eastern Time (ET) and ends March 31, 2017, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Prize 
competition dates are subject to change at the discretion of NIST. 
Entries submitted before or after the Submission Period will not be 
reviewed or considered for award.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Changes or updates to the prize 
competition rules will be posted and can be viewed at the Event Web 
site, https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/federal-impact-assessment-challenge.
    Questions about the prize competition can be directed to NIST via 
the Event Web site, https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/federal-impact-assessment-challenge or by email to Michael Walsh at 
[email protected], phone 301-975-5455.
    Results of the prize competition will be announced on the Event Web 
site, https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/federal-impact-assessment-challenge and on the NIST Web site, www.nist.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

FIA Challenge Sponsors

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST; 
www.nist.gov) is a non-regulatory Federal agency within the United 
States Department of Commerce. Founded in 1901, NIST's mission is to 
promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing 
measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance 
economic security and improve our quality of life. NIST's Technology 
Partnerships Office (TPO) is part of NIST's Innovation and Industry 
Services directorate that is responsible for the NIST suite of 
partnership programs. TPO works with regional, state and local economic 
development organizations, technology incubation centers, public-
private business development initiatives, and other organizations and 
partnerships, to facilitate the transfer of technologies developed 
within NIST laboratories to the private and nonprofit sectors through 
licensing and/or collaboration. NIST scientists conduct measurement 
science research, create technologies and make discoveries in nearly 
every scientific and technological field.
    The Journal of Technology Transfer (http://link.springer.com/journal/10961), the official journal of the Technology Transfer 
Society, provides an international forum for the exchange of ideas that 
enhance and build an understanding of the practice of technology 
transfer. In particular, it emphasizes research on management practices 
and strategies for technology transfer. Moreover, the journal explores 
the external environment that affects these practices and strategies, 
including public policy developments, regulatory and legal issues, and 
global trends.

Eligibility Rules for Participating in the FIA Challenge

    At the time of Entry, participants must meet the following 
Eligibility Rules:
    The FIA Challenge is open to all individuals over the age of 18 
that are residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, 
Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, and to for-profit or non-
profit corporations, institutions, or other validly formed legal 
entities organized or incorporated in, and which maintain a primary 
place of business in, any of the preceding jurisdictions. An 
individual, whether participating singly or with a group, must be a 
citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
    Federal employees are not eligible to participate. Any individuals 
or legal entities that have received Federal funds for the development 
of any part of a submission are ineligible. Any other individuals or 
legal entities involved with the design, production, execution, 
distribution or evaluation of the FIA Challenge are also not eligible 
to participate.
    A Participant shall not be deemed ineligible because the 
Participant consulted with Federal employees or used Federal facilities 
in preparing its submission to the FIA Challenge if the employees and 
facilities are made available to all Participants on an equitable 
basis. Note that while Federal employees may provide information to 
Participants, they are not obligated to respond to information requests 
within the time frame of this Challenge. The task of gathering 
information for this Challenge in a timely manner is the sole 
responsibility of the Participant.
    To be eligible to win a Cash Award, a Participant (whether an 
individual or legal entity) must have registered to participate and 
must have complied with all requirements under section 3719 of title 
15, United States Code (``Prize competitions'').
    Multiple entries are permitted. Each entry will be reviewed 
independently. Multiple individuals and/or legal entities may 
collaborate as a group to submit a single entry, in which case all 
members of the group must satisfy the eligibility requirements, and a 
single individual from the group must be designated as an official 
representative for each entry. That designated individual will be 
responsible for meeting all entry and evaluation requirements. 
Participation is subject to all U.S. federal, state and local laws and 
regulations. Individuals entering on behalf of or representing a 
company, institution or other legal entity are responsible for 
confirming that their entry does not violate any policies of that 
company, institution or legal entity.

[[Page 66261]]

Entry Process for Participants

    To enter, visit the Event Web site, https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/federal-impact-assessment-challenge. Submit a Federal Impact 
Assessment (hereafter, ``Paper'') that meets the selection criteria 
described below.
    The FIA Challenge calls on Participants to write an original Paper 
describing a retrospective assessment of the economic and/or societal 
impacts resulting from the transfer of a Federal technology developed 
completely or in part by Federal researchers working at any Federal 
agency at any time over the past 30 years.
    For this FIA Challenge, ``Federal technologies'' are those 
techniques, machines, articles of manufacture, compositions of matter, 
methods, processes, tools, or works of authorship, whether or not 
patentable or copyrightable, that were invented or developed in whole 
or in part by one or more Federal employees during the course of their 
employment duties.
    Transfer of a Federal technology (technology transfer) is the use 
of that technology by an entity outside of the agency where the Federal 
employee(s) was assigned. There are many different means by which the 
Federal government seeks to transfer technologies. Technologies can be 
transferred through formal agreements (e.g., licenses, or Cooperative 
Research and Development Agreements) or through informal exchanges 
(e.g., publications, conference presentations or informal 
collaborations).
    Eligible technologies must meet two criteria, namely (1) the 
technology must have been developed in whole or in part by a Federal 
employee(s) during the course of his or her employment duties at any 
time over the past 30 years, and (2) the technology must have been 
transferred outside the Federal agency in a manner that can be traced 
back to that Federal agency. Technologies that have been developed 
entirely outside of a Federal agency or that have been developed 
entirely by non-Federal employees (even though with federal funding) 
are not eligible. Technologies that have not been transferred by a 
Federal agency are also not eligible. Information about federally 
transferred technologies and technology transfer success stories can be 
found on the Federal Laboratories Consortium (FLC) Web site at 
www.federallabs.org. For a list of Federal agencies that prepare annual 
technology transfer reports, see http://nist.gov/tpo/publications/agency-technology-transfer-reports.cfm.
    For the FIA Challenge, it is envisioned that impacts of a given 
Federal technology(ies) are determined by an assessment of 
repercussions that have accrued to those who have either utilized 
Federal technologies in research or development activities, and/or 
consumed goods or services enabled by Federal technologies. The 
objective of the FIA Challenge is to develop metrics that measure 
economic and societal impacts. These metrics will then be available to 
stakeholders and policy makers to evaluate the net impact of federally 
developed technologies (i.e., impact less development costs).\1\ 
Impacts may be assessed at the local, regional, national, or global 
levels using economic data or other societal data (e.g., measures of 
health, safety, or security). A variety of assessment methodologies 
could be used by Participants in this Challenge. Examples of commonly 
used approaches can be found in the citations provided by NIST online 
at http://nist.gov/tpo/publications/other-economic-impact-related-studies.cfm.
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    \1\ Note that the assessment of an agency's development cost for 
a given technology is not part of the FIA Challenge.
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    Papers submitted to this challenge that have previously been 
published or that have been prepared using Federal funds are not 
eligible (e.g., Federal agency reports, reports prepared by Federally 
Funded Research and Development Centers, or reports prepared by funded 
intermediaries on behalf of Federal agencies.)
    A complete Entry includes your Paper (including any figures, 
tables, and references), the email address of the Participant who is 
officially representing the Entry, and confirmation that you have read 
and agree to the Competition Rules contained in this Notice. 
Participants may provide submissions beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET on 
September 27, 2016, to the Event Web site. Submissions can be made no 
later than 5:00 p.m. ET on March 31, 2017, to the Event Web site.
    Submissions before the start date and time, or after the end date 
and time, will not be evaluated or considered for award. Entries sent 
to NIST in any manner other than through the Event Web site will not be 
evaluated or considered for award. Entries that do not comply with the 
formatting requirements set forth in this Notice will not be evaluated 
or considered for award.
    Entries must be complete, must contain no confidential information 
and must be in English.
    In general, each Entry:
    (a) must affirmatively represent that the Participant (and each 
Participant if more than one) has read and consents to be governed by 
the Competition rules and meets the eligibility requirements;
    (b) must include an original Paper not prepared using Federal 
funds. Specifically, the Paper must:
    1. Include the Participant(s) and the email address of the 
Participant who is officially representing the Entry.
    2. include text, figures, tables and references that describes a 
retrospective impact assessment of a federally developed 
technology(ies),
    3. be an original work not previously published in any media (i.e., 
including but not limited to printed or otherwise reproduced text/
graphics for sale or distribution to the public),
    4. be a single file submitted in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format with 
text, figures, tables, and references contained within the Paper. There 
is no page limit,
    5. provide an assessment of the economic and/or societal impacts of 
a technology or technologies that have been developed completely or in 
part by Federal researchers working at any Federal agency at any time 
over the past 30 years, and must have been transferred from a Federal 
agency,
    6. provide a complete description of the impact methodology, 
including a description of the metrics used for the impact assessment. 
Citations of Federal technologies must be provided, for example by 
listing patent numbers, as well as citations of the transfer of the 
technologies to the private sector, for example by listing products and 
companies using licensed Federal technologies,
    7. meet the Evaluation Criteria described below in the Evaluation, 
Judging, and Selection of Winner(s) sections, and
    8. include original figures, tables, and text passages or, if any 
of these have been published elsewhere, Participants must have obtained 
written permission, at Participants' sole expense, from the copyright 
owner(s) for both the irrevocable use and distribution by NIST of the 
figure, tables, or text passages, in both print and online formats and 
evidence that such permission has been granted must be provided in the 
Paper. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to 
originate from the authors;
    (c) must include in a separate section on the title page of the 
Paper, an acknowledgement of any individuals, grants, funds, or other 
entities that provided support for the Paper. Participants must 
disclose all relationships or interests that could have direct or 
potential influence or impart bias on the work.

[[Page 66262]]

FIA Challenge Award(s)

    The Prize Purse for the FIA Challenge is a total of $20,000. The 
Prize Purse may increase, but will not decrease. Any increases in the 
Prize Purse will be posted on the Event Web site and published in the 
Federal Register. The Prize Purse will be used to fund one or more 
awards.
    NIST will announce via the Event Web site any Entry(ies) as to 
which the Judges have made a cash award (each, an ``Award''). The 
anticipated number and amount of the Awards that will be awarded for 
this Competition is set forth in this Federal Register Notice; however, 
the Judges are not obligated to make all or any Awards, and reserve the 
right to award fewer than the anticipated number of Awards in the event 
an insufficient number of eligible Entries meet any one or more of the 
Judging Criteria for this Competition, based on the Judges' evaluation 
of the quality of Entries and in their sole discretion. Awards will be 
made based on the Judges' evaluation of an Entry's compliance with the 
Judging Criteria for this Competition. All potential winners will be 
notified by the email address provided in the submission document and 
may be required to complete further documentation confirming their 
eligibility. Return of any notification as ``undeliverable'' will 
result in disqualification. After verification of eligibility, Awards 
will be distributed in the form of a check or electronic funds transfer 
addressed to the official representative specified in the winning 
Entry. That official representative will have sole responsibility for 
further distribution of any Award among Participants in a group Entry 
or within a company or institution that has submitted an Entry through 
that representative. Each list of Entries receiving Awards for the 
Competition will be made public according to the timeline outlined on 
the Event Web site.
    Winners are responsible for all taxes and reporting related to any 
Award received as part of the Competition.
    All costs incurred in the preparation of Competition Entries are to 
be borne by Participants.

Evaluation, Judging, and Selection of Winner(s)

Submission Evaluation Criteria

    This section discusses how Participant submissions will be 
evaluated.

Entry Submission and Review

    The requirements for submission of a complete Entry are detailed in 
the section ``Entry Process for Participants.'' Each Paper will be 
reviewed by up to three subject matter experts. Each subject matter 
expert will assess how well the Paper addressed each of the following 
evaluation criteria. For each criterion, subject matter experts will 
assign a numerical score and will provide a brief (50 to 100 word) 
assessment of how well that criterion was met.

Evaluation Criteria

    1. Description of the technology. (20 points)
    Papers must include a description of the technology being analyzed. 
In addition to describing the function and purpose of the technology, 
the description must also identify where and when the technology was 
developed, when the technology was transferred, and how the technology 
was transferred. Papers will be evaluated based on the presentation of 
a clear and adequate description of the technology being assessed.
    2. Description of the demand environment. (30 points)
    Papers must include a description of the demand environment. The 
demand environment is the environment in which the technology is 
utilized after it has been transferred from the agency. Papers should 
describe the types and number of individuals and/or organizations that 
utilize the technology. This should include researchers, consumers, and 
companies that make up the markets and industries affected. Papers will 
be evaluated based on the presentation of a clear and adequate 
description of the demand environment.
    3. Description of methodologies used to gather and assess impact 
data. (20 points)
    Papers must include a description of how impact data was gathered 
and assessed. This includes a description of all data sources, 
techniques used to clean, adjust or normalize data, and statistical 
methods employed. Papers will be evaluated based on the creativity and 
appropriateness of the methodology used to gather data and assess 
impacts.
    4. Description of the economic and/or societal impacts that 
resulted from the technology transferred from the Federal agency. (30 
points)
    Papers must describe the economic and/or societal impact that 
resulted from the utilization of the technology once transferred from 
the agency. The description must be based on the evidence gathered and 
the statistical method(s) used to assess impacts in the demand 
environment. The description must include clearly defined metrics that 
allow for the benchmarking of impacts over time. Papers will be 
evaluated based on the degree to which reported impacts are presented 
in an accurate, unbiased, comprehensive, and convincing manner.
    Up to 15 Papers will be selected for evaluation by the Judges. 
Selected papers will be the lesser of either (1) all papers with an 
average subject matter expert score of 70 or higher, or (2) the top 15 
papers with the highest average subject matter expert scores.
    A panel of three judges will then be convened to rank the selected 
Papers.
    Judges will review each of the selected Papers and the 
corresponding reviews provided by subject matter experts. Judges will 
deliberate and then rank them using the following equally weighted 
Judging Criteria.
     Novelty of the Approach--The extent to which each Paper 
describes a new, creative, or innovative approach to capturing the 
impact of a Federally funded technology(ies).
     Scope of the Assessment--The extent to which each Paper 
addresses the scope of impact from the transfer of a Federally funded 
technology.
     Quality of the Paper--The extent to which each Paper 
present a high-quality, well-reasoned and compelling argument for 
capturing the impact of a federal funded technology(ies).
    Participant(s) who submitted a Paper that is among the top four 
Papers ranked by the Judges will receive $5,000 and an invitation to 
have the Paper considered for publication in a special issue of
    The Journal of Technology Transfer (``Journal''), or another issue 
as determined by the Journal's editorial board. Participants accepting 
this invitation who submit their Paper to the Journal must comply with 
the Journal's ``Instructions for Authors.'' (See: http://www.springer.com/business+%26+management/journal/10961)
    Papers submitted will be peer-reviewed using the processes of the 
Journal, and acceptance for publication is wholly within the Journal's 
discretion, and is not guaranteed.

Subject Matter Experts and Judging Panel

    Subject Matter Experts, to be selected by NIST, will, as a body, 
represent a high degree of experience with impact assessment and 
federally funded technologies. Subject Matter Experts will consist of 
Federal employees and will be subject matter experts in the technology 
field. Subject Matter Experts will not select winners of any awards.
    The NIST Director will appoint a panel of highly qualified Judges. 
The Judging Panel will consist of three individuals who are experts in 
the field

[[Page 66263]]

of assessing economic or societal impacts. Judges will deliberate and 
rank proposals according to the Judging Criteria described above. The 
top four proposals ranked by the Judges will be selected to receive an 
Award. Judges may not have personal or financial interests in, or be an 
employee, officer, director, or agent of, any entity that is a 
registered Participant in this Competition and may not have a familial 
or financial relationship with an individual who is a registered 
Participant. In the event of such a conflict, a Judge must recuse 
himself or herself. Should this occur a new Judge may be appointed to 
the panel.

Intellectual Property Rights

    Other than as set forth herein, NIST does not make any claim to 
ownership of your Entry or any of your intellectual property or third 
party intellectual property that it may contain. By participating in 
the Competition, you are not granting any rights in any patents or 
pending patent applications related to your Entry; provided that by 
submitting an Entry, you are granting NIST certain limited rights as 
set forth herein.
    By submitting an Entry, you grant to NIST the right to review your 
Entry as described above in the section ``Entry Submission and 
Review,'' to describe your Entry in connection with any materials 
created in connection with the Competition and to have the Subject 
Matter Experts, Judges, Competition administrators, and the designees 
of any of them, review your Entry.
    By submitting an Entry, you grant a non-exclusive, irrevocable, 
paid up right and license to NIST to use your name, likeness, 
biographical information, image, any other personal data submitted with 
your Entry and the contents in your Entry, in connection with the 
Federal Impact Assessment Challenge for any purpose, including 
promotion and advertisement of the Challenge and future challenges.
    You agree that nothing in this Notice grants you a right or license 
to use any names or logos of NIST or the Department of Commerce, or any 
other intellectual property or proprietary rights of NIST or the 
Department of Commerce or their employees or contractors. You grant to 
NIST the right to include your name and your company or institution 
name and logo (if your Entry is from a company or institution) as a 
Participant on the Event Web site and in materials from NIST announcing 
winners of or Participants in the Competition. Other than these uses or 
as otherwise set forth herein, you are not granting NIST any rights to 
your trademarks.
    If your Entry is selected as a Winner, you will be invited to 
submit your Paper for publication in the Journal of Technology 
Transfer. If you opt to submit your Paper to the Journal, you will 
enter into an agreement with the Journal and nothing in this Notice 
alters the peer review, publication, and other processes practiced by 
the Journal.
    Entries containing any matter which, in the sole discretion of 
NIST, is indecent, defamatory, in obvious bad taste, which demonstrates 
a lack of respect for public morals or conduct, which promotes 
discrimination in any form, which shows unlawful acts being performed, 
which is slanderous or libelous, or which adversely affects the 
reputation of NIST, will not be accepted. If NIST, 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. NIST shall have the right to remove any content from the Event 
Web site in its sole discretion at any time and for any reason, 
including, but not limited to, any online comment or posting related to 
the Competition.

Confidential Information

    By making a submission to the FIA Challenge, you agree that no part 
of your submission includes any confidential or proprietary 
information, ideas or products, including but not limited to 
information, ideas or products within the scope of the Trade Secrets 
Act, 18 U.S.C. 1905. Because NIST will not receive or hold any 
submitted materials ``in confidence,'' it is agreed that, with respect 
to your Entry, no confidential or fiduciary relationship or obligation 
of secrecy is established between NIST and you, your Entry team, the 
company or institution you represent when submitting an Entry, or any 
other person or entity associated with any part of your Entry.

Warranties

    By submitting an Entry, you represent and warrant that all 
information you submit is true and complete to the best of your 
knowledge, that you have the right and authority to submit the Entry on 
your own behalf or on behalf of the persons and entities that you 
specify within the Entry, and that your Entry (both the information and 
software submitted in the Entry and the underlying technologies or 
concepts described in the Entry):
    (a) Is your own original work, or is submitted by permission with 
full and proper credit given within your Entry;
    (b) does not contain confidential information or trade secrets 
(yours or anyone else's);
    (c) does not knowingly, after due inquiry (including, by way of 
example only and without limitation, reviewing the records of the 
United States Patent and Trademark Office and inquiring of any 
employees and other professionals retained with respect to such 
matters), violate or infringe upon the patent rights, industrial design 
rights, copyrights, trademarks, rights in technical data, rights of 
privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of 
any person or entity;
    (d) does not contain malicious code, such as viruses, malware, 
timebombs, cancelbots, worms, Trojan horses or other potentially 
harmful programs or other material or information;
    (e) does not and will not violate any applicable law, statute, 
ordinance, rule or regulation, including, without limitation, United 
States export laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the 
International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Department of 
Commerce Export Regulations; and
    (f) does not trigger any reporting or royalty or other obligation 
to any third party; and
    (g) does not contain any statement that is abusive, defamatory, 
libelous, obscene, fraudulent, or is in any other way unlawful or in 
violation of applicable laws.

Limitation of Liability

    By participating in the FIA Challenge, you agree to assume any and 
all risks and to release, indemnify and hold harmless NIST and the 
Journal of Technology Transfer from and against any injuries, losses, 
damages, claims, actions and any liability of any kind (including 
attorneys' fees) resulting from or arising out of your participation 
in, association with or submission to the FIA Challenge (including any 
claims alleging that your Entry infringes, misappropriates or violates 
any third party's intellectual property rights). In addition, you agree 
to 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 your participation in 
the FIA Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises 
through negligence or otherwise.
    NIST is not responsible for any miscommunications such as technical 
failures related to computer, telephone, cable, and unavailable network 
or server connections, related technical failures,

[[Page 66264]]

or other failures related to hardware, software or virus, or incomplete 
or late Entries. Any compromise to the fair and proper conduct of the 
FIA Challenge may result in the disqualification of an Entry or 
Participant, termination of the FIA Challenge, or other remedial 
action, at the sole discretion of NIST. NIST reserves the right in its 
sole discretion to extend or modify the dates of the FIA Challenge, and 
to change the terms set forth herein governing any phases taking place 
after the effective date of any such change. By entering, you agree to 
the terms set forth herein and to all decisions of NIST and/or all of 
their respective agents, which are final and binding in all respects.
    NIST is not responsible for: (1) Any incorrect or inaccurate 
information, whether caused by a Participant, printing errors, or by 
any of the equipment or programming associated with or used in the FIA 
Challenge; (2) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the Entry 
Process for the FIA Challenge; (3) technical or human error that may 
occur in the administration of the FIA Challenge or the processing of 
Entries; or (4) any injury or damage to persons or property that may be 
caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from a 
Participant's participation in the FIA Challenge or receipt or use or 
misuse of an Award. If for any reason an Entry is confirmed to have 
been deleted erroneously, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, 
the Participant's sole remedy is to submit another Entry in the FIA 
Challenge.

Termination and Disqualification

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

Verification of Potential Winner(s)

    All potential winners are subject to verification by NIST, whose 
decisions are final and binding in all matters related to the FIA 
Challenge.
    Potential winner(s) must continue to comply with all terms and 
conditions of the FIA Challenge Rules described in this notice, and 
winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. In the event 
that a potential winner, or an announced winner, is found to be 
ineligible or is disqualified for any reason, NIST may make an award, 
instead, to another Participant.

Privacy and Disclosure Under FOIA

    Except as provided herein, information submitted throughout the FIA 
Challenge will be used only to communicate with Participants regarding 
Entries and/or the FIA Challenge. Participant Entries and submissions 
to the FIA Challenge may be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act (``FOIA'').

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 3719.

Phillip Singerman,
Associate Director for Innovations and Industry Services.
[FR Doc. 2016-23239 Filed 9-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-13-P



                                                    66260                     Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 27, 2016 / Notices

                                                    DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE                                     Questions about the prize competition              residents of the 50 United States, the
                                                                                                            can be directed to NIST via the Event                 District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the
                                                    National Institute of Standards and                     Web site, https://www.challenge.gov/                  U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the
                                                    Technology                                              challenge/federal-impact-assessment-                  Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
                                                    [Docket Number: 160914846–6846–01]                      challenge or by email to Michael Walsh                Islands, and American Samoa, and to
                                                                                                            at michael.walsh@nist.gov, phone 301–                 for-profit or non-profit corporations,
                                                    Announcement of Requirements and                        975–5455.                                             institutions, or other validly formed
                                                    Registration for National Institute of                     Results of the prize competition will              legal entities organized or incorporated
                                                    Standards and Technology Prize                          be announced on the Event Web site,                   in, and which maintain a primary place
                                                    Competition—Federal Impact                              https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/                  of business in, any of the preceding
                                                    Assessment Challenge                                    federal-impact-assessment-challenge                   jurisdictions. An individual, whether
                                                                                                            and on the NIST Web site,                             participating singly or with a group,
                                                    AGENCY: National Institute of Standards                 www.nist.gov.
                                                    and Technology, Commerce.                                                                                     must be a citizen or permanent resident
                                                                                                            SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                            of the United States.
                                                    ACTION: Notice.
                                                                                                            FIA Challenge Sponsors                                   Federal employees are not eligible to
                                                    SUMMARY:    In 2011, President Obama                                                                          participate. Any individuals or legal
                                                    issued a Presidential Memorandum—                          The National Institute of Standards                entities that have received Federal funds
                                                    Accelerating Technology Transfer and                    and Technology (NIST; www.nist.gov) is                for the development of any part of a
                                                    Commercialization of Federal Research                   a non-regulatory Federal agency within                submission are ineligible. Any other
                                                    in Support of High-Growth Businesses—                   the United States Department of                       individuals or legal entities involved
                                                    which called on Federal agencies to                     Commerce. Founded in 1901, NIST’s                     with the design, production, execution,
                                                    establish performance goals, metrics,                   mission is to promote U.S. innovation                 distribution or evaluation of the FIA
                                                    evaluation methods, and                                 and industrial competitiveness by                     Challenge are also not eligible to
                                                    implementation plans to improve the                     advancing measurement science,                        participate.
                                                    effectiveness of Federal technology                     standards, and technology in ways that
                                                    transfer activities. The President’s                    enhance economic security and improve                    A Participant shall not be deemed
                                                    charge has stimulated agency interest in                our quality of life. NIST’s Technology                ineligible because the Participant
                                                    studies that assess the impact of                       Partnerships Office (TPO) is part of                  consulted with Federal employees or
                                                    technologies transferred from Federal                   NIST’s Innovation and Industry Services               used Federal facilities in preparing its
                                                    laboratories.                                           directorate that is responsible for the               submission to the FIA Challenge if the
                                                       In an effort to encourage research in                NIST suite of partnership programs.                   employees and facilities are made
                                                    this area, the National Institute of                    TPO works with regional, state and local              available to all Participants on an
                                                    Standards and Technology and the                        economic development organizations,                   equitable basis. Note that while Federal
                                                    Journal of Technology Transfer present                  technology incubation centers, public-                employees may provide information to
                                                    a Federal Impact Assessment (FIA)                       private business development                          Participants, they are not obligated to
                                                    Challenge for researchers to develop                    initiatives, and other organizations and              respond to information requests within
                                                    impact studies of Federal technology                    partnerships, to facilitate the transfer of           the time frame of this Challenge. The
                                                    transfer activities.                                    technologies developed within NIST                    task of gathering information for this
                                                       The FIA Challenge calls on                           laboratories to the private and nonprofit             Challenge in a timely manner is the sole
                                                    researchers to perform original                         sectors through licensing and/or                      responsibility of the Participant.
                                                    retrospective studies that assess the                   collaboration. NIST scientists conduct                   To be eligible to win a Cash Award,
                                                    impact of federally developed                           measurement science research, create                  a Participant (whether an individual or
                                                    technologies that (1) have been                         technologies and make discoveries in                  legal entity) must have registered to
                                                    developed completely or in part by                      nearly every scientific and technological             participate and must have complied
                                                    Federal researchers working at any                      field.                                                with all requirements under section
                                                    Federal agency at any time over the past                   The Journal of Technology Transfer                 3719 of title 15, United States Code
                                                    30 years, and (2) have been transferred                 (http://link.springer.com/journal/                    (‘‘Prize competitions’’).
                                                    to an entity other than the agency which                10961), the official journal of the
                                                    developed the technology.                               Technology Transfer Society, provides                    Multiple entries are permitted. Each
                                                    DATES:                                                  an international forum for the exchange               entry will be reviewed independently.
                                                       Submission Period: September 27,                     of ideas that enhance and build an                    Multiple individuals and/or legal
                                                    2016–March 31, 2017.                                    understanding of the practice of                      entities may collaborate as a group to
                                                       Announcement of Winners: April 28,                   technology transfer. In particular, it                submit a single entry, in which case all
                                                    2017.                                                   emphasizes research on management                     members of the group must satisfy the
                                                       The Submission Period begins                         practices and strategies for technology               eligibility requirements, and a single
                                                    September 27, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern                transfer. Moreover, the journal explores              individual from the group must be
                                                    Time (ET) and ends March 31, 2017, at                   the external environment that affects                 designated as an official representative
                                                    5:00 p.m. ET. Prize competition dates                   these practices and strategies, including             for each entry. That designated
                                                    are subject to change at the discretion of              public policy developments, regulatory                individual will be responsible for
                                                    NIST. Entries submitted before or after                                                                       meeting all entry and evaluation
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                            and legal issues, and global trends.
                                                    the Submission Period will not be                                                                             requirements. Participation is subject to
                                                    reviewed or considered for award.                       Eligibility Rules for Participating in the            all U.S. federal, state and local laws and
                                                    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                                                                            FIA Challenge                                         regulations. Individuals entering on
                                                    Changes or updates to the prize                           At the time of Entry, participants                  behalf of or representing a company,
                                                    competition rules will be posted and                    must meet the following Eligibility                   institution or other legal entity are
                                                    can be viewed at the Event Web site,                    Rules:                                                responsible for confirming that their
                                                    https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/                      The FIA Challenge is open to all                    entry does not violate any policies of
                                                    federal-impact-assessment-challenge.                    individuals over the age of 18 that are               that company, institution or legal entity.


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                                                                              Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 27, 2016 / Notices                                            66261

                                                    Entry Process for Participants                          Federal technology(ies) are determined                more than one) has read and consents to
                                                       To enter, visit the Event Web site,                  by an assessment of repercussions that                be governed by the Competition rules
                                                    https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/                    have accrued to those who have either                 and meets the eligibility requirements;
                                                    federal-impact-assessment-challenge.                    utilized Federal technologies in research                (b) must include an original Paper not
                                                    Submit a Federal Impact Assessment                      or development activities, and/or                     prepared using Federal funds.
                                                    (hereafter, ‘‘Paper’’) that meets the                   consumed goods or services enabled by                 Specifically, the Paper must:
                                                    selection criteria described below.                     Federal technologies. The objective of                   1. Include the Participant(s) and the
                                                       The FIA Challenge calls on                           the FIA Challenge is to develop metrics               email address of the Participant who is
                                                    Participants to write an original Paper                 that measure economic and societal                    officially representing the Entry.
                                                    describing a retrospective assessment of                impacts. These metrics will then be                      2. include text, figures, tables and
                                                    the economic and/or societal impacts                    available to stakeholders and policy                  references that describes a retrospective
                                                    resulting from the transfer of a Federal                makers to evaluate the net impact of                  impact assessment of a federally
                                                    technology developed completely or in                   federally developed technologies (i.e.,               developed technology(ies),
                                                    part by Federal researchers working at                  impact less development costs).1                         3. be an original work not previously
                                                    any Federal agency at any time over the                 Impacts may be assessed at the local,                 published in any media (i.e., including
                                                    past 30 years.                                          regional, national, or global levels using            but not limited to printed or otherwise
                                                       For this FIA Challenge, ‘‘Federal                    economic data or other societal data                  reproduced text/graphics for sale or
                                                    technologies’’ are those techniques,                    (e.g., measures of health, safety, or                 distribution to the public),
                                                    machines, articles of manufacture,                      security). A variety of assessment                       4. be a single file submitted in .doc,
                                                    compositions of matter, methods,                        methodologies could be used by                        .docx, or .pdf format with text, figures,
                                                    processes, tools, or works of authorship,               Participants in this Challenge. Examples              tables, and references contained within
                                                    whether or not patentable or                            of commonly used approaches can be                    the Paper. There is no page limit,
                                                    copyrightable, that were invented or                    found in the citations provided by NIST                  5. provide an assessment of the
                                                    developed in whole or in part by one or                 online at http://nist.gov/tpo/                        economic and/or societal impacts of a
                                                    more Federal employees during the                       publications/other-economic-impact-                   technology or technologies that have
                                                    course of their employment duties.                      related-studies.cfm.                                  been developed completely or in part by
                                                       Transfer of a Federal technology                        Papers submitted to this challenge                 Federal researchers working at any
                                                    (technology transfer) is the use of that                that have previously been published or                Federal agency at any time over the past
                                                    technology by an entity outside of the                  that have been prepared using Federal                 30 years, and must have been
                                                    agency where the Federal employee(s)                    funds are not eligible (e.g., Federal                 transferred from a Federal agency,
                                                    was assigned. There are many different                  agency reports, reports prepared by                      6. provide a complete description of
                                                    means by which the Federal government                   Federally Funded Research and                         the impact methodology, including a
                                                    seeks to transfer technologies.                         Development Centers, or reports                       description of the metrics used for the
                                                    Technologies can be transferred through                 prepared by funded intermediaries on                  impact assessment. Citations of Federal
                                                    formal agreements (e.g., licenses, or                   behalf of Federal agencies.)                          technologies must be provided, for
                                                    Cooperative Research and Development                       A complete Entry includes your Paper               example by listing patent numbers, as
                                                    Agreements) or through informal                         (including any figures, tables, and                   well as citations of the transfer of the
                                                    exchanges (e.g., publications,                          references), the email address of the                 technologies to the private sector, for
                                                    conference presentations or informal                    Participant who is officially                         example by listing products and
                                                    collaborations).                                        representing the Entry, and                           companies using licensed Federal
                                                       Eligible technologies must meet two                  confirmation that you have read and                   technologies,
                                                    criteria, namely (1) the technology must                agree to the Competition Rules                           7. meet the Evaluation Criteria
                                                    have been developed in whole or in part                 contained in this Notice. Participants                described below in the Evaluation,
                                                    by a Federal employee(s) during the                     may provide submissions beginning at                  Judging, and Selection of Winner(s)
                                                    course of his or her employment duties                  9:00 a.m. ET on September 27, 2016, to                sections, and
                                                    at any time over the past 30 years, and                 the Event Web site. Submissions can be                   8. include original figures, tables, and
                                                    (2) the technology must have been                       made no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on                    text passages or, if any of these have
                                                    transferred outside the Federal agency                  March 31, 2017, to the Event Web site.                been published elsewhere, Participants
                                                    in a manner that can be traced back to                     Submissions before the start date and              must have obtained written permission,
                                                    that Federal agency. Technologies that                  time, or after the end date and time, will            at Participants’ sole expense, from the
                                                    have been developed entirely outside of                 not be evaluated or considered for                    copyright owner(s) for both the
                                                    a Federal agency or that have been                      award. Entries sent to NIST in any                    irrevocable use and distribution by
                                                    developed entirely by non-Federal                       manner other than through the Event                   NIST of the figure, tables, or text
                                                    employees (even though with federal                     Web site will not be evaluated or                     passages, in both print and online
                                                    funding) are not eligible. Technologies                 considered for award. Entries that do                 formats and evidence that such
                                                    that have not been transferred by a                     not comply with the formatting                        permission has been granted must be
                                                    Federal agency are also not eligible.                   requirements set forth in this Notice                 provided in the Paper. Any material
                                                    Information about federally transferred                 will not be evaluated or considered for               received without such evidence will be
                                                    technologies and technology transfer                    award.                                                assumed to originate from the authors;
                                                                                                               Entries must be complete, must                        (c) must include in a separate section
                                                    success stories can be found on the
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                                                                                                            contain no confidential information and               on the title page of the Paper, an
                                                    Federal Laboratories Consortium (FLC)
                                                                                                            must be in English.                                   acknowledgement of any individuals,
                                                    Web site at www.federallabs.org. For a
                                                                                                               In general, each Entry:
                                                    list of Federal agencies that prepare                                                                         grants, funds, or other entities that
                                                                                                               (a) must affirmatively represent that
                                                    annual technology transfer reports, see                                                                       provided support for the Paper.
                                                                                                            the Participant (and each Participant if
                                                    http://nist.gov/tpo/publications/agency-                                                                      Participants must disclose all
                                                    technology-transfer-reports.cfm.                          1 Note that the assessment of an agency’s           relationships or interests that could
                                                       For the FIA Challenge, it is                         development cost for a given technology is not part   have direct or potential influence or
                                                    envisioned that impacts of a given                      of the FIA Challenge.                                 impart bias on the work.


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                                                    66262                     Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 27, 2016 / Notices

                                                    FIA Challenge Award(s)                                  Each Paper will be reviewed by up to                  impacts over time. Papers will be
                                                       The Prize Purse for the FIA Challenge                three subject matter experts. Each                    evaluated based on the degree to which
                                                    is a total of $20,000. The Prize Purse                  subject matter expert will assess how                 reported impacts are presented in an
                                                    may increase, but will not decrease. Any                well the Paper addressed each of the                  accurate, unbiased, comprehensive, and
                                                    increases in the Prize Purse will be                    following evaluation criteria. For each               convincing manner.
                                                    posted on the Event Web site and                        criterion, subject matter experts will                   Up to 15 Papers will be selected for
                                                    published in the Federal Register. The                  assign a numerical score and will                     evaluation by the Judges. Selected
                                                    Prize Purse will be used to fund one or                 provide a brief (50 to 100 word)                      papers will be the lesser of either (1) all
                                                    more awards.                                            assessment of how well that criterion                 papers with an average subject matter
                                                       NIST will announce via the Event                     was met.                                              expert score of 70 or higher, or (2) the
                                                    Web site any Entry(ies) as to which the                                                                       top 15 papers with the highest average
                                                                                                            Evaluation Criteria
                                                    Judges have made a cash award (each,                                                                          subject matter expert scores.
                                                                                                               1. Description of the technology. (20                 A panel of three judges will then be
                                                    an ‘‘Award’’). The anticipated number
                                                                                                            points)                                               convened to rank the selected Papers.
                                                    and amount of the Awards that will be                      Papers must include a description of                  Judges will review each of the
                                                    awarded for this Competition is set forth               the technology being analyzed. In                     selected Papers and the corresponding
                                                    in this Federal Register Notice;                        addition to describing the function and               reviews provided by subject matter
                                                    however, the Judges are not obligated to                purpose of the technology, the                        experts. Judges will deliberate and then
                                                    make all or any Awards, and reserve the                 description must also identify where                  rank them using the following equally
                                                    right to award fewer than the                           and when the technology was                           weighted Judging Criteria.
                                                    anticipated number of Awards in the                     developed, when the technology was                       • Novelty of the Approach—The
                                                    event an insufficient number of eligible                transferred, and how the technology was               extent to which each Paper describes a
                                                    Entries meet any one or more of the                     transferred. Papers will be evaluated                 new, creative, or innovative approach to
                                                    Judging Criteria for this Competition,                  based on the presentation of a clear and              capturing the impact of a Federally
                                                    based on the Judges’ evaluation of the                  adequate description of the technology                funded technology(ies).
                                                    quality of Entries and in their sole                    being assessed.                                          • Scope of the Assessment—The
                                                    discretion. Awards will be made based                      2. Description of the demand                       extent to which each Paper addresses
                                                    on the Judges’ evaluation of an Entry’s                 environment. (30 points)                              the scope of impact from the transfer of
                                                    compliance with the Judging Criteria for                   Papers must include a description of               a Federally funded technology.
                                                    this Competition. All potential winners                 the demand environment. The demand                       • Quality of the Paper—The extent to
                                                    will be notified by the email address                   environment is the environment in                     which each Paper present a high-
                                                    provided in the submission document                     which the technology is utilized after it             quality, well-reasoned and compelling
                                                    and may be required to complete further                 has been transferred from the agency.                 argument for capturing the impact of a
                                                    documentation confirming their                          Papers should describe the types and                  federal funded technology(ies).
                                                    eligibility. Return of any notification as              number of individuals and/or                             Participant(s) who submitted a Paper
                                                    ‘‘undeliverable’’ will result in                        organizations that utilize the                        that is among the top four Papers ranked
                                                    disqualification. After verification of                 technology. This should include                       by the Judges will receive $5,000 and an
                                                    eligibility, Awards will be distributed in              researchers, consumers, and companies                 invitation to have the Paper considered
                                                    the form of a check or electronic funds                 that make up the markets and industries               for publication in a special issue of
                                                    transfer addressed to the official                      affected. Papers will be evaluated based                 The Journal of Technology Transfer
                                                    representative specified in the winning                 on the presentation of a clear and                    (‘‘Journal’’), or another issue as
                                                    Entry. That official representative will                adequate description of the demand                    determined by the Journal’s editorial
                                                    have sole responsibility for further                    environment.                                          board. Participants accepting this
                                                    distribution of any Award among                            3. Description of methodologies used               invitation who submit their Paper to the
                                                    Participants in a group Entry or within                 to gather and assess impact data. (20                 Journal must comply with the Journal’s
                                                    a company or institution that has                       points)                                               ‘‘Instructions for Authors.’’ (See: http://
                                                    submitted an Entry through that                            Papers must include a description of               www.springer.com/business+%26
                                                    representative. Each list of Entries                    how impact data was gathered and                      +management/journal/10961)
                                                    receiving Awards for the Competition                    assessed. This includes a description of                 Papers submitted will be peer-
                                                    will be made public according to the                    all data sources, techniques used to                  reviewed using the processes of the
                                                    timeline outlined on the Event Web site.                clean, adjust or normalize data, and                  Journal, and acceptance for publication
                                                       Winners are responsible for all taxes                statistical methods employed. Papers                  is wholly within the Journal’s
                                                    and reporting related to any Award                      will be evaluated based on the creativity             discretion, and is not guaranteed.
                                                    received as part of the Competition.                    and appropriateness of the methodology
                                                       All costs incurred in the preparation                used to gather data and assess impacts.               Subject Matter Experts and Judging
                                                    of Competition Entries are to be borne                     4. Description of the economic and/or              Panel
                                                    by Participants.                                        societal impacts that resulted from the                 Subject Matter Experts, to be selected
                                                    Evaluation, Judging, and Selection of                   technology transferred from the Federal               by NIST, will, as a body, represent a
                                                    Winner(s)                                               agency. (30 points)                                   high degree of experience with impact
                                                                                                               Papers must describe the economic                  assessment and federally funded
                                                    Submission Evaluation Criteria                          and/or societal impact that resulted                  technologies. Subject Matter Experts
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                      This section discusses how                            from the utilization of the technology                will consist of Federal employees and
                                                    Participant submissions will be                         once transferred from the agency. The                 will be subject matter experts in the
                                                    evaluated.                                              description must be based on the                      technology field. Subject Matter Experts
                                                                                                            evidence gathered and the statistical                 will not select winners of any awards.
                                                    Entry Submission and Review                             method(s) used to assess impacts in the                 The NIST Director will appoint a
                                                      The requirements for submission of a                  demand environment. The description                   panel of highly qualified Judges. The
                                                    complete Entry are detailed in the                      must include clearly defined metrics                  Judging Panel will consist of three
                                                    section ‘‘Entry Process for Participants.’’             that allow for the benchmarking of                    individuals who are experts in the field


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                                                                              Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 27, 2016 / Notices                                           66263

                                                    of assessing economic or societal                       you are not granting NIST any rights to                  (b) does not contain confidential
                                                    impacts. Judges will deliberate and rank                your trademarks.                                      information or trade secrets (yours or
                                                    proposals according to the Judging                         If your Entry is selected as a Winner,             anyone else’s);
                                                    Criteria described above. The top four                  you will be invited to submit your Paper                 (c) does not knowingly, after due
                                                    proposals ranked by the Judges will be                  for publication in the Journal of                     inquiry (including, by way of example
                                                    selected to receive an Award. Judges                    Technology Transfer. If you opt to                    only and without limitation, reviewing
                                                    may not have personal or financial                      submit your Paper to the Journal, you                 the records of the United States Patent
                                                    interests in, or be an employee, officer,               will enter into an agreement with the                 and Trademark Office and inquiring of
                                                    director, or agent of, any entity that is               Journal and nothing in this Notice alters             any employees and other professionals
                                                    a registered Participant in this                        the peer review, publication, and other               retained with respect to such matters),
                                                    Competition and may not have a                          processes practiced by the Journal.                   violate or infringe upon the patent
                                                    familial or financial relationship with                    Entries containing any matter which,               rights, industrial design rights,
                                                    an individual who is a registered                       in the sole discretion of NIST, is                    copyrights, trademarks, rights in
                                                    Participant. In the event of such a                     indecent, defamatory, in obvious bad                  technical data, rights of privacy,
                                                    conflict, a Judge must recuse himself or                taste, which demonstrates a lack of                   publicity or other intellectual property
                                                    herself. Should this occur a new Judge                  respect for public morals or conduct,                 or other rights of any person or entity;
                                                    may be appointed to the panel.                          which promotes discrimination in any                     (d) does not contain malicious code,
                                                                                                            form, which shows unlawful acts being                 such as viruses, malware, timebombs,
                                                    Intellectual Property Rights                                                                                  cancelbots, worms, Trojan horses or
                                                                                                            performed, which is slanderous or
                                                       Other than as set forth herein, NIST                 libelous, or which adversely affects the              other potentially harmful programs or
                                                    does not make any claim to ownership                    reputation of NIST, will not be                       other material or information;
                                                    of your Entry or any of your intellectual                                                                        (e) does not and will not violate any
                                                                                                            accepted. If NIST, in its sole discretion,
                                                    property or third party intellectual                                                                          applicable law, statute, ordinance, rule
                                                                                                            finds any Entry to be unacceptable, then
                                                    property that it may contain. By                                                                              or regulation, including, without
                                                                                                            such Entry shall be deemed disqualified
                                                    participating in the Competition, you                                                                         limitation, United States export laws
                                                                                                            and will not be evaluated or considered
                                                    are not granting any rights in any                                                                            and regulations, including, but not
                                                                                                            for award. NIST shall have the right to
                                                    patents or pending patent applications                                                                        limited to, the International Traffic in
                                                                                                            remove any content from the Event Web
                                                    related to your Entry; provided that by                                                                       Arms Regulations and the Department
                                                                                                            site in its sole discretion at any time and
                                                    submitting an Entry, you are granting                                                                         of Commerce Export Regulations; and
                                                                                                            for any reason, including, but not                       (f) does not trigger any reporting or
                                                    NIST certain limited rights as set forth                limited to, any online comment or
                                                    herein.                                                                                                       royalty or other obligation to any third
                                                                                                            posting related to the Competition.                   party; and
                                                       By submitting an Entry, you grant to                                                                          (g) does not contain any statement
                                                    NIST the right to review your Entry as                  Confidential Information
                                                                                                                                                                  that is abusive, defamatory, libelous,
                                                    described above in the section ‘‘Entry                     By making a submission to the FIA                  obscene, fraudulent, or is in any other
                                                    Submission and Review,’’ to describe                    Challenge, you agree that no part of your             way unlawful or in violation of
                                                    your Entry in connection with any                       submission includes any confidential or               applicable laws.
                                                    materials created in connection with the                proprietary information, ideas or
                                                    Competition and to have the Subject                     products, including but not limited to                Limitation of Liability
                                                    Matter Experts, Judges, Competition                     information, ideas or products within                    By participating in the FIA Challenge,
                                                    administrators, and the designees of any                the scope of the Trade Secrets Act, 18                you agree to assume any and all risks
                                                    of them, review your Entry.                             U.S.C. 1905. Because NIST will not                    and to release, indemnify and hold
                                                       By submitting an Entry, you grant a                  receive or hold any submitted materials               harmless NIST and the Journal of
                                                    non-exclusive, irrevocable, paid up right               ‘‘in confidence,’’ it is agreed that, with            Technology Transfer from and against
                                                    and license to NIST to use your name,                   respect to your Entry, no confidential or             any injuries, losses, damages, claims,
                                                    likeness, biographical information,                     fiduciary relationship or obligation of               actions and any liability of any kind
                                                    image, any other personal data                          secrecy is established between NIST and               (including attorneys’ fees) resulting
                                                    submitted with your Entry and the                       you, your Entry team, the company or                  from or arising out of your participation
                                                    contents in your Entry, in connection                   institution you represent when                        in, association with or submission to the
                                                    with the Federal Impact Assessment                      submitting an Entry, or any other person              FIA Challenge (including any claims
                                                    Challenge for any purpose, including                    or entity associated with any part of                 alleging that your Entry infringes,
                                                    promotion and advertisement of the                      your Entry.                                           misappropriates or violates any third
                                                    Challenge and future challenges.                                                                              party’s intellectual property rights). In
                                                                                                            Warranties
                                                       You agree that nothing in this Notice                                                                      addition, you agree to waive claims
                                                    grants you a right or license to use any                   By submitting an Entry, you represent              against the Federal Government and its
                                                    names or logos of NIST or the                           and warrant that all information you                  related entities, except in the case of
                                                    Department of Commerce, or any other                    submit is true and complete to the best               willful misconduct, for any injury,
                                                    intellectual property or proprietary                    of your knowledge, that you have the                  death, damage, or loss of property,
                                                    rights of NIST or the Department of                     right and authority to submit the Entry               revenue, or profits, whether direct,
                                                    Commerce or their employees or                          on your own behalf or on behalf of the                indirect, or consequential, arising from
                                                    contractors. You grant to NIST the right                persons and entities that you specify                 your participation in the FIA Challenge,
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                    to include your name and your                           within the Entry, and that your Entry                 whether the injury, death, damage, or
                                                    company or institution name and logo                    (both the information and software                    loss arises through negligence or
                                                    (if your Entry is from a company or                     submitted in the Entry and the                        otherwise.
                                                    institution) as a Participant on the Event              underlying technologies or concepts                      NIST is not responsible for any
                                                    Web site and in materials from NIST                     described in the Entry):                              miscommunications such as technical
                                                    announcing winners of or Participants                      (a) Is your own original work, or is               failures related to computer, telephone,
                                                    in the Competition. Other than these                    submitted by permission with full and                 cable, and unavailable network or server
                                                    uses or as otherwise set forth herein,                  proper credit given within your Entry;                connections, related technical failures,


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                                                    66264                     Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 27, 2016 / Notices

                                                    or other failures related to hardware,                  are final and binding in all matters                  DATES:  Comments and information must
                                                    software or virus, or incomplete or late                related to the FIA Challenge.                         be received no later than October 27,
                                                    Entries. Any compromise to the fair and                   Potential winner(s) must continue to                2016.
                                                    proper conduct of the FIA Challenge                     comply with all terms and conditions of               ADDRESSES: Comments on the
                                                    may result in the disqualification of an                the FIA Challenge Rules described in                  application should be addressed to Jolie
                                                    Entry or Participant, termination of the                this notice, and winning is contingent                Harrison, Chief, Permits and
                                                    FIA Challenge, or other remedial action,                upon fulfilling all requirements. In the              Conservation Division, Office of
                                                    at the sole discretion of NIST. NIST                    event that a potential winner, or an                  Protected Resources, National Marine
                                                    reserves the right in its sole discretion               announced winner, is found to be                      Fisheries Service. 1315 East-West
                                                    to extend or modify the dates of the FIA                ineligible or is disqualified for any                 Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910–
                                                    Challenge, and to change the terms set                  reason, NIST may make an award,                       3225 and electronic comments should
                                                    forth herein governing any phases                       instead, to another Participant.                      be sent ITP.Egger@noaa.gov.
                                                    taking place after the effective date of                                                                        Instructions: NMFS is not responsible
                                                    any such change. By entering, you agree                 Privacy and Disclosure Under FOIA
                                                                                                                                                                  for comments sent by any other method,
                                                    to the terms set forth herein and to all                                                                      to any other address or individual, or
                                                                                                              Except as provided herein,
                                                    decisions of NIST and/or all of their                                                                         received after the end of the comment
                                                                                                            information submitted throughout the
                                                    respective agents, which are final and                                                                        period. Comments sent via email,
                                                                                                            FIA Challenge will be used only to
                                                    binding in all respects.                                                                                      including all attachments, must not
                                                       NIST is not responsible for: (1) Any                 communicate with Participants
                                                                                                            regarding Entries and/or the FIA                      exceed a 25-megabyte file size.
                                                    incorrect or inaccurate information,
                                                                                                            Challenge. Participant Entries and                    Attachments to electronic comments
                                                    whether caused by a Participant,
                                                                                                            submissions to the FIA Challenge may                  will be accepted in Microsoft Word or
                                                    printing errors, or by any of the
                                                                                                            be subject to disclosure under the                    Excel or Adobe PDF file formats only.
                                                    equipment or programming associated
                                                                                                            Freedom of Information Act (‘‘FOIA’’).                All comments received are a part of the
                                                    with or used in the FIA Challenge; (2)
                                                                                                              Authority: 15 U.S.C. 3719.                          public record and will generally be
                                                    unauthorized human intervention in
                                                                                                                                                                  posted to http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/
                                                    any part of the Entry Process for the FIA               Phillip Singerman,                                    permits/research.htm without change.
                                                    Challenge; (3) technical or human error
                                                                                                            Associate Director for Innovations and                All personal identifying information (for
                                                    that may occur in the administration of                 Industry Services.                                    example, name, address, etc.)
                                                    the FIA Challenge or the processing of
                                                                                                            [FR Doc. 2016–23239 Filed 9–26–16; 8:45 am]           voluntarily submitted by the commenter
                                                    Entries; or (4) any injury or damage to
                                                                                                            BILLING CODE 3510–13–P                                may be publicly accessible. Do not
                                                    persons or property that may be caused,
                                                                                                                                                                  submit confidential business
                                                    directly or indirectly, in whole or in
                                                                                                                                                                  information or otherwise sensitive or
                                                    part, from a Participant’s participation                DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE                                protected information.
                                                    in the FIA Challenge or receipt or use
                                                    or misuse of an Award. If for any reason                                                                      FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                                                                            National Oceanic and Atmospheric                      Stephanie Egger, Office of Protected
                                                    an Entry is confirmed to have been                      Administration
                                                    deleted erroneously, lost, or otherwise                                                                       Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401.
                                                    destroyed or corrupted, the Participant’s                                                                     SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                                                                                                            [0648–XE710]
                                                    sole remedy is to submit another Entry                                                                        Availability
                                                    in the FIA Challenge.                                   Taking and Importing Marine                             An electronic copy of the AAC’s
                                                    Termination and Disqualification                        Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals                        application may be obtained online at:
                                                                                                            Incidental to Space Vehicle Launch                    www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/
                                                      NIST reserves the authority to cancel,
                                                                                                            Operations                                            incidental/research.htm. In case of
                                                    suspend, and/or modify the FIA
                                                    Challenge, or any part of it, if any fraud,             AGENCY:  National Marine Fisheries                    problems accessing the document,
                                                    technical failures, or any other factor                 Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and                  please call the contact listed above.
                                                    beyond NIST’s reasonable control                        Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),                    Background
                                                    impairs the integrity or proper                         Commerce.
                                                    functioning of the FIA Challenge, as                                                                             Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16
                                                    determined by NIST in its sole                          ACTION:  Notice; receipt of application for           U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) directs the Secretary
                                                    discretion.                                             letters of authorization; request for                 of Commerce to allow, upon request, the
                                                      NIST reserves the right to disqualify                 comments and information.                             incidental, but not intentional, taking of
                                                    any Participant or Participant team it                                                                        small numbers of marine mammals by
                                                    believes to be tampering with the Entry                 SUMMARY:   NMFS has received a request                U.S. citizens who engage in a specified
                                                    process or the operation of the FIA                     from the Alaska Aerospace Corporation                 activity (other than commercial fishing),
                                                    Challenge or to be acting in violation of               (AAC) for authorization to take marine                if certain findings are made and
                                                    any applicable rule or condition.                       mammals incidental to conducting                      regulations are issued.
                                                      Any attempt by any person to                          space vehicle launch operations over                     Incidental taking shall be allowed if
                                                    undermine the legitimate operation of                   the course of five years, from February               NMFS finds that the taking will have a
                                                    the FIA Challenge may be a violation of                 1, 2017 through January 31, 2022.                     negligible impact on the species or
                                                                                                            Pursuant to regulations implementing                  stock(s) affected and will not have an
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                    criminal and civil law, and, should such
                                                    an attempt be made, NIST reserves the                   the Marine Mammal Protection Act                      unmitigable adverse impact on the
                                                    authority to seek damages from any                      (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt                    availability of the species or stock(s) for
                                                    such person to the fullest extent                       of the AAC’s request for the                          taking for subsistence uses, and if the
                                                    permitted by law.                                       development and implementation of                     permissible methods of taking and
                                                                                                            regulations governing the incidental                  requirements pertaining to the
                                                    Verification of Potential Winner(s)                     taking of marine mammals and inviting                 mitigation, monitoring and reporting of
                                                      All potential winners are subject to                  information, suggestions, and comments                such taking are set forth. NMFS has
                                                    verification by NIST, whose decisions                   on the AAC’s application and request.                 defined ‘‘negligible impact’’ in 50 CFR


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Document Created: 2016-09-27 01:19:09
Document Modified: 2016-09-27 01:19:09
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionNotice.
DatesSubmission Period: September 27, 2016-March 31, 2017.
ContactChanges or updates to the prize competition rules will be posted and can be viewed at the Event Web site, https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/federal-impact-assessment- challenge.
FR Citation81 FR 66260 

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