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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 3 (Monday, January 6, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 737-739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31630]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[DOT-OST-2024-0127]

Solicitation for Annual Combating Human Trafficking in 
Transportation Impact Award

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary of Transportation, U.S. Department of 
Transportation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The annual Combating Human Trafficking in Transportation 
Impact Award (the award) is a component of the Department of 
Transportation's (DOT) Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking 
initiative that seeks to raise awareness among transportation 
stakeholders about human trafficking and increase training and 
prevention to combat the crime. The award serves as a platform for 
transportation stakeholders to creatively develop impactful and 
innovative counter-trafficking tools, initiatives, campaigns, and 
technologies that can be shared with the broader community to help stop 
human trafficking. The award is open to individuals and entities, 
including non-governmental organizations, transportation industry 
associations, research institutions, and State and local government 
organizations. Entrants compete for a cash award of up to $50,000 to be 
awarded to the individual(s) or entity selected for creating the most 
impactful counter-trafficking initiative or technology.

DATES: Submissions will be accepted from January 6, 2025 through 11:59 
p.m. PST/2:59 a.m. EST on March 7, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Additional information regarding the Department's counter-
trafficking activities can be found at www.transportation.gov/stophumantrafficking.
    Additional information regarding the Department's counter-
trafficking activities can be found at www.transportation.gov/stophumantrafficking. To register your intent to compete individually 
or as part of a team, visit www.transportation.gov/stophumantrafficking, email [email protected], or contact the Office 
of International Transportation and Trade at (202) 366-4398.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Award Approving Official: The Secretary of Transportation 
(Secretary).
    Subject of Award Competition: The Combating Human Trafficking in 
Transportation Impact Award recognizes impactful, innovative, and 
shareable approaches to combating human trafficking in the 
transportation industry.

Problem

    As many as 27.6 million men, women, and children are held against 
their will and trafficked into forced labor and commercial sex. 
Transportation figures prominently in human trafficking enterprises 
when traffickers move victims, which uniquely positions the industry to 
combat the crime.

Challenge

    The Combating Human Trafficking in Transportation Impact Award is 
looking for the best innovators to develop original, impactful, unique, 
and shareable human trafficking tools, initiatives, campaigns, and 
technologies that can help stop these heinous crimes in the 
transportation industry.

Eligibility

    To be eligible to participate in the Combating Human Trafficking in 
Transportation Impact Award competition, private entities must be 
incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United 
States, and individuals must be citizens or permanent residents of the 
United States. There is no charge to enter the competition.

Rules, Terms, and Conditions

    The following additional rules apply:
    1. Entrants shall submit a project to the competition under the 
rules promulgated by the Department in this Notice;
    2. Entrants must indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Federal 
Government from and against all third-party claims, actions, or 
proceedings of any kind and from any and all damages, liabilities, 
costs, and expenses relating to or arising from participant's 
submission or any breach or alleged breach of any of the 
representations, warranties, and covenants of participant hereunder. 
Entrants are financially responsible for claims made by a third party;
    3. Entrants may not be a Federal entity, Federal employee acting 
within the scope of their employment, or a family member of a Federal 
Employee;
    4. Entrants may not be an employee or family member of an employee 
of the U.S. Department of Transportation;
    5. Entrants shall not be deemed ineligible because an individual 
used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal employees during a 
competition if the facilities and employees are made available to all 
individuals participating in the competition on an equitable basis;
    6. The entries cannot have been submitted in the same or 
substantially similar form in any other previous Federally sponsored 
promotion or Federally sponsored competition;
    7. Entrants previously awarded first place are not eligible to 
reenter for the same or substantially similar project;
    8. Entries which, in the Department's sole discretion, are 
determined to be substantially similar to another entity's entry 
submitted to this competition may be disqualified;
    9. The competition is subject to all applicable Federal laws and 
regulations. Participation constitutes the entrants' full and 
unconditional agreement to these rules and to the Secretary's 
decisions, which are final and binding

[[Page 738]]

in all matters related to this competition;
    10. Entries must be original, be the work of the entrant and/or 
nominee and must not violate the rights of other parties. All entries 
remain the property of the entrant. Each entrant represents and 
warrants that:
     Entrant is the sole author and owner of the submission;
     The entry is not the subject of any actual or threatened 
litigation or claim;
     The entry does not and will not violate or infringe upon 
the intellectual property rights, privacy rights, publicity rights, or 
other legal rights of any third party; and
     The entry does not and will not contain any harmful 
computer code (sometimes referred to as ``malware,'' ``viruses,'' or, 
``worms'').
    11. By submitting an entry in this competition, entrants agree to 
assume any and all risks and waive any 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 
their participation in this competition, whether the injury, death, 
damage, or loss arises through negligence of otherwise. Provided, 
however, that by registering or submitting an entry, entrants and/or 
nominees do not waive claims against the Department arising out of the 
unauthorized use or disclosure by the agency of the intellectual 
property, trade secrets, or confidential information of the entrant;
    12. The Secretary or the Secretary's designees have the right to 
request additional supporting documentation regarding the application 
from the entrants and/or nominees;
    13. Each entrant grants to the Department, as well as other Federal 
agencies with which it partners, the right to use names, likeness, 
application materials, photographs, voices, opinions, and hometown and 
state for the Department's promotional purposes in any media, in 
perpetuity, worldwide, without further payment or consideration;
    14. If selected, the entrant and/or nominee must provide written 
consent granting the Department and any parties acting on their behalf, 
a royalty-free, non-exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license to 
display publicly and use for promotional purposes the entry 
(``demonstration license''). This demonstration license includes 
posting or linking to the entry on Department websites, including the 
Competition website, and partner websites, and inclusion of the entry 
in any other media, worldwide;
    15. Applicants that are Federal grant recipients may not use 
Federal funds to develop submissions or to fund efforts in support of a 
submission;
    16. Federal contractors may not use Federal funds from a contract 
to develop submissions or to fund efforts in support of a submission; 
and
    17. The submission period begins on January 6, 2025. Submissions 
must be sent by 11:59 p.m. PST/2:59 a.m. EST on March 7, 2025. The 
timeliness of submissions will be determined by the time stamp of the 
Microsoft Form submission. Competition administrators assume no 
responsibility for lost or untimely submissions for any reason.

Submission Requirements

    Applicants must submit entries using the following Microsoft Forms 
link: https://forms.office.com/g/XVPzafGs5G. Please contact 
[email protected] for any submission issues via Microsoft Forms.
    Expression of Interest: While not required, entrants are strongly 
encouraged to send brief expressions of interest to DOT prior to 
submitting entries. The expressions of interest should be sent by 
February 5, 2025 to [email protected], and include the following 
elements: (1) Name and title of entrant(s); (2) Telephone and email 
address; and (3) A synopsis of the concept, limited to no more than two 
pages.
    Please ensure your submission package includes EACH of the 
following twelve elements:

1. Mode(s)

    Specify which transportation mode(s) the proposal will focus on.

2. Title

    The proposal title.

3. Entity

    The name of the organization(s) being nominated, or the name(s) and 
title(s) of the individual(s) being nominated.

4. Submitted By

    Include name, title, phone, email, website URL, and mailing 
address.
    If the point of contact for the proposal is different, also specify 
their name, title, phone, and email.

5. Background

    Brief background regarding the submitting individual(s) or 
organization(s) that includes relevant counter-trafficking expertise.

6. Partners

    If applicable, list the partners who will be engaged in proposal 
development and/or implementation, including a brief background for 
each.

7. Letters of Support

    You may submit supporting letters, which may be from subject matter 
experts or industry, and may address the technical merit of the 
concept, originality, impact, practicality, measurability and/or 
applicability. Proposals with letters of support should include an 
itemized list with the name, title, and organization for each letter.

8. Proposal Description (1 Sentence)

    A high-level description of the proposal including all 
deliverable(s).

9. Proposal Summary (1 Paragraph)

    A detailed synopsis of the proposal, including how efficacy will be 
measured and its anticipated impact.

10. Proposal Overview and Impact/Measurability (1-2 Pages)

    A proposal description that presents a logical approach and 
workable solution to addressing the issue of human trafficking in the 
transportation industry. Include responses to the following questions: 
Is the concept unique? Are anticipated beneficiaries clearly 
identified? Were human trafficking survivors consulted in the proposal 
development and/or how will survivor input be included in 
implementation? Are anticipated resources and costs outlined in detail? 
Can the proposal be implemented in a way requiring a finite amount of 
resources (e.g., fixed costs, low or no marginal costs, and a clear 
path to implementation and scale beyond an initial investment)? For 
impact and measurability, include a description of how the proposal 
will be evaluated, and its potential impact on human trafficking in the 
transportation industry. Include responses to the following questions: 
How will the proposal's impact be measured? How will the proposal 
contribute to counter-trafficking efforts in the transportation sector? 
If not a national proposal, can the proposal be scaled nationally?

11. Supporting Documents (No Page Limit)

    The paper(s) and/or technologies, programs, video/audio files, and 
other related materials, describing the proposal and addressing the 
selection criteria. As applicable, this can include a description of 
success of a previous or similar proposal and/or documentation of 
impact. DOT may request additional

[[Page 739]]

information, including supporting documentation, more detailed contact 
information, releases of liability, and statements of authenticity to 
guarantee the originality of the work. Failure to respond in a timely 
manner may result in disqualification.

12. Eligibility Statement

    A statement of eligibility by private entities indicating that they 
are incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the 
United States, or a statement of eligibility by individuals indicating 
that they are citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

Initial Screening

    The Office of International Transportation and Trade (OITT) will 
initially review applications to determine that all required submission 
elements are included, and to determine compliance with eligibility 
requirements.

Evaluation

    After the Initial Screening, OITT, with input from the relevant 
Operating Administrations, will judge entries based on the factors 
described below: technical merit, originality, impact, practicality, 
measurability, and applicability. The Secretary will make the final 
selection. The Department reserves the right to not award the prize if 
the selecting officials believe that no submission demonstrates 
sufficient potential for sufficient transformative impact. The 
following factors will be given consideration:

Technical Merit

     Does the proposal present a clear understanding of the 
issue of human trafficking in the transportation industry and utilizes 
a trauma-informed, victim-centered approach?
     Does the proposal present a logical and workable solution 
and approach to addressing human trafficking in the transportation 
industry?
     Were survivors of human trafficking consulted in the 
development of the proposal concept and is survivor input outlined in 
the description of proposal implementation?

Originality

     Is the concept new or a variation of an existing idea?
     Does the concept possess and clearly describe its unique 
merits?

Impact/Measurability

     Can the proposal make a significant impact and/or 
contribution to the fight against human trafficking in the 
transportation industry?
     Does the proposal clearly describe the breadth of impact?
     Does the submission clearly outline how the proposal will 
be measured?
     Will the proposal result in measurable improvements?

Practicality

     Does the proposal clearly identify anticipated 
beneficiaries of the proposal?
     Does the proposal clearly outline anticipated resources 
and all costs to be incurred by executing the concept?
     Can the proposal be implemented in a way that requires a 
finite amount of resources (specifically, the submission has fixed 
costs, low or no marginal costs, and a clear path to implementation and 
scale beyond an initial investment)?

Applicability

     Is the proposal national or can it be scaled nationally?

Award

    Up to three winning entries are expected to be announced. The 
first-place winner will receive up to a $50,000 cash prize. A plaque 
with the first-place winner(s) name and the date of the award will be 
on display at the U.S. Department of Transportation, and a display copy 
of the plaque(s) will be sent to the first-place award winner. Two 
additional plaques will be awarded to recognize the two runners up. At 
the Department's discretion, DOT may pay for invitational travel 
expenses to Washington, DC, for up to two individuals or 
representatives of the first-place winner and runners up, should 
selectees be invited to present their proposal(s) for DOT officials.
    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 3719 (America COMPETES Act).

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 30, 2024.
Carol A. Petsonk,
Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2024-31630 Filed 1-3-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
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