Participants, in the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. However, non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents can participate as a member of a team that otherwise satisfies the eligibility criteria. Non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents are not eligible to win a monetary prize (in whole or in part). Their participation as part of a winning team, if applicable, may be recognized when the results are announced.

Please consult with your ethics official to determine if and how you may participate in this Challenge.

No, intramural NIH staff are ineligible to win a cash prize in a NIH challenge. NIH challenge eligibility rules state the following: •    Participants shall not be a federal entity or federal employee acting within the scope of their employment; •    Participants shall not be an employee of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS, or any other component of HHS) acting in their personal capacity.

At this time, there are no restrictions on how a Participant submits to any Phase of this Challenge, either as a Team, Entity, or Individual, and the Participant may change how they choose to submit between Phases (as allowed within the rules of the Challenge).  It is not expected that there will be restrictions between Phases on Team composition.  However, full details for Phases II and III of this challenge have not yet been released, and potential Participants should check the eligibility rules once Phases II and III are open for submission.

For Phase I, the technology does not have to be ready, as this is an ideation stage, but your solution will be judged on the ability to prototype the technology in Phase II, and should be structured in such a way that will convey this information.  For Phase II, the technology must be at a point of development that will allow it to be utilized in a use case, and that indicates it will function as expected for human disease to be considered for a Phase II Prize.  It is also expected that whatever is submitted at the conclusion of Phase II for consideration of a final Phase II prize will be ready for final validation in Phase III. Please also be aware, this Challenge has a dissemination goal, and all solutions considered for prizes in Phase II and III will be required to address how their technology will be publicly available, either through free access or a marketable product.

Yes, there is no requirement for citizenship or permanent residency when an individual is competing on behalf of a US Entity and it is the Entity, not the individual, who is officially registered to compete in the challenge and will be paid any prizes directly.

Yes, if the technology is still in the ideation stage, you are free to submit to Phase I of this Challenge.  However, you are responsible for ensuring that your use of this non-NIH funding to develop your submission to this Challenge does not violate any rules, policies, and/or restrictions associated with those non-NIH funds.