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Team Leverage: Bringing it Home Wins the Food to Market Challenge

A CHALLENGE TO BOOST CHICAGO'S SUPPLY OF LOCAL, SUSTAINABLE FOOD

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Form a team

Each team consists of two or more individuals or organizations and must include at least one local and sustainable food grower.

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Build a plan

Teams design innovative solutions to re-conceive supply chain practices that limit scale of the local food market in the Chicago region.

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Fund a business

$500,000 for a solution that is innovative, feasible, scalable, and advances the charitable purposes of Food:Land:Opportunity.

Scoring Process

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Scoring Process

Once you have submitted your proposed solution to the Evaluation Panel, five members will review your submission. Their scores and comments will be statistically normalized to ensure a Level Playing Field for everyone. Each of the five members assigned to you will assess your submission by providing scores and comments, using the Trait Scoring Rubric described on this page. Please take time to understand the scoring process and to review the four traits: innovative, impactful, feasible, and scalable.

After certification, the five top-scoring Finalists will be invited to attend a pitch event where the Selection Committee will determine the Winner.

Rules

The Competition begins Saturday, September 12, 2015, and ends when the public is notified of the Winners at the awards show in late 2015. ALL ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2015, AT 11:59 PM ET. Information on how to enter and/or to receive Prizes form part of these Competition Rules. By submitting an Entry, each registrant agrees to the Competition Terms and RULES and warrants that his or her Entry complies with all requirements set out in the Competition Terms and RULES. This is a skill-based competition and chance plays no part in the determination of any Winner.
Subject to the limitations set out herein, individuals between the ages of 13-18 may participate (“You”). You must complete registration to participate. You must be at least 13 years of age at the time of registration to participate, but You cannot be older than 18 years of age by October 4, 2015, to participate. You cannot reside in nor be governed by countries that are prohibited by law, regulation (including United States or other applicable export laws and regulations), treaty or administrative act from entering into trade relations (including export of technology) with the United States of America or its citizens. CONTEST IS VOID IN IRAN, NORTH KOREA, SUDAN, SYRIA, AND WHERE PROHIBITED. Please visit http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/Programs.aspx for a current list of prohibited countries.
The Content created or provided by You must be Your own. You represent and warrant that Your Entry is an original work created solely by You, that You own all Intellectual Property in and to the Entry, and that no other party has any right, title, claim or interest in the Entry, except as expressly identified by You to us in writing. By submitting Your Entry, You are providing a royalty-free, perpetual, and non-exclusive license of your Entry and all associated Entry Content to Khan Academy, as more specifically described in the Terms & Conditions. If there are portions of the Entry that are encumbered by third-party intellectual property rights, it is Your responsibility to disclose them, and such third party content may cause Your Entry to be disqualified.
You may participate by registering, and You may not register more than one true and uniform identity; multiple registrations for a participant using multiple identities are not allowed. We reserve the right to disqualify any Entry made by a participant violating this limitation, regardless of whether all of the respective parties had knowledge of such violation.
The application requirements for Your Entry are clearly described on this website. There are three phases of assessment for each qualified Entry. They are:
- Upon submitting Your Entry, qualified Entries will be distributed to other registrants during a Peer to Peer assessment of those Entries. You will be required to assess at least five (5) other Entries from Your Peers. If You do not complete those assessments, using the tools and process described on this Website, Your participation may be terminated. We anticipate a large number of Entries, and therefore specific provisions have been put in place to ensure fairness and to address the need to break any ties. As you consider how you will assess your Peers, please take time to read and understand the TRAIT SCORING RUBRIC that You will use. For more information on how scores from Your Peers will be calculated, please see the LEVEL PLAYING FIELD description on this Website. Based on normalized scores from each Peer review, a rank order of the Entries will be populated. The top seventy-five (75) Entries will be subjected to an Administrative Review, to ensure compliance with all of the requirements. If the top seventy-five (75) Entries qualify, they will advance to the next phase of review. Where any ties occur, those who have received an equal normalized score during the Peer to Peer review will be further ranked according to a secondary score (the grade score) provided by those same Peers. If the grade score is also equal among a sub-set of ties, then the final rank order those Entries will be calculated based on the order in which each registrant completed their Peer reviews. Therefore, it is important for each registrant to review and finalize scores for each assigned Entry as thoughtfully and efficiently as possible. Please note that this process was designed both to narrow the number of Entries by utilizing the skills and talents of our registrants and to increase the exposure that registrants receive for their submissions. Therefore, we hope that You will approach the Peer to Peer review process as an educational experience and with good faith by providing an honest and sincere assessment of Your fellow registrants’ work.
- Once the top 75 Finalists from the Peer to Peer review process have been identified, those Finalists will advance to an Evaluation Panel review. The Evaluation Panel consists of experts who are identified on this Website. They will utilize the same Trait Scoring Rubric to score each assigned Finalist, and each Finalist’s Entry will receive five reviews from a random assortment of Evaluation Panel members. Scores from assigned Evaluation Panel members are statistically normalized. Based on a rank order of those scores, the top twenty (20) will be designated as remaining Finalists. From those top twenty (20) remaining Finalists, a second Administrative Review will take place to select the Entries that will advance to the last round of assessment.
- The final round of assessment consists of an undetermined number of Entries, drawn from the top twenty (20) remaining Finalists. Those Entries will be assessed by the Selection Committee, who are also identified on this Website. The Selection Committee will take into account all of the scores from the previous reviewers and any other criteria that they determine necessary to select the final Winners.
Should You be selected as a Winner, You will be required to enter into a separate agreement with Khan Academy and/or their designees to receive any Prize, so long as the conditions of your success are met in compliance with all of the stated and relevant Terms. You may not submit any petitions for a division of any Prize. If You are a minor, You will be required to assist in securing parental or guardian consent during the designation of any Prizes and as part of entering into any separate agreement with Khan Academy and/or their designees. The recipients of any Prizes will be announced on this Website and will be required to participate in an awards ceremony, tentatively scheduled between November 6-8, 2015.
While RAMPIT, LLC (“RAMPIT”) is providing an online platform for your participation, RAMPIT is not responsible for the payment of any Prize. Payment of the Prize is the sole responsibility of the Competition Sponsor and/or designees, and under the Terms each participant has agreed to look solely to the Competition Sponsor for the payment of any Prize. Please note that the Winner of any Prize may be subject to certain taxes. Under the Terms, Winners of any Prize will be solely responsible for paying such taxes. Neither Khan Academy, as the Competition Sponsor, nor RAMPIT and/or its affiliates will accept responsibility for paying such taxes.
By submitting your Entry, you agree to release, discharge and hold harmless Khan Academy and its partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, agents and their employees, officers, directors and representatives from any Loss arising out of your participation in this Competition and the acceptance and use, misuse, or possession of any Prize. Khan Academy assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission; communications line failure; theft or destruction of or unauthorized access to Competition entries or entry forms; or alteration of entries or entry forms. Khan Academy is not responsible for any problems with or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or any website, human errors of any kind, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrants’ or any other persons’ computers related to or resulting from participation, uploading or downloading of any materials related to this Competition.
THIS COMPETITION IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Entrants agree that this Competition shall be subject to and governed by the laws of Tennessee and the United States of America and the forum of any dispute shall be in the courts of Davidson County, Tennessee, United States of America. To the extent permitted by law, the right to litigate, to seek injunctive relief or to make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Competition are hereby excluded and any entrant expressly waives any and all such rights. Certain restrictions may apply.
If for any reason the Competition is not capable of running as planned, due to infection by computer virus, bugs, worms, Trojan horses, denial of service, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of RAMPIT and/or Khan Academy that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Competition, Khan Academy reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual(s) who tamper with the process, and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Competition. If Khan Academy terminates the Competition, it will not retain any rights to the submitted Entries.
Khan Acaedmy, as the Competition Sponsor, reserves the right to disqualify any participant who violates these RULES, the Terms, and any standards of behavior expressed or implied in them. We look forward to receiving your most thoughtful and creative Entry.
Any employee, contractor, immediate family members or those living in the same household as an employee or contract to Khan Academy or RAMPIT are prohibited from entering the Competition.

Rules Riders

Entry Requirements; Rights in Entry Materials; Representations and Warranties

Videos may not contain or depict anything that is obscene, sexually explicit, profane, racist, vulgar, defamatory, unlawful or offensive, or that infringes upon or violates the rights of any person or entity. Entrants must at all times follow all applicable laws, rules and regulations, and must not take any actions that are illegal or dangerous while attempting to take Videos.

By submitting a Video, each Entrant irrevocably grants Sponsor the unlimited right to post the Video on Sponsor’s or its designee’s Web sites and to otherwise use, reproduce, publicly display, publicly perform, exhibit and otherwise exploit the Video in any manner, without separate compensation. Entrants represent and warrant that the Video they submit: (a) does not violate any applicable law, rule or regulation, and (b) does not violate any copyright, trademark, publicity right, privacy right, or any other right of any third party. Each Entrant further represents and warrants that he or she owns and is free to grant to Sponsor all rights in and to the Video that is granted herein. Once submitted, Videos become the exclusive property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. Videos that Sponsor determines in its sole judgment are not reasonably pertinent to the subject matter of the Promotion, which are a duplicate of a previous submission, or which are deemed inappropriate or ineligible by Sponsor staff for any reason may be disqualified in Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion. Any submission otherwise in violation of these Official Rules may also be disqualified. Sponsor will have no obligation (express or implied) to use or display any Video and may at any time abandon the use of the Video for any reason, or for no reason. Entrant agrees to defend, indemnify and hold Sponsor harmless from and against, any claims, liabilities, actions, damages, costs and expenses (including attorneys' fees) arising out of or in connection with the Video or Entrant’s participation in the Promotion.

As a condition of being awarded the Prize (except where prohibited by law) the potential winner may be required to execute and deliver to Sponsor a signed affidavit of eligibility and acceptance of these Official Rules and may be required to execute or obtain certain other releases, documents and permissions as required by Sponsor.

Entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned. Except where prohibited by law, entry into the Promotion constitutes permission to use Entrant’s name, hometown, likeness and prize information, without limitation, for Sponsor's advertising and promotional purposes without further permission or compensation. Entrant agrees to sign any and all on camera release agreements provided to Entrant by sponsor to enable Sponsor to use Entrant’s name and likeness in connection with the Breakthrough Prize Awards 2015 for no additional compensation. As a condition of being awarded a prize, winner may be required to confirm such permission in writing and execute and deliver a written affidavit of eligibility, acceptance of these Official Rules, release of liability, tax forms, and other reasonable documentation.

Contact Information

You may contact us with any questions or comments about these RULES. Please enter “Junior Breakthrough Challenge” in the subject line of your email. You may reach us directly at: info@rampit.com.

The Competition Sponsor is:

Khan Academy
P.O. Box 1630
Mountain View, CA 94042

About

The Food to Market Challenge will award $500,000 to the multidisciplinary team that designs the most innovative solution to re-conceive supply chain practices that today limit the scale or efficiency of the Chicago region’s local and sustainable food market.

The solution will address the problem of size as a marketplace barrier for burgeoning local food enterprises. The solution will be feasible to implement; can be sustained or grow even after funding from the challenge ends; and advance the charitable purposes of Food:Land:Opportunity to create a resilient local food economy that protects and conserves land and other natural resources while promoting market innovation and building wealth and assets in the Chicago region’s communities.

The winning team will receive $500,000 to implement its proposed solution, but the intended outcome of the competition goes beyond naming a winner. The challenge seeks to create a common framework for assessing and investing in innovative ideas, attract new talent to the local and sustainable food sector, realize solutions that would not emerge through traditional grant making or without philanthropic capital, and convene an influential community committed to improving the Chicago region’s local and sustainable food economy.

About Food:Land:Opportunity
Funded through the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust, Food:Land:Opportunity is a collaboration between Kinship Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust that aims to create a resilient local food economy that protects and conserves land and other natural resources while promoting market innovation and building wealth and assets in the Chicago region’s communities. Food:Land:Opportunity catalyzes efforts to increase land for sustainable production, strengthen local food business practices, and attract capital to the local food system.

For Teams

The Food to Market Challenge will attract and inspire multidisciplinary teams to propose innovative solutions to re-conceive supply chain practices that today limit the scale or efficiency of the local food market. Innovative is defined as either new and breakthrough concepts or tried and tested methodologies that when applied differently yield greater results. Teams competing in the Food to Market Challenge will:

include one local and sustainable food, livestock, or poultry grower whose operation is in the Chicago foodshed, defined as a 250-mile radius outside of the city;
propose a solution that serves the Chicago region of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties; and
be entrepreneurial problem solvers made up of at least two organizations or individuals.

You will be asked to name each individual team member, outline how you work together, and explain both the legal and governing control of your team’s proposed solution. Through the challenge application process, teams will need to showcase both the ingenuity of their idea and their planning acumen.

Local and Sustainable
For the purposes of the Food to Market Challenge, local is defined as within a 250-mile radius around the City of Chicago. Sustainable growing operations are characterized by diversified crop selection and management practices that enhance the biological stability of the operation, soil management techniques - where applicable - that enhance the quality of the soil over time and have the potential to enhance the quality of natural ecosystems, and an efficient or regenerative use of inputs and outputs, such as water, energy, and waste.

An Expert Panel will certify that the food growers of the top ten submissions as determined by the Evaluation Panel are local and sustainable. The top five finalists who meet these criteria will be invited to attend a pitch event where the Selection Committee will determine the Winner.

Who Can Be on a Team?
Teams competing in the Food to Market Challenge must include a minimum of two organizations or individuals. At least one of those team members must be a local and sustainable food, livestock, or poultry grower. Teams can include a wide range of interests, such as food supply chain companies, software businesses, government entities, nonprofit organizations, and anyone else who can play a meaningful role in creating the most innovative solution to re-conceive supply chain practices that today limit the scale or efficiency of the Chicago region’s local and sustainable food market. To register, you must identify yourself as representing one of the following categories:

Food Grower (urban, peri-urban, and rural farmers and ranchers)
Organization (non-grower)
Individual (Entrepreneur or other Professional Service Provider)

Looking for a Team?
Register and then log in to access help videos to learn how to create a team and to access the discussion forums where you can post questions and meet other participants. Refer to the rules for additional requirements of participation.

A Level Playing Field

We appreciate your interest in the Food to Market Challenge and want to explain how every applicant will be treated during the scoring process. Here is an explanation of the way in which the Judges' scores are calculated.

Once a registered team has completed an application, a minimum of five judges will be assigned to score each submission. Judges will offer both scores and comments for each of four distinct traits. Each of the four traits will be scored on a 0-5 point scale, in increments of 0.1. Those scores will combine to produce a total score. Examples of possible scores for a trait are… 0.4, 3.7, 5.0, etc.

The most straightforward way to ensure that everyone is treated by the same set of standards would be to have the same judges score every application; unfortunately, due to the number of applications, that is not possible.

Since the same judges will not score every application, the question of fairness needs to be carefully explained. One judge scoring an application may take a more critical view, giving every assigned submission a range of scores only between 1.0 and 2.0, as an example; meanwhile, another judge may be more generous and score every submission between 4.0 and 5.0.

For illustrative purposes, let’s look at the scores from two hypothetical judges:

The first judge is far more generous in scoring than the second judge, who gives much lower scores. If your application was rated by the first judge, it would earn a much higher total score than if it was assigned to the second judge.

We have a way to address this issue. We ensure that no matter which judges are assigned to you, each application will be treated fairly. To do this, we utilize a mathematical technique relying on two measures of distribution, the mean and the standard deviation.

The mean takes all the scores assigned by a judge, adds them up, and divides them by the number of scores assigned, giving an average score.

Formally, we denote the mean like this:

The standard deviation measures the “spread” of a judge’s scores. As an example, imagine that two judges both give the same mean (average) score, but one gives many zeros and fives, while the other gives more ones and fours. It wouldn't be fair, if we didn’t consider this difference.

Formally, we denote the standard deviation like this:

To ensure that the judging process is fair, we rescale all the scores to match the judging population. In order to do this, we measure the mean and the standard deviation of all scores across all judges. Then, we change the mean score and the standard deviation of each judge to reflect the range of typical distributions.

We rescale the standard deviation like this:

Then, we rescale mean like this:

Basically, we are finding the difference between both distributions for a single judge and those for all of the judges combined, then adjusting each score so that no one is treated unfairly according to which judges they are assigned.

If we apply this rescaling process to the same two judges in the example above, we can see the outcome of the final resolved scores. They appear more similar, because they are now aligned with typical distributions across the total judging population.

We are pleased to answer any questions you have about the scoring process. You are able to ask questions related to the scoring process on the discussion forums once you register and begin developing your application.

Application

Here’s what you have to do to compete. First, Register by April 26, 2016, at 10:00 CT. Then, create your submission using the application guidelines below. There are three sections in the application: Your Team, Your Plan, and Resource Requirements. The top five Finalists will be required to complete a Video Pitch as described below.

THE TEAM SOLUTION:

Please provide a brief summary of the solution that your team is proposing, in order to implement the most innovative solution to re-conceive supply chain practices that today limit the scale or efficiency of the Chicago region’s local and sustainable food market. Your brief summary cannot exceed 20 words. Be concise and compelling.

A. YOUR TEAM

This application has been drafted to allow for the formation of a wide variety of teams. However, as we consider which teams are most likely to succeed, those that include members from multiple points along the supply chain and seasoned professionals who understand the difficulties of producing food in and for the Chicago region will be most competitive. We require every team to include at least one local Food Grower, who meets sustainable food production practices. A local Food Grower must consist of a farmer, rancher, or organization responsible for growing food or raising livestock or poultry within a 250 mile radius around the City of Chicago. While farmers and ranchers may represent the largest categories of local Food Growers, we welcome any individuals or other organizations that assume local food growing as the primary purpose of their operations. Your team must include a local Food Grower, so that any team proposing a solution that does not directly include local food production will take time to consider the needs of those growing food in the Chicago region.

The following information is required to capture a basic understanding of the leadership, structure, vision, and capabilities of your team.

TEAM LEADERSHIP
Each team must be led by an individual who takes responsibility for completing the application and assumes final accountability. This individual may delegate responsibilities to others but will serve as the primary point of contact for program administrators and coordinate responses to any questions and/or have a working knowledge of all team decisions.

TEAM LEADER
Please provide the name and title of your team leader for the purposes of communicating with your team.

Contact Name
Title
Organization
Contact information (phone, email, address)

TEAM STRUCTURE
Teams will be made up of at least two organizations or individuals with a minimum of one local Food Grower that serves the Chicago region and that meets our standards of sustainable food production. Each team must be organized to efficiently and effectively deliver a clear and compelling solution to re-conceive supply chain practices that today limit the scale and efficiency of the local food market. You will be asked to name each individual team member, outline how you work together, and explain both the legal and governing control of your team’s proposed solution.

Any summary description of your team may be used in other materials to provide a general overview of your team to others.

TEAM LIST – 250 words
Provide a description of the individuals or organizations, businesses, or expertise represented by your team, starting with the team leader. Please remember to include and describe one or more local Food Grower(s) that conform to the local and sustainable food production standards described on this website. Any food grower that is named here must register through this website and provide pertinent information about his/her growing practices in order to qualify. Without one or more Food Grower team member(s) meeting those standards, your team will be disqualified.

HOW WAS YOUR TEAM FORMED? – 150 words
Briefly, tell the story of how your team was formed. Emphasize where any long-standing relationships create stability and strength among the members. You are also encouraged to showcase where new relationships have emerged and under what conditions any new members agreed to participate. We seek teams that offer innovative solutions to increase the supply of local and sustainable food in the Chicago region, and we define innovative as either new and breakthrough concepts or tried and tested methodologies that, when applied differently, will yield greater results. Explain how your team is positioned to offer either of those approaches to innovation based on the track record of its members.

MANAGEMENT – 250 words
Please provide a narrative description of the management structure of your team by describing the key implementation responsibilities of the team members and their relationship to other team members, relative to your proposed solution. You may describe a formal organizational chart, but if your team is only loosely constructed please offer a description of how the parties share responsibilities and/or hold one another accountable. You may include a brief biographical statement for managing team members. You may also list the name and credentials of any key advisors who are not included as a member of your team, but who may counsel the team where management appears to lack relevant credentials.

B. YOUR PLAN

In this section, you will respond to questions that help describe your team’s proposed solution. Your team should emphasize how the new solution aligns with the four traits that will be used to score each application (see Trait Scoring Rubric). You are expected to describe how your solution solves a specific problem that currently inhibits the scale or efficiency of the local and sustainable food sector in the Chicago region or makes lasting and meaningful progress in response to a specific problem. Take time to underscore both the specific strengths of your plan and how they represent broader qualities of an overall strategy to ensure meaningful progress towards the goals of Food:Land:Opportunity.

YOUR APPROACH
Each team must address a problem that currently inhibits the scale or efficiency of the local and sustainable food sector in the Chicago region. Each team will then describe the context in which the solution will be implemented.

YOUR PROBLEM AND SOLUTION – 250 words
Building on the brief summary of your solution, please provide a broader and deeper explanation from within the context of a specific market problem. Focus on how the solution will address the market problem; explain any real or perceived barriers to solving the problem, and how your solution will overcome these barriers.

TARGET MARKET ANALYSIS – 250 words
Describe the projected size and type of your target market, including the specific products or services you intend to supply. Your market may be as discrete as a school or neighborhood or as large as a city or region. The only requirement is that your market has a direct benefit to the seven-county Chicago region (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will). Once you have defined your market, detail current levels of supply and demand and show how you will meet demand relative to your proposed solution. This brief explanation must show that you understand your target market and that, through a financially sustainable or scalable approach, you are directing your focus on increasing supply or improving efficiencies in this market.

YOUR FINANCING – 200 words
Build on the description of your target market analysis above and explain whether traditional financing exists for your solution and, if so, whether you have pursued traditional options. Describe any financial hurdles you have faced or anticipate facing, in terms of either launching or accelerating your solution, and in what ways, if any, the Food to Market Challenge impacts your plans.

ALIGNMENT with Food:Land:Opportunity
You are required to identify how your solution advances the desired outcomes of Food:Land:Opportunity. Please take time to read a summary description of the initiative on this website. From the following list, select the area(s) in which you feel that your solution contributes to Food:Land:Opportunity’s charitable goals. You may select more than one option.

Capital will be deployed more efficiently in the Chicago region’s local food system
More land will be accessible for sustainable production in the Chicago region
Food and farm businesses in the Chicago region will operate more effectively
More local food and farm businesses will exist in the Chicago region
The visibility of the local food sector will be increased
Support by elected and government officials for local food sector development in the Chicago region will be increased
Key stakeholders will connect across industries and interests to develop the Chicago region’s local food sector
Input providers (e.g. equipment, seeds, technologies, compost) will market goods and services to local food businesses at an increased rate
Packing, processing, distribution, and/or storage will be available at a scale appropriate to local food and farm businesses at an increased rate
Alliances between the local food sector and the conservation movement will be strengthened
More people will be interested in working in the Chicago region’s local food sector
Networks will strengthen between local food business people at different points in the supply chain

Explain your Selection(s) – 200 words
Please explain your selection(s) above as well as any other charitable goals met by your proposed solution.

PROJECT PLANNING
In this section, you will be asked to provide details about your plan. Please read all of the requirements carefully to avoid repeating points. Your project plan should provide judges with a clear roadmap that illustrates how you intend to realize your goals, the indicators by which you measure your success, and the steps required to achieve projected results.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – 200 words
The executive summary is your opportunity to provide an overview of your plan. This overview should reference your problem and proposed solution and include your goals and processes, including the systems, technology, infrastructure, or support by which you will produce measurable indicators of success . This portion of your application may be posted for others to see. Therefore, we encourage you not to mention any aspects of your plan that your team may feel is either proprietary or that upon revealing it would place your team at a competitive disadvantage.

Note: if chosen as a finalist in the Food to Market Challenge, you will be responsible for producing a short video pitch that captures this executive summary information.

WORK PLAN
In this section, you are asked to list the individual tasks needed to implement and manage your proposed solution and the team members responsible for ensuring the completion of each of them. This information is important for the judges to understand the feasibility of your plan.

We are providing a tool to document your team’s plans. It requires your team to indicate tasks by number and name. You will be assessed based on the level of detail and the feasibility of your plans. So, we encourage you to identify any subtasks that will support primary tasks.
Please list each task chronologically by start date and enter end dates accordingly.
For tasks that start at the same time, please start with the most essential and continue the list in order of importance.

PLAN DURATION – open field
What is the timeframe for the proposed plan? Indicate your timeframe in the total number of months (not to exceed 36 months).

OTHER SUPPORT – 150 words
Now that you have mapped your plan for implementing your proposed solution, please describe the use of any volunteers or other in-kind resources by describing those contributions against relevant tasks identified in the team’s project plan. Your description of any necessary project support is intended to show where difficult tasks may be mitigated through means other than funding. In your response, you may refer to relationship(s) that have been previously identified.

PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT – 200 words
Please describe any threats to your team’s proposed solution and your plan to address them. While every solution is different, we expect you to raise key potential risks and how you intend to manage them.

PLANNED TRACKING & METRICS – 200 words
Describe how you plan to measure the overall performance of the proposed solution. List your projected goals and the indicators you will use for tracking results/performance. While each team’s metrics will differ, our judges will also assess your metrics according to how well they will track your scale and efficiency over time.

C. RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

In this section, we are asking for a detailed budget and notes explaining all resource requirements in order for our judges to understand both the viability and fiscal sustainability of your solution.

TOTAL CAPITAL NEEDS
Please indicate the amount of capital secured to date, if any. You may enter the source of the secured funding in the line item description. Also, please indicate any outstanding capital required to implement the proposed plan. Identify this amount by entering “OUTSTANDING CAPITAL” in the last line item description. The amount of “OUTSTANDING CAPITAL” cannot be greater than $500,000. If the need for any “OUTSTANDING CAPITAL” exceeds $500,000, then you need to provide a clear explanation for how you plan to secure the balance of any necessary funds in the “Other Considerations” area below before your application can be considered feasible.

EXPENSES
What is the total cost to implement the solution within the specified timeframe (not to exceed 36 months) in your team’s work plan? This includes capital expenditures and operational expenditures. Please list each cost category in the following table and provide notes for the cost categories if they require further explanation. Please clarify whether each cost category is a capital expenditure or an operational expenditure.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS – 250 words
The implementation of your team’s solution may require other resources, and you are welcome to explain them here. You are also welcome to offer any contingency planning, based on specific issues raised in the risk section of your proposal. This is your opportunity to more completely describe any outstanding issues that you could not offer in other sections.

SCALABILITY – 200 words
Now that you have established your capital needs and projected costs to implement the proposed solution, please explain how your team’s solution will continue once the award funds have been spent. Describe the long term scalability of the solution by detailing how the proposed solution will grow and/or increase in effectiveness over time.

FINALIST PRESENTATIONS AND PITCHES:

Between June 29^th, 2016, and October, 10^th, 2016, all Finalist teams will be named and will have 3 months to prepare a presentation to the Selection Committee, to take place during a final public event. Those same Finalists will also be required to submit a video pitch, which can be used to summarize each team’s proposed solution and which may be posted on the website.

FINALIST VIDEO PITCH – YouTube ID # for Submission
If you are chosen as a finalist you will be asked to submit a video presentation, which captures your team’s pitch for why your solution should be funded. You will need to upload a short digital film by October 1^st.

Video submissions should follow these guidelines:

A length of no more than 5 minutes.
One person (two maximum) should present during the video.
Focus on a personal connection; it is not necessary to produce a sophisticated video.
Your pitch must be in English.

Video submissions that do not follow these guidelines may be removed from the application.

Here are general suggestions for delivering a high-quality video pitch:

Introduce yourself and your team.
What is the problem that you are committed to solving?
What is your proposed solution?
What is unique about your team and your technical approach?

Hone your content:

Keep your description and language simple.
Demonstrate passion through your words and enthusiasm.
Thoroughly prepare.

Practice numerous times and solicit feedback from team members, colleagues, family, and friends. Do not submit a video pitch if you see room for improvement.

Application

Here’s what you have to do to compete. First, Register by April 26, 2016, at 10:00 CT. Then, create your submission using the application guidelines below. There are three sections in the application: Your Team, Your Plan, and Resource Requirements. The top five Finalists will be required to complete a Video Pitch as described below.

THE TEAM SOLUTION:

Please provide a brief summary of the solution that your team is proposing, in order to implement the most innovative solution to re-conceive supply chain practices that today limit the scale or efficiency of the Chicago region’s local and sustainable food market. Your brief summary cannot exceed 20 words. Be concise and compelling.

A. YOUR TEAM

This application has been drafted to allow for the formation of a wide variety of teams. However, as we consider which teams are most likely to succeed, those that include members from multiple points along the supply chain and seasoned professionals who understand the difficulties of producing food in and for the Chicago region will be most competitive. We require every team to include at least one local Food Grower, who meets sustainable food production practices. A local Food Grower must consist of a farmer, rancher, or organization responsible for growing food or raising livestock or poultry within a 250 mile radius around the City of Chicago. While farmers and ranchers may represent the largest categories of local Food Growers, we welcome any individuals or other organizations that assume local food growing as the primary purpose of their operations. Your team must include a local Food Grower, so that any team proposing a solution that does not directly include local food production will take time to consider the needs of those growing food in the Chicago region.

The following information is required to capture a basic understanding of the leadership, structure, vision, and capabilities of your team.

TEAM LEADERSHIP
Each team must be led by an individual who takes responsibility for completing the application and assumes final accountability. This individual may delegate responsibilities to others but will serve as the primary point of contact for program administrators and coordinate responses to any questions and/or have a working knowledge of all team decisions.

TEAM LEADER
Please provide the name and title of your team leader for the purposes of communicating with your team.

Contact Name
Title
Organization
Contact information (phone, email, address)

TEAM STRUCTURE
Teams will be made up of at least two organizations or individuals with a minimum of one local Food Grower that serves the Chicago region and that meets our standards of sustainable food production. Each team must be organized to efficiently and effectively deliver a clear and compelling solution to re-conceive supply chain practices that today limit the scale and efficiency of the local food market. You will be asked to name each individual team member, outline how you work together, and explain both the legal and governing control of your team’s proposed solution.

Any summary description of your team may be used in other materials to provide a general overview of your team to others.

TEAM LIST – 250 words
Provide a description of the individuals or organizations, businesses, or expertise represented by your team, starting with the team leader. Please remember to include and describe one or more local Food Grower(s) that conform to the local and sustainable food production standards described on this website. Any food grower that is named here must register through this website and provide pertinent information about his/her growing practices in order to qualify. Without one or more Food Grower team member(s) meeting those standards, your team will be disqualified.

HOW WAS YOUR TEAM FORMED? – 150 words
Briefly, tell the story of how your team was formed. Emphasize where any long-standing relationships create stability and strength among the members. You are also encouraged to showcase where new relationships have emerged and under what conditions any new members agreed to participate. We seek teams that offer innovative solutions to increase the supply of local and sustainable food in the Chicago region, and we define innovative as either new and breakthrough concepts or tried and tested methodologies that, when applied differently, will yield greater results. Explain how your team is positioned to offer either of those approaches to innovation based on the track record of its members.

MANAGEMENT – 250 words
Please provide a narrative description of the management structure of your team by describing the key implementation responsibilities of the team members and their relationship to other team members, relative to your proposed solution. You may describe a formal organizational chart, but if your team is only loosely constructed please offer a description of how the parties share responsibilities and/or hold one another accountable. You may include a brief biographical statement for managing team members. You may also list the name and credentials of any key advisors who are not included as a member of your team, but who may counsel the team where management appears to lack relevant credentials.

B. YOUR PLAN

In this section, you will respond to questions that help describe your team’s proposed solution. Your team should emphasize how the new solution aligns with the four traits that will be used to score each application (see Trait Scoring Rubric). You are expected to describe how your solution solves a specific problem that currently inhibits the scale or efficiency of the local and sustainable food sector in the Chicago region or makes lasting and meaningful progress in response to a specific problem. Take time to underscore both the specific strengths of your plan and how they represent broader qualities of an overall strategy to ensure meaningful progress towards the goals of Food:Land:Opportunity.

YOUR APPROACH
Each team must address a problem that currently inhibits the scale or efficiency of the local and sustainable food sector in the Chicago region. Each team will then describe the context in which the solution will be implemented.

YOUR PROBLEM AND SOLUTION – 250 words
Building on the brief summary of your solution, please provide a broader and deeper explanation from within the context of a specific market problem. Focus on how the solution will address the market problem; explain any real or perceived barriers to solving the problem, and how your solution will overcome these barriers.

TARGET MARKET ANALYSIS – 250 words
Describe the projected size and type of your target market, including the specific products or services you intend to supply. Your market may be as discrete as a school or neighborhood or as large as a city or region. The only requirement is that your market has a direct benefit to the seven-county Chicago region (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will). Once you have defined your market, detail current levels of supply and demand and show how you will meet demand relative to your proposed solution. This brief explanation must show that you understand your target market and that, through a financially sustainable or scalable approach, you are directing your focus on increasing supply or improving efficiencies in this market.

YOUR FINANCING – 200 words
Build on the description of your target market analysis above and explain whether traditional financing exists for your solution and, if so, whether you have pursued traditional options. Describe any financial hurdles you have faced or anticipate facing, in terms of either launching or accelerating your solution, and in what ways, if any, the Food to Market Challenge impacts your plans.

ALIGNMENT with Food:Land:Opportunity
You are required to identify how your solution advances the desired outcomes of Food:Land:Opportunity. Please take time to read a summary description of the initiative on this website. From the following list, select the area(s) in which you feel that your solution contributes to Food:Land:Opportunity’s charitable goals. You may select more than one option.

Capital will be deployed more efficiently in the Chicago region’s local food system
More land will be accessible for sustainable production in the Chicago region
Food and farm businesses in the Chicago region will operate more effectively
More local food and farm businesses will exist in the Chicago region
The visibility of the local food sector will be increased
Support by elected and government officials for local food sector development in the Chicago region will be increased
Key stakeholders will connect across industries and interests to develop the Chicago region’s local food sector
Input providers (e.g. equipment, seeds, technologies, compost) will market goods and services to local food businesses at an increased rate
Packing, processing, distribution, and/or storage will be available at a scale appropriate to local food and farm businesses at an increased rate
Alliances between the local food sector and the conservation movement will be strengthened
More people will be interested in working in the Chicago region’s local food sector
Networks will strengthen between local food business people at different points in the supply chain

Explain your Selection(s) – 200 words
Please explain your selection(s) above as well as any other charitable goals met by your proposed solution.

PROJECT PLANNING
In this section, you will be asked to provide details about your plan. Please read all of the requirements carefully to avoid repeating points. Your project plan should provide judges with a clear roadmap that illustrates how you intend to realize your goals, the indicators by which you measure your success, and the steps required to achieve projected results.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – 200 words
The executive summary is your opportunity to provide an overview of your plan. This overview should reference your problem and proposed solution and include your goals and processes, including the systems, technology, infrastructure, or support by which you will produce measurable indicators of success . This portion of your application may be posted for others to see. Therefore, we encourage you not to mention any aspects of your plan that your team may feel is either proprietary or that upon revealing it would place your team at a competitive disadvantage.

Note: if chosen as a finalist in the Food to Market Challenge, you will be responsible for producing a short video pitch that captures this executive summary information.

WORK PLAN
In this section, you are asked to list the individual tasks needed to implement and manage your proposed solution and the team members responsible for ensuring the completion of each of them. This information is important for the judges to understand the feasibility of your plan.

We are providing a tool to document your team’s plans. It requires your team to indicate tasks by number and name. You will be assessed based on the level of detail and the feasibility of your plans. So, we encourage you to identify any subtasks that will support primary tasks.
Please list each task chronologically by start date and enter end dates accordingly.
For tasks that start at the same time, please start with the most essential and continue the list in order of importance.

PLAN DURATION – open field
What is the timeframe for the proposed plan? Indicate your timeframe in the total number of months (not to exceed 36 months).

OTHER SUPPORT – 150 words
Now that you have mapped your plan for implementing your proposed solution, please describe the use of any volunteers or other in-kind resources by describing those contributions against relevant tasks identified in the team’s project plan. Your description of any necessary project support is intended to show where difficult tasks may be mitigated through means other than funding. In your response, you may refer to relationship(s) that have been previously identified.

PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT – 200 words
Please describe any threats to your team’s proposed solution and your plan to address them. While every solution is different, we expect you to raise key potential risks and how you intend to manage them.

PLANNED TRACKING & METRICS – 200 words
Describe how you plan to measure the overall performance of the proposed solution. List your projected goals and the indicators you will use for tracking results/performance. While each team’s metrics will differ, our judges will also assess your metrics according to how well they will track your scale and efficiency over time.

C. RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

In this section, we are asking for a detailed budget and notes explaining all resource requirements in order for our judges to understand both the viability and fiscal sustainability of your solution.

TOTAL CAPITAL NEEDS
Please indicate the amount of capital secured to date, if any. You may enter the source of the secured funding in the line item description. Also, please indicate any outstanding capital required to implement the proposed plan. Identify this amount by entering “OUTSTANDING CAPITAL” in the last line item description. The amount of “OUTSTANDING CAPITAL” cannot be greater than $500,000. If the need for any “OUTSTANDING CAPITAL” exceeds $500,000, then you need to provide a clear explanation for how you plan to secure the balance of any necessary funds in the “Other Considerations” area below before your application can be considered feasible.

EXPENSES
What is the total cost to implement the solution within the specified timeframe (not to exceed 36 months) in your team’s work plan? This includes capital expenditures and operational expenditures. Please list each cost category in the following table and provide notes for the cost categories if they require further explanation. Please clarify whether each cost category is a capital expenditure or an operational expenditure.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS – 250 words
The implementation of your team’s solution may require other resources, and you are welcome to explain them here. You are also welcome to offer any contingency planning, based on specific issues raised in the risk section of your proposal. This is your opportunity to more completely describe any outstanding issues that you could not offer in other sections.

SCALABILITY – 200 words
Now that you have established your capital needs and projected costs to implement the proposed solution, please explain how your team’s solution will continue once the award funds have been spent. Describe the long term scalability of the solution by detailing how the proposed solution will grow and/or increase in effectiveness over time.

FINALIST PRESENTATIONS AND PITCHES:

Between June 29^th, 2016, and October, 10^th, 2016, all Finalist teams will be named and will have 3 months to prepare a presentation to the Selection Committee, to take place during a final public event. Those same Finalists will also be required to submit a video pitch, which can be used to summarize each team’s proposed solution and which may be posted on the website.

FINALIST VIDEO PITCH – YouTube ID # for Submission
If you are chosen as a finalist you will be asked to submit a video presentation, which captures your team’s pitch for why your solution should be funded. You will need to upload a short digital film by October 1^st.

Video submissions should follow these guidelines:

A length of no more than 5 minutes.
One person (two maximum) should present during the video.
Focus on a personal connection; it is not necessary to produce a sophisticated video.
Your pitch must be in English.

Video submissions that do not follow these guidelines may be removed from the application.

Here are general suggestions for delivering a high-quality video pitch:

Introduce yourself and your team.
What is the problem that you are committed to solving?
What is your proposed solution?
What is unique about your team and your technical approach?

Hone your content:

Keep your description and language simple.
Demonstrate passion through your words and enthusiasm.
Thoroughly prepare.

Practice numerous times and solicit feedback from team members, colleagues, family, and friends. Do not submit a video pitch if you see room for improvement.

Privacy Policy

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Terms & Conditions

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2.3 Particular Competitions may be subject to additional terms and conditions ("Competition Terms and Conditions"). Competition Terms and Conditions will apply in addition to this Agreement and will not limit this Agreement in any way unless RAMPIT notifies the parties to a Competition that this Agreement is amended by the Competition Terms and Conditions. If RAMPIT does not provide such notification to the parties, this Agreement will prevail in the event of any inconsistency between it and the Competition Terms and Conditions.

2.4 RAMPIT may alter this Website from time to time by adding or removing features. This Agreement will not be affected by any alterations to this Website.

2.5 Users may use this Website, including but not limited to those in the capacity of a Competitor. This Agreement will apply to Your use of the Website in that capacity, but Users may also include Award Administrators or representatives of the Competition Sponsor, and any conditions place on them as Users are identified in the Terms.

3. Participation

3.1 In order to participate in any Competition, You must register as a User. Participation on this Website is free.

3.2 Participation is available only to persons and entities who are able to form legally binding contracts under applicable law. If You do not accept this Agreement, You will not be permitted to host or participate in any Competition, or otherwise access or use the Website in any way.

3.3 Without limiting Clause 3.2 above, participation is not available to:

Individuals under the age of 18 years;
Persons whose participation has been permanently suspended or terminated under Section 4 below; or,
Persons who are or reside in countries that are prohibited by law, regulation (including United States or other applicable export laws and regulations), treaty or administrative act from entering into trade relations (including export of technology) with the United States or its citizens.

3.4 When registering as a User, You warrant to RAMPIT that:

if You are an individual, You are 18 years of age or older and You are registering as a User on Your own behalf and in Your own name (and not on behalf of and/or in the name of a third person);
if You are a corporation or other business entity, You are duly incorporated or organized under the laws of the place of Your incorporation or organization and have full legal capacity and power to enter into and perform Your obligations under this Agreement; and
You agree to act in good faith and in accordance with this Agreement.

3.5 No individual or entity may register more than once (for example, by using a different username/email).

3.6 Acceptance of registration is at the sole discretion of RAMPIT. If RAMPIT believes that any registration has been made in contravention of clauses 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 or 3.5 above (or otherwise in breach of this Agreement), it may refuse to accept the registration.

3.7 You are responsible for all use of this Website made using Your User Account (and/or username/email or password), whether or not You are aware of that use or could reasonably have been aware of that use. You agree to notify RAMPIT immediately if You become aware of any unauthorized use of Your User Account.

3.8 Your User Account is personal to You and may not be sold, assigned or transferred to a third party. If You attempt to sell, assign or transfer Your User Account to a third party, RAMPIT may suspend or terminate Your participation at its sole discretion.

3.9 RAMPIT may communicate with You through the username/email that You provide at registration. You agree to notify RAMPIT within a reasonable time if there are any changes to Your details. If You fail to notify RAMPIT of any changes to Your details, You agree to waive any objection, claim, defense or recourse You might have had as a consequence of RAMPIT failing to communicate with You. If You change Your email address and fail to notify RAMPIT of the change, RAMPIT will be deemed to have communicated with You on the date on which it communicated with the email address most recently provided by You.

3.10 You warrant that any Content provided or posted by You (through registration or otherwise):

is not false, inaccurate, misleading or fraudulent;
does not infringe any third party's Intellectual Property Rights or other rights arising at law or otherwise;
is not obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening or harassing;
does not violate any applicable law;
does not contain or describe pornography and is not otherwise harmful to persons under the age of 18 years;
will not create liability for RAMPIT or cause it to lose the services of its internet service providers or other suppliers (in whole or in part);
will not create liability for the Competition Sponsor of any kind.

3.11 If RAMPIT believes that any Content contravenes Clause 3.10 (or any other provision of this Agreement), it may remove that Content and/or take any other steps as it deems necessary to protect itself or third parties against any Loss. To the maximum extent permitted by law, RAMPIT will not be liable for any Loss to any person arising from the removal of Content under this Section.

4. Terminating Your Participation

4.1 Subject to Clause 4.2, You may terminate Your participation at any time and without cause by notifying RAMPIT through this Website.

4.2 If You terminate Your participation, this Agreement and any other applicable terms and conditions will continue to apply to any Postings made by You prior to giving the notice described in Clause 4.1 above.

4.3 RAMPIT may, in its absolute discretion, terminate or suspend Your participation at any time and without notice if it believes that:

You have breached this Agreement or any other applicable terms and conditions;
You have acted in a way which is unlawful, or which may create liability for You, RAMPIT, our Users, our internet service providers or any other supplier, or the Competition Sponsor;
RAMPIT is unable to verify any information provided by You;
Other Users give negative feedback about You which RAMPIT determines in its absolute discretion is worthy of termination;
You have acted or represented Yourself in any way that RAMPIT or the Competition Sponsor deems that your termination is necessary.

4.4 If RAMPIT terminates Your participation, RAMPIT may in its absolute discretion withdraw any Postings submitted or made by You. If RAMPIT terminates Your participation, RAMPIT may, at its sole discretion, immediately withdraw Your Entries, which will have no force and effect from the date on which Your participation was terminated.

4.5 Subject to Clause 4.4, if RAMPIT suspends Your participation, any entries or other Postings submitted or made by You may be suspended for the period in which Your participation is suspended.

4.6 If Your participation is terminated, either by You or by RAMPIT:

You are no longer authorized to access this Website;
all restrictions imposed on You, licenses granted by You and all indemnities, disclaimers and limitations of liability set out in this Agreement (including clauses 11 (Limitation of Liability) and 12 (Indemnities)) will survive, along with clauses 14 (Intellectual Property), 16 (Arbitration) and 18 (Miscellaneous).

5. Use of this Website

5.1 You must not use the Website to facilitate or participate in any illegal activity or engage in any activity which RAMPIT, in its absolute discretion, considers inappropriate. RAMPIT reserves the right to terminate or restrict Your access to this Website immediately and indefinitely if it suspects that You are engaging in any such behavior or are in breach of any terms of this Agreement. You agree that You will only use Your User Account and this Website for the purposes of using the Services and for no other purpose. Without limiting the foregoing, in using Your User Account and accessing the Website, You agree not to:

use Your User Account in a fraudulent or illegal manner, or email or otherwise send any materials from Your User Account which are offensive, unlawful, harassing, libelous, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, obscene or otherwise objectionable;
use Your User Account to stalk or harass another person;
use Your User Account to impersonate any person in any way whatsoever;
use Your User Account to infringe the copyright, trademark, patent or other Intellectual Property Rights of any person or entity;
use Your User Account to send advertising, chain letters, junk mail, spam or any other type of unsolicited electronic communications;
use Your User Account to send or distribute any Content of any kind which contains a virus, spyware, malware or other harmful, disruptive or destructive component;
intentionally or negligently use Your User Account in a way that degrades performance of this Website to other persons;
manipulate, or attempt to manipulate, any Competition;
use Your User Account or any mechanism, software or other scripts in relation to the Website which could disrupt or interfere with the Website or any servers, software, hardware or equipment connected to or via the website;
restrict or inhibit any other User from using or enjoying the Website;
distribute any pornographic, extremist or racist material or any material which might otherwise be harmful to persons under the age of 18 years;
violate any applicable law relating to Your use of the website.

6. Terms specific to the Competition Sponsor

6.1 If You are registered as a Competition Sponsor, when You post a Competition on the Website or have RAMPIT run a Competition for You on Your behalf, You warrant that any Content provided by You has not been obtained:

by fraud;
in breach of any copyright, trademark or other Intellectual Property Right;
in breach of any right of privacy or other right arising under applicable law or any agreement entered into by You;
without limiting any of the foregoing, in breach of any other applicable law; or,
in any way that may create liability for RAMPIT, its Users, its internet service provider or any other suppliers.

6.4 If You are registered as a Competition Sponsor, You further agree when posting to a Competition:

to be bound by this Agreement and all Competition Information (including the Competition Terms and Conditions) relating to the Competition;
to be bound by any representations made in relation to the Competition (including the Competition Information and Competition Terms and Conditions), whether made directly or indirectly, in writing or orally, by or for You;
that You may only post Competitions that are skills-based challenges to resolve bona fide problems and not, for clarity, games of chance;
that You will select the Winner according to the criteria set out in the Competition Information;
that RAMPIT does not guarantee the quality of Entries or any minimum number of Entries, nor the Competitors' title to the Intellectual Property Rights therein;
to inform RAMPIT of any additional Competition Terms and Conditions that will govern the relationship between You and Competitors; and,
that RAMPIT may at its sole discretion republish or make available the Competition Information through this Website.

6.5 You agree and warrant that You will not cancel a Competition initiated by You for the purpose of contracting separately with any User or Competitor or to avoid paying any Award.

6.6 If You wish to withdraw a Competition, You must notify RAMPIT in writing.

7. Terms specific to Competitors

7.1 If You are registered as a Competitor, You agree and further acknowledge and agree that:

in making an Entry, to be bound by this Agreement and all Competition Information (including the Competition Terms and Conditions) relating to the Competition;
RAMPIT does not guarantee the accuracy of the Competition Information (or other Content posted on the Website), ownership of any Content, or the availability of any Award;
any leader board appearing in connection with a Competition is indicative only and makes no representations and creates no entitlements in relation to any Award;
RAMPIT does not control the decisions of the Competition Sponsor and that any claims You may have in relation to the decisions of the Competition Sponsor (including the selection of the Winner and ranking of Competitors), may be taken solely against the Competition Sponsor, including any defamation or other claims arising from its ranking of Competitors;
RAMPIT is not responsible for any Postings provided by other Users or for the accuracy of Content provided by other Users;
RAMPIT is not liable to pay any Award, and You will look solely to the Competition Sponsor for payment of any Award;
in the event that You have any dispute with another User, You release RAMPIT from all claims of any kind arising from that dispute;
You will not initiate contact with a Competition Sponsor for the purpose of contracting separately with the Competition Sponsor to circumvent any Competition; and,
an Entry will be deemed to have been lodged at the time that it is received by RAMPIT. You agree that neither RAMPIT nor the Competition Sponsor is responsible for any Entry not being received due to technical reasons or otherwise.

7.2 Judges are permitted to interact with Competitors to carry out due diligence, as necessary to evaluate Entries against the judging criteria. It is the responsibility of each Competitor to respond to inquiries from Judges in a timely manner.

7.3 The Competition Sponsor reserves the right to conduct an administrative review of any Entry or any team in order to screen for completeness and other Entry Content requirements (as described in the Competition Terms and Conditions) before distributing approved Entries to Judges.

7.3 Competitors permit RAMPIT and/or the Competition Sponsor to publish any Entry, Entry Content, or Content to other Competitors, Judges or other designees, as necessary, to promote greater transparency, collaboration, and follow-on investment for Competitors during the Competition. For further information regarding the sharing of Entries, Entry Content, and Content, please refer to the Privacy Policy.

8. RAMPIT's relationship with Competitor and Competition Sponsor

8.1 RAMPIT is not involved in any way in the formation of any contract between the Competitor and the Competition Sponsor. RAMPIT at no time acts as an agent for a Competitor or Competition Sponsor.

8.2 RAMPIT will not be liable to You in any respect if a Competition Sponsor or Competitor fails to perform its obligations under this Agreement or the Competition.

8.3 The Competition Sponsor will at all times be liable to pay Award(s) to the Winner(s) in accordance with the Agreement and the Competition Terms and Conditions. RAMPIT will have no liability whatsoever in respect to the failure of a Competition Sponsor to pay Award(s) to Winner(s), and You acknowledge and agree that You will not take action of any kind against RAMPIT in respect to any claim for an Award that You may or may not have or wish to make.

9. Terms specific to the Winner and Competition Sponsor

9.1 The Winner agrees that payment of any Award is conditional upon receipt by the Competition Sponsor of any Entry Content used or consulted by the Winner in generating the winning Entry and that the Award will not be paid until this condition has been satisfied.

9.2 The Winner and the Competition Sponsor acknowledge and agree that once the Winner has been chosen and notified, the Winner will enter into a separate, binding, and direct agreement with the Competition Sponsor in accordance with the Competition Terms and Conditions and in relation to the provision of the Entry, the receipt of the Award, and the rights of the Winner(s). RAMPIT and its third party providers will not be a party to this separate agreement and will have no responsibility or liability whatsoever in relation to the performance or failure to perform under the separate agreement.

9.3 The Competition Sponsor acknowledges that RAMPIT does not make any warranties or representations as to the accuracy or utility of any Entry or associated Entry Content from a Winner.

10. Taxes on Awards

10.1 You will be responsible for any tax, levy, or other charge that may arise under any applicable law from the use of this website, including from winning any Award. You acknowledge that You will not be entitled to demand any additional payment by reason of any Award being subject to any tax, levy, or other charge in any jurisdiction.

11. Limitation of liability

11.1 THIS WEBSITE AND SERVICES, AND ALL CONTENT ASSOCIATED THEREWITH, ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, RAMPIT AND ITS OWNERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. RAMPIT DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THIS WEBSITE AND RELATED SERVICES AND THE CONTENT PROVIDED THROUGH IT, INCLUDING THE ENTRIES AND ASSOCIATED ENTRY CONTENT, TO BE AVAILABLE, ACCURATE, USEFUL, OR FREE OF ERRORS, VIRUSES, OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR EQUIPMENT, SOFTWARE, LOSS OF DATA, OR OTHER HARM THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE (INCLUDING THE SERVICES).

11.2 UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL RAMPIT OR ITS OWNERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING OR RELATED TO THIS WEBSITE, INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, EVEN IF RAMPIT OR A RAMPIT AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THESE LIMITATIONS WILL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY.

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, You agree that RAMPIT is not responsible for any Loss arising out of, or in any way connected with:

delay or inability to access or use this Website;
reliance on any Competition Information or other Content;
the transmission of any computer virus, however occurring;
any unauthorized access to, modification or alteration of Content;
any Content sent or received or not sent or received;
any transaction entered into through this Website;
any infringement of rights, including Intellectual Property Rights;
any threatening, defamatory, obscene, offensive, harmful, inappropriate or illegal Content or conduct of any party;
any Content sent by any third party using and/or included in this Website;
termination of Your participation; or,
any delays, interruptions, inaccuracies, errors, omissions or cessation of services.

11.3 For the avoidance of doubt, You acknowledge that RAMPIT is a provider of an interactive computer service and not a publisher under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, and therefore not responsible for any of the Users' Postings. If, notwithstanding the provisions of this Clause 11.3, a court of competent jurisdiction holds RAMPIT liable in respect of any matters arising under or incidental to this Agreement, RAMPIT'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE OR RELATED SERVICES (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, WARRANTY, OR OTHERWISE) WILL IN NO EVENT EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU FOR USING THIS WEBSITE DURING THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING YOUR CLAIM, OR, IF NO AMOUNT WAS PAID, SUCH LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO $100.

11.4 You agree that RAMPIT and its third party providers will not be liable or responsible for any failure in, or delay to, the provision of the Services or in RAMPIT complying with its obligations under this Agreement where such failure or delay has arisen as a direct or indirect result of:

fire, earthquake, storm, flood, hurricane, inclement weather or other act of God, war, terrorism, explosion, sabotage, industrial accident or industrial strike;
telecommunications failure, hardware failure or software failure;
the failure of any third party to fulfill any obligations to RAMPIT; or
any other circumstance or event which is or is not within the reasonable control of RAMPIT.

12. Indemnity

12.1 You agree to indemnify and hold RAMPIT and the Competition Sponsor, its owners, officers, employees, agents and suppliers, harmless from all claims and Losses (including legal fees) due to or arising out of or in connection with Your Postings, Competition, Competition Information and other Content (as applicable), Your use of this Website, or Your breach of this Agreement.

13. Access to the Site outside of the United States

13.1 RAMPIT does not represent or warrant that the content on this Website complies with the laws of any country outside of the United States. If You access this Website from outside the United States, You do so at Your own risk.

14. Intellectual property

14.1 You acknowledge that, as between the parties, RAMPIT is the owner of all Intellectual Property Rights in and to this Website (excluding Postings). You acknowledge that You have no Intellectual Property Rights in or to this Website except for a limited license to use as necessary to participate in a Competition or evaluate the possibility of such participation.

14.2 You acknowledge that all text, graphics, user interfaces, photographs, trademarks, logos and artwork, including the design, structure, selection, coordination, expression, 'look and feel' and arrangement of such Content, provided by RAMPIT or its licensors on this Website is owned or licensed by or to RAMPIT and is protected by applicable copyright, patent and trademark laws and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws. No such Content can be copied, publicly displayed, modified, sold, licensed or distributed in any way by You without RAMPIT's prior written consent.

15. Third party sites

15.1 From time to time, RAMPIT may provide, or any Content may contain, links to Third Party Sites and resources (e.g., www.youtube.com). You acknowledge that:

RAMPIT has no control over Third Party Sites and resources;
RAMPIT is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources; and
RAMPIT does not endorse and are not responsible for any content, advertising, products, services or other materials on or available from such sites or resources.

15.2 You acknowledge and agree that RAMPIT will not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any Loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with Your use of or reliance on any Content or material available on or through any Third Party Sites or resource.

16. Arbitration

16.1 In the interest of resolving disputes between You and RAMPIT in the most expedient and cost effective manner, You and RAMPIT agree that any and all disputes arising in connection with this Agreement shall be resolved by binding arbitration. Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury, may allow for more limited discovery than in court, and can be subject to very limited review by courts. Arbitrators can award the same damages and relief that a court can award. Our agreement to arbitrate disputes includes, but is not limited to all claims arising out of or relating to any aspect of this Agreement, whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation or any other legal theory, and regardless of whether the claims arise during or after the termination of these Terms. You understand and agree that, by entering into these Terms, You and RAMPIT are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action.

16.2 Exceptions. Notwithstanding subsection (a), we both agree that nothing herein shall be deemed to waive, preclude, or otherwise limit either of our right to (i) bring an individual action in small claims court, (ii) pursue enforcement actions through applicable federal, state, or local agencies where such actions are available, (iii) seek injunctive relief in a court of law, (iv) to file suit in a court of law to address intellectual property infringement claims or (v) if You are a Competition Sponsor, resolve any dispute that primarily relates to the applicable separately executed agreement with RAMPIT and/or RAMPIT affiliates pursuant to the provisions of said agreement.

16.3 Any arbitration between You and RAMPIT will be governed by the Commercial Dispute Resolution Procedures and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (collectively, "AAA Rules") of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), as modified by these Terms, and will be administered by the AAA. The AAA Rules and filing forms are available online at www.adr.org, by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879.

16.4 A party who intends to seek arbitration must first send a written notice of the dispute to the other, by certified mail or Federal Express (signature required), or in the event that we do not have a physical address on file for You, by electronic mail ("Notice"). RAMPIT's address for Notice is: RAMPIT, LLC, 1004 Hickory Lane, Suite 3, Hermitage, TN 37076 or support@rampit.com. The Notice must (a) describe the nature and basis of the claim or dispute; and, (b) set forth the specific relief sought. We agree to use good faith efforts to resolve the claim directly, but if we do not reach an agreement to do so within 30 calendar days after the Notice is received, You or RAMPIT may commence arbitration proceedings.

16.5 Any arbitration hearings will take place at a location to be agreed upon in Nashville, TN, provided that if the claim is for $10,000 or less, You may choose whether the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of documents submitted to the arbitrator, through a non-appearance based telephonic hearing, or by an in-person hearing as established by the AAA Rules. Regardless of the manner in which the arbitration is conducted, the arbitrator shall issue a reasoned written decision sufficient to explain the essential findings and conclusions on which the decision and award, if any, are based. The arbitrator may make rulings and resolve disputes as to the payment and reimbursement of fees or expenses at any time during the proceeding and upon request from either party made within 14 calendar days of the arbitrator's ruling on the merits.

16.6 YOU AND RAMPIT AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. Further, unless both You and RAMPIT agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding.

16.7 If only Clause 16.6 is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this Section 16 shall be null and void and, in such case, the parties agree that the exclusive jurisdiction and venue described in Section 18 shall govern any action arising out of or related to the Agreement.

17. Digital Millennium Copyright Act

17.1 If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and believe that any Content infringes upon your copyrights, you may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") by providing RAMPIT's copyright agent (the "Copyright Agent") with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C 512(c)(3) for further detail):

A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail;
A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

17.2 RAMPIT's designated Copyright Agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement is Copyright Agent, RAMPIT, LLC, 1004 Hickory Lane, Suite 3, Hermitage, TN 37076, email: support@rampit.com. You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the requirements of this Section 17, your DMCA notice may not be valid.

17.3 If you believe that your Content that was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner's agent, or pursuant to the law, to post and use the material in your Content, you may send a counter-notice containing the following information to the Copyright Agent:

Your physical or electronic signature;
Identification of the Content that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the Content appeared before it was removed or disabled;
A statement that you have a good faith belief that the Content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or a misidentification of the Content; and
Your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address, a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal court in Nashville, Tennessee, and a statement that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of the alleged infringement.

17.4 If a counter-notice is received by the Copyright Agent, RAMPIT may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing that person that it may replace the removed Content or cease disabling it in 10 business days. Unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against the Content provider, member or user, the removed Content may be replaced, or access to it restored, in 10 to 14 business days or more after receipt of the counter-notice, at RAMPIT's sole discretion.

18. Miscellaneous

18.1 As defined in Clause 1.1, this Agreement is the entire agreement between You and RAMPIT relating to the subject matter herein, and supersedes all previous communications, representations, understandings and agreements, either oral or written, between You and RAMPIT with respect to said subject matter. This Agreement shall not be modified except in a writing signed by both parties, or by a change made as provided in Clause 2.2. If any provision of this Agreement is invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability will not affect the remainder of this Agreement, which is severable from said provision and will remain in full force and effect.

18.2 If You breach any provision of this Agreement and RAMPIT has knowledge (either actual or constructive) of that breach, a failure to pursue legal action or to enforce any remedy against You will not constitute a waiver of its legal rights. Any waiver of rights under this Agreement must be in writing and signed by RAMPIT.

18.3 All matters relating to this Website and this Agreement are governed by and are to be construed according to the laws applicable in the state of Tennessee, United States (without regard to any rules governing choice of law). If one or more of the exceptions from arbitration expressly set forth in Section 16 above apply, You agree unconditionally to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Davidson County, Tennessee, in relation to all matters arising out of or in any way connected with this Agreement or this Website.

18.4 RAMPIT may assign its rights and novate or transfer obligations which arise under this Agreement. You must not assign, novate or otherwise transfer Your rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of RAMPIT. Any assignment attempted in violation of this Clause 18.4 shall be void.

18.5 The parties agree that no rule of construction applies to the disadvantage of a party because that party was responsible for the preparation of this Agreement or part of it.

18.6 Unless otherwise requested in writing by You, RAMPIT may refer to You and Your corporate identity (if applicable) as part of promoting this Website and RAMPIT in the marketplace.

18.7 RAMPIT accepts content uploaded from Users in good faith and on the basis of warranties provided by Users. It is Your responsibility at all times to investigate and become satisfied as to the accuracy of the information provided by any other party (including all Users) on this Website. RAMPIT at no time makes any representations as to the accuracy of any information provided on this Website.

18.8 You acknowledge and agree that to the extent that this Agreement relates to a Competition, a prospective Competition or any Posting, this Agreement is intended also to be for the benefit of the Competition Sponsor, the Competitors and other Users, who are entitled to enforce the provisions of this Agreement against You.

18.9 All notices, requests, demands, consents, approvals, offers, agreements or other communications given by You to RAMPIT must be emailed to RAMPIT at support@rampit.com

18.10 In the interpretation of this Agreement, unless the contrary intention appears:

the words 'includes' or 'including' mean 'includes without limitation' or 'including without limitation';
a reference to a 'person' or 'entity' includes a reference to an individual, group of individuals, corporation, firm, association or other entity;
the singular includes the plural and vice versa;
an agreement, representation or warranty made by two or more persons is made by them jointly and by each of them severally; and headings are inserted for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of this Agreement.

18.11 This Competition is a skills-based challenge to resolve bona fide problems and not, for clarity, any game(s) of chance.

MEET THE TEAMS

The Challenge called for innovative ideas to address the barriers that limit the scale of the local food market in the Chicago region. 24 teams submitted proposals to improve the supply of local and sustainable food. The winning team received a $500,000 award to develop their solution.