WHEN and WHERE the Program Will Take Place

Participation begins with your decision to compete and ends with our receipt of your team's Outreach Plan program products, which are due by June 23, 2000.

Finalist Team Selection (Fall 1999 Semester)

A Peer Review Committee, consisting of representatives of NASA, industry and universities, will select from among the proposals received six (6) student teams to participate as finalists in the 2000 NASA Means Business Student Competition. The Committee will assess each proposal according the following criteria:

• Presence of at least one detailed plan to implement a do-able Customer Engagement project ("Proposed Team Customer Engagement Project")
  
  
• Strength and depth of thought invested in the Proposed Team Customer Engagement Project set forth in the proposal, with particular emphasis on recognition of core planning issues facing NASA and its prospective partners;
  
  
• Ability of team to form strategic alliances (e.g., partnerships with advertising agencies, news media organizations, etc.) and describe how they will be useful and effective;
  
  
• Success in raising the resources to accomplish the team's Proposed Team Customer Engagement Project (funding, in-kind support, etc.)
  
  
• Strength of team members' credentials (students, professors, mentors, etc.)
  
  
• Institutional and community resources obtained in support of the team's proposal-writing and post-selection activities (e.g., course credit, coverage of expenses, local publicity, community outreach support, etc.)
  
  
• Contains an Outreach Plan to implement effective strategies for the team to transfer the experience and knowledge gained through participation in the 2000 NASA Means Business Student Competition to other audiences, including faculty and students in all levels of education as well as the general public;
  
  
• Presence of a formal, written commitment of the proposing team's home institution and/or other qualified organization (e.g., National Space Grant state consortium, corporate underwriter, etc.) to arrange for funding to cover all costs associated with its participation, except those covered by NASA Means Business for travel to the NASA Customer Engagement Conference in Houston (see below).
  
  

Review Criteria Weighting

Reviewers will assign to each proposal a numerical score of 1-10 (10 being the highest) in each of two categories -- "Technical/Procedural" and "Outreach."

The weighted average of those two scores will constitute an overall score, which will be used to rank-order the proposals received. "Technical/Procedural" will comprise 70% of this score; "Outreach", 30%. Selection of the participating teams will be made according to the teams' rankings based on their overall scores, subject to the requirement that each proposed project be capable of safe and legal implementation.

Data and Mentoring (Spring 2000 Semester)

Once the six (6) finalist teams have been selected, each will be partnered with key scientists, engineers, and administrators in NASA and/or the aerospace industry, who will act as information sources or mentors. They will also provide access to other professional NASA and industry personnel who will share with each team useful information and experiences.

NASA Customer Engagement Conference (May 2000)

NASA will convene a Customer Engagement Conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston from May 23-25, 2000. In addition to providing a forum for the presentation of each student team's Business Plan segment, this conference will be structured to allow useful dialogue among NASA, industry and university community professionals; provide status reports on the progress of exploration missions and programs; and introduce updates on new systems, technologies and approaches to the human exploration and development of space.

An overall Competition Winner will be selected and announced at the Conference. Selection will be based on how well each team's entire work effort responds to the criteria set forth in the Team selection section (above).

Students may also expect to initiate relationships at the conference that could ultimately lead to professional employment opportunities.

Outreach Program Implementation (The Entire Program Period)

Teams must undertake and complete an Outreach Program. At a minimum, it must include (a) a Final Report of 40 pages or less in length (at least 12 pt. typeface) and (b) a Team Web Site within two (2) weeks of receiving notice that the team has been selected as one of siz (6) Competition Finalist teams. The contents of the web site must be described in the proposal.

2000 NASA Means Business Student Competition is sponsored by NASA and is administered by Texas Space Grant Consortium.