The Challenge aims to identify and promote effective, evidence-based, and scalable nutrition education curricula to improve healthcare outcomes.
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A: Participants can stay up to date by visiting the Challenge website, checking the registration platform, and reviewing official communications and updates provided through the Challenge portal. Additionally, participants should sign up to receive challenge email notifications via the email newsletter here.
No. Participation is limited to eligible institutions. Individuals may not submit independently and must participate through an eligible institution.
Eligible participants include fully accredited, U.S.-based, non-profit academic institutions that grant undergraduate medical degrees, provide accredited residency training programs, or grant nursing degrees. All institutions must meet the accreditation requirements outlined in the Challenge Announcement.
Yes. Institutions must be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States.
No. Eligibility is limited to non-profit academic institutions that meet the accreditation requirements.
No. Federal entities and federal employees acting within the scope of their employment are not eligible to participate.
Yes. Two or more eligible institutions may submit a joint entry as a partnership. The nature of the collaboration must be clearly described in the submission.
Each institution may submit only one entry, either independently or as part of a partnership.
No. Federal funds from grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts may not be used to develop or support Challenge submissions.
While dental schools and pharmacy schools do not meet the accreditation requirement on their own, per the participation rules for the challenge, “Two or more institutions that have formed close collaborations to enhance nutrition education across the institutions may submit to this Challenge as a partnership.” A school could partner with an eligible institution to participate in the challenge, or if a program is sponsored by an institution that meets the eligibility requirement, the curricula for that program could be submitted under the eligible institution.
Participants must submit three separate PDF documents:
Each document serves a different purpose and must be uploaded separately through the submission platform. Submissions missing any required document may be considered incomplete and may not be evaluated.
Formatting requirements differ slightly between the Curriculum Overview and the Nutrition Education Toolkit. Participants should carefully review the Submission Guide and Toolkit instructions for complete details.
In general:
The Curriculum Overview has a 15-page limit excluding appendices. The Toolkit PDF Document may not exceed 3 pages.
No. Appendices are optional and should only include supporting materials that strengthen or clarify the submission.
The Curriculum Overview is the primary document used for judging. It is written for a technical review audience and should provide detailed information about the curriculum design, implementation, educational approach, and evaluation methods.
The Nutrition Education Toolkit is a separate public-facing document intended for dissemination and knowledge sharing. It should be written for educators, administrators, curriculum developers, and institutions that may want to learn from, adapt, strengthen, or implement similar nutrition education approaches.
The two documents serve different audiences and purposes and should not simply duplicate each other.
Yes. Some overlap is expected because both documents describe the curriculum. However, the documents are intended for different audiences and purposes.
The Curriculum Overview should focus on providing sufficient technical and evaluative detail for judges.
The Toolkit should focus on usability, dissemination, practical implementation insights, lessons learned, and helping external audiences quickly understand and compare curricula.
No. The Nutrition Education Toolkit will not be formally scored using the evaluation criteria.
However, it will be reviewed on a pass/fail basis to confirm that:
The Nutrition Education Toolkit is intended to support public dissemination and broader sharing of nutrition education approaches across medical and nursing education programs.
While the Curriculum Overview is the document that will be formally scored by judges, the Toolkit is designed to help external audiences quickly understand and compare curricula, identify best practices, explore implementation approaches, and learn from existing programs.
For selected winning submissions, Toolkit materials may be publicly shared by NIH and/or the Challenge organizers to support broader awareness, adaptation, and adoption of effective nutrition education models.
The Toolkit will be reviewed on a pass/fail basis for completeness, clarity, adherence to the required structure, and suitability for dissemination purposes.
No. Submissions must not use the NIH or HHS logo or imply federal endorsement.
All submissions must be received by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on September 15, 2026.
The HHS requirement for this challenge is 40 learning hours total across the curriculum. It is up to you to determine the definition of your curriculum (e.g., that can be one course, multiple courses, etc.) and the duration of your curriculum (e.g., can be six months, one year, a semester, etc.).
The Exemplar Track is for institutions with existing, implemented nutrition curricula that are already implemented and can demonstrate evidence of effectiveness, evaluation, and integration into medical or nursing education.
The Developing Track is for institutions that are creating, significantly expanding, piloting, or early in the implementation of nutrition curricula and are still building toward a more fully developed program.
Institutions with existing, operational programs should generally apply to the Exemplar Track, even if they continue to identify gaps or make improvements over time.
Institutions with existing, implemented nutrition curricula should generally apply to the Exemplar Track, even if they continue to identify gaps or are planning future improvements. Continuous evaluation and refinement are expected parts of strong educational programs and may be described within the submission.
The Developing Track is intended for institutions that are in earlier stages of development or implementation, including programs that are newly launched, being significantly expanded, or still in the planning and pilot phase.
In general:
If unsure, participants should consider whether their submission is primarily demonstrating established effectiveness (Exemplar) or describing the development and early implementation of a growing program (Developing).
Submissions must demonstrate an existing curriculum, successful implementation, evaluation methods, and evidence that the program increases nutrition competency among trainees.
Submissions must describe a proposed or early-stage curriculum,, and present a clear plan for implementation, evaluation, and scalability.
Medical and residency programs must include a minimum of 40 hours of nutrition education or a competency equivalent. Nursing programs must include a minimum of 53 hours. Submissions must clearly demonstrate how these requirements are met.
No. Participants are not required to address every competency within the framework.
Participants should clearly identify which competency domains and competencies their curriculum addresses and provide sufficient instructional depth, alignment, and instructional time for those selected areas.
Judges will evaluate the quality, appropriateness, and depth of alignment for the selected competencies.
Submissions will first undergo an administrative review to confirm eligibility, completeness, and applicability to the Challenge scope.
Eligible submissions will then be evaluated by an Evaluation Panel composed of technical subject matter experts. Final winner selections will be made by a Judging Panel composed of federal employees from NIH and potentially other agencies.
Exemplar and Developing Track submissions will be evaluated separately using their respective evaluation criteria.
Yes. Exemplar Track submissions must demonstrate implementation and outcomes, while Developing Track submissions may focus on proposed approaches and plans.
The Curriculum Overview document will be the only document scored.
The Nutrition Education Toolkit will not be formally scored but will be reviewed on a pass/fail basis for completeness and dissemination suitability.
The total prize pool is up to $2,100,000, with individual awards of up to $75,000 per winner across the two tracks.
Prize payments are made directly to the institution, not to individuals.
No. There are no stated limitations on how prize funds may be used by the winning institution.
Prizes are paid via electronic funds transfer and may be subject to federal tax requirements.
No, prize money is not a federal grant. The Integration of Nutrition Training into Health Care Education Challenge is being conducted under the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, as amended [15 U.S.C. § 3719]. Under this authority, NIH awards prize money to eligible participants that achieve the challenge requirements. The resulting prize money awarded is not tied to a specific program nor does it require any follow up reporting on the outcomes of the money received. Prizes are considered incentive-based funding rather than direct support, and the awarded institution can use the funds for whatever purposes they see fit – they do not need to relate to this specific project. Please consult with your institution to understand any specific restrictions or requirements they may have for receiving prize funds.
Participants retain ownership of their intellectual property.
Yes. By participating, you grant NIH a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to reproduce, publish, and publicly share your submission.
Yes. NIH may publicly disseminate your Nutrition Education Toolkit submissions, particularly winning entries, to promote broader adoption. Your Nutrition Education Toolkit submission may be reformatted and publicly disseminated by NIH and/or the Challenge organizers. NIH will not publicly disseminate your Curriculum Overview submission.
