EVALUATION CRITERIA

A judging panel consisting of federal employees will be established to evaluate the white papers submitted to Round One based on the following criteria:

Significance and Unmet Needs (0-10 Points):

Are there significant needs across the government or private sector for the proposed product or service?
If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capabilities, or related services be improved?
How will those improvements will be measured or established?

Innovation (0-10 Points):

Does the proposed idea utilize the novel theoretical concepts, approaches, methodologies, instrumentation, or services?
Is the proposed product novel in a broad sense?

Approach (0-10 Points):

Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to test the proposed idea?
Does the approach consider the end-users or end-user needs?

Team/Founder Aptitudes (0-10 Points):

Does the individual or team demonstrate high level of ability and dedication?
Were the passion, drive, discipline, ability to work collaboratively and willingness to push forward under conditions of extreme business uncertainty successfully demonstrated?

Commercialization (0-10 Points):

Is there a clear path for the product/service to reach the market?
Are the product users and purchasers clearly identified?
Is there an evidence of market research or analysis of competitors?