Prizes awarded under this Challenge will be paid by electronic funds transfer and may be subject to federal income taxes. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)/NIH will comply with the Internal Revenue Service withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable. Entities participating in this Challenge are encouraged, but not required, to request and obtain a free Unique Entity ID (UEI), if they have not already done so, via SAM.gov as this will expedite prize payment. Additional information can be found at  https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration.  If you have additional questions concerning applicable tax laws, please speak with an accountant.

Federal grantees and recipients of cooperative agreements or other transaction (OT) awards are eligible to participate in the Challenge but may not use Federal funds from a grant award, cooperative agreement, or OT award to develop their Challenge submission or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge submission unless use of such funds is consistent with the purpose, terms, and conditions of the grant award, cooperative agreement, or OT award. Each Participant (whether participating as a Team or Entity) intending to use Federal grant, cooperative agreement, or OT award funds must register for and participate in the Challenge as an entity on behalf of the awardee institution, organization, or entity. If a winning Participant uses Federal grant, cooperative agreement, or OT award funds to participate in the Challenge, the prize must be treated as program income for purposes of the original grant, cooperative agreement, or OT award in accordance with applicable Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards [2 CFR § 200]. Participants using Federal grant, cooperative agreement, or OT award funds to participate and/or report prize funding as program income (for winning Participants) should coordinate with the awarding official at the federal awarding agency.

Applicants are not required to go through their university’s Authorized Organization Representative in order to participate in this challenge. However, if federal funds awarded to the university are used to develop the submission, the submission must be made in compliance with the university’s policies and procedures and with the terms and conditions of award that apply to the funds used to develop the submission.

There are no restrictions on how the prize funds are used. One caveat is that if you actively use Federal funds from a Grant contract, property agreement, or other award to develop your submission to this challenge, then those funds must be treated as program income per grants policy or contract policy.

For Teams, a Team Captain will register and submit on behalf of the Team members. In the event of winning a cash prize, the Team Captain will be paid the prize in full.  For Entities, each participating Entity is required to identify a Point of Contact who will register and submit on behalf of the Entity. In the event of winning a cash prize, the prize will be paid directly to the Entity, not to the Point of Contact. As stated in the Participation Rules, Participants intending to use Federal grant, cooperative agreement, or OT funds must register for and participate in the Challenge as an Entity on behalf of the awardee institution or organization.  Note that in all instances, the receiver of the prize must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or, in the case of an Entity, must maintain a primary place of business in the United States.

The NIH will not provide any overhead or funds to develop your solution for this Challenge. If funds are needed to assemble aspects of your submission, it is up to you as the submitter to acquire those funds.  The NIH will only provide Prizes to winners at the end of the Challenge.

There are no restrictions on how prize money is spent.  Please keep in mind that prizes awarded under this Challenge may be subject to federal income taxes - please speak with an accountant for further guidance.