NIH: Product Prototypes to Combat Drug Craving Challenge

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), one of the components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has announced the “Product Prototypes to Combat Drug Craving” Challenge.

Donor Name: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

State: All States

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Challenge

Deadline: 09/01/2022

Size of the Grant: up to $50,000

Details:

The Challenge goal is to solicit working prototypes of multifaceted products that will help with drug craving in people who experience substance use problems or with substance use disorder (SUD). Ideally, these multifaceted product prototypes would combine several different tools or features to address drug craving, providing long-term, on-demand, and personalized comprehensive assistance that can ultimately reduce the likelihood of return to use (also known as recurrence). NIDA expects that the Challenge will inspire many different product prototypes to help people address their drug cravings and prevent recurrence of drug use.

NIDA is launching the “Product Prototypes to Combat Drug Craving” Challenge to solicit submissions of product prototypes for decreasing drug cravings and preventing a recurrence of drug use. These product prototypes should be:

Easily accessible and minimally invasive.
Available just-in-time and on-demand.
Suitable for use without detoxification (clearing drugs from a patient’s system) as a precursor.
Substance-agnostic (i.e., could help a patient with any type of substance use).
Suitable for use by many different patients (e.g., different ages, genders, geographic locations, income levels) at different stages of recovery.
Multifaceted and modifiable with different options, where the patient/user can tailor their interaction level or use of the particular intervention or combination of interventions based on their individual needs.

Funding Information

The Challenge will offer up to two awards: up to $50,000 for first place and up to $35,000 for second place entries, as well as up to three honorable mention awards of up to $5,000 each. The Challenge total purse is up to $100,000.

Eligibility Criteria

The Challenge is open to any participant(s) 18 years of age or older. A participant may be (i) an entity, (ii) an individual, or (iii) a group of individuals (i.e., a team assembled with the purpose of participating in this Challenge).
- To be eligible to win a prize under this Challenge, a Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) —
  - Shall have registered to participate in the Challenge under the rules promulgated by NIDA as published in this announcement;
  - Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this announcement;
  - 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;
  - Shall not be a federal entity or federal employee acting within the scope of their employment;
  - 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;
  - 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;
  - Shall 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).
  - Shall be 18 years of age or older at the time of submission.
- Federal grantees may not use federal funds from a grant award to develop their Challenge submissions or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge submissions.
- Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to develop their Challenge submissions or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge submissions.
- By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) agrees to assume any and 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 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 Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, 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 Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) agrees to indemnify the federal government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to Challenge activities.
- A Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) shall not be deemed ineligible because the Participant used federal facilities or consulted with federal employees during the Challenge if the facilities and employees are made available to all Participants participating in the Challenge on an equitable basis.
- By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) warrants that they are 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 Participant (or is an improved version of an existing work that the Participant 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 the Participant is aware.
- By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) grants to the NIH an irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free nonexclusive worldwide license to reproduce, publish, post, link to, share, and display publicly the submission 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 Participant must warrant that there are no legal obstacles to providing the above-referenced nonexclusive licenses of the Participant’s rights to the federal government. To receive an award, Participants will not be required to transfer their intellectual property rights to NIH, but Participants must grant to the federal government the nonexclusive licenses recited herein.
- Each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) agrees to follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.
- Each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or 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.