Eligibility Rules

Eligible Solvers are individuals or teams from the business and research communities in the United States or US territory.  This includes but is not limited to organizations such as: technology companies, analytics firms, transportation carriers, industry associations, research institutions, universities, mapping and visualization providers.  Teams are encouraged to organize themselves in a manner that best fits meeting the Challenge.

To be eligible to win a prize under this Challenge, an individual or entity—

(1) Shall register to participate in the Competition under the rules promulgated by the USDOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics;

(2) Shall comply with all the requirements under this announcement and any subsequently announced rules for the competition;

(3) In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States or US territory, 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 or US territory;

(4) Shall not be a USDOT employee; and

(5) Shall not be another federal entity or federal employee acting within the scope of their employment (all non-USDOT federal employees must consult with their agency Ethics Official to determine whether the federal ethics rules will limit or prohibit the acceptance of a cash prize stemming from a federally sponsored prize competition);

In addition, these two restrictions apply to recipients of other federal funds:

(1) Federal grantees may not use federal funds to develop submissions unless consistent with the purpose of their grant award; and

(2) Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to develop prize competition applications or to fund efforts in support of a prize competition submission;

An individual or entity shall not be deemed ineligible because the individual or entity used federal facilities or consulted with federal employees or USDOT Challenge Innovation Agents during a competition if the facilities and employees are made available to all individuals and entities participating in the competition on an equitable basis.

Participants must also agree to assume all risks and waive claims against the federal government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from my participation in this prize competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.

Participants must also agree to indemnify the Federal Government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to Challenge activities.

If any potential finalist is found to be ineligible, has not complied with the Official Rules, Terms and Conditions, or declines the cash prize for any reason prior to award, an alternate finalist may be selected. If any potential winner is found to be ineligible, has not complied with the Official Rules, Terms & Conditions, or declines the cash prize for any reason prior to award, an alternate winner may be selected. Please refer to the Official Rules, Terms & Conditions for further details.

Cash prizes awarded under this challenge will be paid to the individual or Team Lead directly by USDOT through electronic funds transfer. Finalists and winner(s) will be responsible for any applicable local, state, and federal taxes and reporting that may be required under applicable tax laws.