Reading the challenge rules, I wonder what happens if some members of a team are not US citizens or PRs (such as international students in the US). Are they allowed to participate, any other concerns?
ps. I have tried contacting the listed email address "PediatricCOVID19ChallengeOrganizers@synapse.org", but apparently it does not allow external emails.
-Rahmat
Created by Rahmatollah Beheshti RahmatB Hi @ggggfan,
Here is the clarification:
If the team is participating on behalf of the host institution, the institution (an entity) would be the participant. In order for an entity to win a cash prize, its primary place of business must be in the U.S. If this is satisfied, and the entity wins, then BARDA would issue the cash prize to the entity. What the entity does with the funds is up to the entity.
If the team of individuals are participating on their own behalf (i.e., not on behalf of an institution/entity), the team of individuals is the participant. If the team wins, then BARDA must provide the cash prize to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the team. What that individual does with the payment is up to the individual and the team.
It is up to the team and the institution to decide whether to participate as an entity (i.e. on behalf of the institution) or as a group of individuals (i.e. on their own behalf).
Let me know if you have further questions,
@trberg Hi @ggggfan,
I just wanted to let you know that we're looking into this and getting clarifications from BARDA on the rules.
Thank you,
Tim Hi @trberg ,
Just to confirm, in order to be eligible to receive a prize, is the team leader supposed to be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, no matter the team is from an institution that has secured a DUA with N3C or not?
Thank you,
Jifan Hi @dperrin,
Yes, that is correct. You cannot win the monetary prize but you can participate in the challenge. Hi @trberg,
Just to confirm, researchers based at non-US institutions cannot win the monetary prize, but as long as a DUA is signed, they are still allowed to participate, right?
Our university (in Australia) is in the process of getting a DUA in place, but I do not want to waste their time if we will not be allowed in the challenge itself.
@ttdtrang, that's correct. So long as each individual is part of an institution that have DUAs signed, teams can be made up of people from different institutions.
@trberg And there's no administrative/logistic problem for teams with members from different institutions, as long as all of their institutions have signed a DUA? Hi @ttdtrang,
You should be able to change it, but I'll ask for a clarification from BARDA.
Hi @christophe.lambert,
I agree, the current rules are contradicting what I wrote above. I'll see if we can get the rules clarified, what I responded with above is what I was told how the prize money is going to be distributed.
Thank you,
@trberg @trberg , the [written rules](https://www.synapse.org/#!Synapse:syn25875374/wiki/611238) seem to conflict with what you [say](https://www.synapse.org/#!Synapse:syn25875374/discussion/threadId=8324&replyId=25684). Can those rules be clarified: "(3) In the case of a private entity, must 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, must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States;" How I read this wording is that an individual who is not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States may not participate, even if they are in a group headed by a US citizen/permanent resident.
Thanks! Hi Tim @trberg,
Can the team captain designation be changed or it has to be fixed from the beginning when you create a team? Hi there,
This is very helpful and clear. Thank you so much for getting to the bottom of it!!
Hi @RahmatB,
So the important detail for your team is who is the team captain. So long as your team captain is a US resident, they will receive the prize funds and will allocate the winnings to everyone on the team, regardless of US citizenship status. So you are eligible to participate and can receive the winnings in the event that you have a top performing model if your team captain is a US citizen.
Let me know if you have more questions!
@trberg Hi @RahmatB,
I'm working on getting clarification on this rule from BARDA. I'll let you know when I get an answer.
Thank you,
Tim That makes sense and seems the same as N3C's documentations. From what I understand by reading the challenge descriptions, to be eligible to receive a prize then, the participants have to be US citizens or PRs, regardless of N3C access (correct me, if I'm wrong).
Thank you! Hi @RahmatB,
So long as you are on a team that's part of an institution who has secured a DUA with N3C, you should be able to have access. We've had international students doing research in the environment for over a year now. However, international institutions may have a harder time getting that DUA in place. Let us know how we can help you get involved!