Improving Care for People with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Using Technology (iCare-AD/ADRD) Challenge

• About the Challenge
• The Prize
• Important Dates & Contacts
• Submission Requirements & Template
• Evaluation and Winner Selection
• Challenge Rules
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Statutory Authority
• Prize Winners

About the Challenge

The Improving Care for People with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Using Technology (iCare-AD/ADRD) Challenge is a Eureka prize competition in which the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, rewards and spurs the development of solutions for a technology-based application, fostering connections between relevant stakeholders to use technology, or the development of new technology applications to improve dementia care coordination and/or care navigation. Though the solution should foster connections between relevant stakeholders to use technology or develop new technology applications, it may be targeted at consumers (persons with dementia (PWD), caregivers), healthcare providers, healthcare service organizations, and/or health systems, and/or community, local, or state governments. Specific methods for stimulating uptake and use of the product must be included with the proof-of-concept demonstration. A working demonstration of the product is required. Please see the “Submission Requirements and Template” section for the necessary submission information.

Navigating the complex US healthcare system can be challenging for PWD and their caregivers. They must pursue an uncertain course of care, of unknown duration, across different care settings and interact with many different types of care providers and interventions. Models of dementia care have evolved in recent years and have the potential to improve outcomes. Barriers to adoption, however, include workforce limitations, the cost of practice redesign, and limited uptake by insurers and health systems.

Effective dementia care management has been shown to improve outcomes such as reducing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and lower health care costs by reducing emergency department visits, inpatient hospitalizations, and some readmissions. This competition is intended to stimulate innovation in use of technology to improve care coordination and/or navigation and/or aid with the care experience so that overall dementia care quality is improved.

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The Prize

The total prize purse for this Challenge is up to $400,000. Up to 3 winners will be awarded. The first-place winner will receive up to $250,000, the second-place winner will receive up to $100,000, and the third-place winner will receive up to $50,000. Additional solvers may be recognized with non-monetary awards. The NIH reserves the right to cancel, suspend, and/or modify this Challenge at any time by amending the Announcement Notice on NIA’s iCare-AD/ADRD website and iCare-AD/ADRD page on challenge.gov. In addition, the NIH reserves the right to not award any prizes if no solutions are deemed worthy. The Award Approving Official will be Richard J. Hodes, M.D., Director of the National Institute on Aging.

Prizes awarded under this competition will be paid by electronic funds transfer and may be subject to Federal income taxes. HHS/NIH will comply with the Internal Revenue Service withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable.

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Important Dates & Contacts

Challenge Launch Date: September 10, 2018
Submission Period Begins: October 1, 2018
Submission Period Ends: 11:59 pm Eastern time on June 30, 2019
Winners Announced: Fall 2019

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Submission Requirements and Template

Please format submissions using the Application Template and submit your application via email to NIAPrizeInput@nih.gov as a compiled PDF. Detailed instructions on submission requirements and process can be found in the application template.

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Evaluation and Winner Selection

A panel of federal employees serving as judges will review the Challenge submissions using the following criteria:

Creativity & Innovation - 20%

• Extent to which the proposed solution demonstrates uniqueness and innovation
• Extent to which the proposed solution demonstrates originality and ability to fill a gap and/or answer a question in a unique manner

Rationale and Potential Impact - 20%

• Extent to which the proposed solution indicates why it is an improvement over existing products and/or how it fills a need
• Extent to which proposed solution can improve patient care and improve outcomes for people with dementia, their caregivers, and/or for other relevant stakeholders (e.g., care providers, health systems)

Value to relevant stakeholders - 20%

• Extent to which proposed solution demonstrates the potential value for stakeholders (e.g., people living with dementia; caregivers; physicians; medical, research, or data communities; and policymakers)
• Extent to which proposed solution demonstrates ability to coordinate with relevant stakeholders, such as EHR vendors, health systems, and/or directly with patients and caregivers

Usability - 20%

• Extent to which the proposed solution demonstrates how the design elements will attract, engage, and influence users to take intended action
• Extent to which the proposed solution provides evidence that it is replicable and scalable; potential for use in other and/or larger settings must be addressed
• How well the proposed solution addresses assessment of potential market and plans for reaching intended market
• How well the proposed solution demonstrates potential of user uptake of the product

Functional Product Feasibility - 20%

• Extent to which proposed solution demonstrates product functionality; the product should be functional as described in challenge summary
• Extent to which proposed solution demonstrates implementation feasibility across intended platforms, sites, and/or users
• Extent to which proposed solution indicates potential for sustainability and profitability

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Rules for Participating in the Challenge

Solvers must be 18 years of age or older and may participate singly or as part of one or more teams. Team formation is encouraged, and teams are not limited in the number of members. Each team must designate a captain who must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who is responsible for all correspondence regarding this Challenge.

• To be eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an individual or entity—
  • Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this Notice;
  • 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.
  • May not be a Federal entity or federal employee acting within the scope of their employment;
  • May not be an employee of HHS (or any component of HHS) acting in their personal capacity;
  • Who is employed by a federal agency or entity other than HHS (or any component of HHS), should consult with an agency Ethics Official to determine whether the federal ethics rules will limit or prohibit the acceptance of a prize under this challenge;
  • May not be a judge of the challenge, or any other party involved with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the Challenge or the immediate family of such a party (i.e., spouse, parent, step-parent, child, or step-child).
• Federal grantees may not use Federal funds to develop their Challenge Submissions unless use of such funds is consistent with the purpose of their grant award and specifically requested to do so due to the Challenge design, and as announced on challenge.gov.
• Federal contractors may not use Federal funds from a contract to develop their Submissions or to fund efforts in support of their Submission.
• Multiple entries are permitted. Each solution must be sufficiently novel and unique and not be a minor modification of a prior submission.
• A demonstration of the developed app must be included in your submission either via weblink, as a downloadable app from a website or as a prototype app on a demonstration mobile device. If a login is required, demo accounts with password should be provided which will enable evaluators to access all parts of the product. If there are different interfaces (i.e., a separate interface for caregiver and a different interface for a provider [e.g., physician]) separate logins should be provided. If the team opts for submitting the app on a demonstration mobile device then four such devices must be submitted. Upon receipt of the written entries, an address will be provided for the shipment of the prototypes, with all accessories needed for functionality, to NIA. Prototypes will be returned to the entrants after the judging process.
• Submissions must not infringe upon any copyright or any other rights of any third party.
• By participating in this Challenge, each individual (whether competing singly or in a group) and entity agrees to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the Federal government and its related entities (as defined in the COMPETES Act), except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from participation in this Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
• Based on the subject matter of the Challenge, the type of work that it will possibly require, as well as an analysis of the likelihood of any claims for death, bodily injury, property damage, or loss potentially resulting from Challenge participation, no individual (whether competing singly or in a group) or entity participating in the Challenge is required to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility in order to participate in this Challenge.
• By participating in this Challenge, each individual (whether competing singly or in a group) and entity agrees to indemnify the Federal government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to Challenge activities.
• An individual or entity shall not be deemed ineligible because the individual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal employees during the Challenge if the facilities and employees are made available to all individuals and entities participating in the Challenge on an equitable basis.
• By participating in this Challenge, each individual (whether participating singly or in a group) warrants that he or she is the sole author or owner of, or has the right to use, any copyrightable works that the submission comprises, that the works are wholly original with the Solver (or is an improved version of an existing work that the Solver has sufficient rights to use and improve), and that the submission does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third party of which Solver is aware. In addition, each individual (whether participating singly or in a group) and each entity grants to the NIH an irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free nonexclusive worldwide license to reproduce, publish, post, link to, share, and display publicly (e.g., on websites) the submission and abstracts on the web or elsewhere, and a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice, or have practiced for or on its behalf, the solution throughout the world. Each participant will retain all other intellectual property rights in their submissions, as applicable. To participate in the Challenge, each Solver must warrant that there are no legal obstacles to providing the above-referenced nonexclusive licenses of Solver's rights to the federal government. To receive an award, Solvers will not be required to transfer their intellectual property rights to NIH, but Solvers must grant to the federal government the nonexclusive licenses recited herein.
• NIH reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (a) cancel, suspend, or modify the Challenge, and/or (b) not award any prizes if no entries are deemed worthy.
• Each individual (whether participating singly or in a group) or entity agrees to follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.
• Each individual (whether participating singly or in a group) and entity participating in this Challenge must comply with all terms and conditions of these rules, and participation in this Challenge constitutes each such participant’s full and unconditional agreement to abide by these rules. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements herein.

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NIA's Statutory Authority to Conduct the Challenge

The IC’s statutory authority to conduct the challenge The NIA is conducting this challenge pursuant to authorities under the Section 2002 of the 21st Century Cures Act, 42 U.S.C. 283q, and the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Reauthorization Act of 2010, 15 U.S.C. 3719.” In addition, this challenge is consistent with the mission of the NIA, as described in 42 U.S.C. 285e, [to] conduct and support of biomedical, social, and behavioral research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to the aging process and the diseases and other special problems and needs of the aged.

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