How to Enter

Develop a Live Animal Test for Early Detection of Chronic Wasting Disease

Phase 1: Design Paper

The Design Paper phase invites all eligible contestants to submit a concept paper outlining their team’s proposed solution, approach, capabilities, knowledge and skills for this challenge.

Participants’ Design Papers will be reviewed by a panel of subject matter experts who will select up to seven participants for awards. Awardees will receive a) an invitation to Phase 2;

b ) up to $10,000 to assist in developing their rapid tests for Phase 2; and c) USDA-ARS technical resources to enable the development of the test and application for a product license from the Center for Veterinary Biologics, USDA-APHIS.

How to Enter

Review the Official Rules and resources provided on the challenge website. By the May 7 deadline, submit a design paper through the challenge website.

Register for the challenge by completing the registration form.
Review the USDA-ARS provided resources in the ‘Resources’ tab on the challenge website.
Complete the submission requirements for the Design Paper phase.
Submit the required Design Paper as your entry on the challenge website.

Phase 1: Submission Requirements

Cover Page and Abstract (1 page)

Participant’s Name (Team, Organization or Company Name) and list of individual team member(s).

Participant’s Location (City, State/Region and Country).
Team Logo.
Official Representative and their preferred contact information (including email, phone, and physical mailing address).
Abstract (500-word MAXIMUM): The unique aspects of the participant’s approach and the potential impact that the proposed approach could have in achieving the goals of the challenge.

Project Description (8 pages max; if included, a list of citations is not included in this page limit)

Describe the development plan including the test format, components, parameters, and development timeline.
Provide cost estimates for testing (e.g., per animal) and test manufacture (all components and reagents).
The project description should specifically address the scoring criteria.

Optional Visual Aid (1-2 pages, 2-3 minutes long)

An optional visual aid to supplement the submission, such as a short video or another visualization.