Submit a TECHNICAL PAPER
Technical Paper Submission Deadline: by 11:59 P.M. ET on May 7, 2023
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
- Cover page
- Quad Chart (Template provided)
- Executive Summary
- Table of Contents
- Body of Report
- Problem Statement and Background
- Solution Definition
- Methodology
- Conclusions/Key Findings
- Appendices
Additional details required in each section are included in the Finalist Team Deliverables Requirements document.
formatting instructions
Teams are responsible for the formatting and appearance of their Technical Report. We recommend that teams use image files with a minimum dpi of 150.
- 20-page maximum
- Judges are not obligated to look at anything beyond the 20-page limit, and submission of a Technical Paper beyond this page limit will be considered non-compliant.
- Cover Page, Quad Chart, Executive Summary, Table of Contents, and Appendices will not count toward the page limit.
- Appendices are to be used for references and calculations only.
- Submit as a single PDF file.
- File size cannot exceed 100 MB
- Single spaced and single column
- Standard 1″ margin on each side
- 11- or 12-point font size
- Charts, graphs, captions, etc. may use a 10-point minimum font size.
- Use common fonts for text (i.e., Times, Times New Roman, Helvetica, or Arial) and Symbol for mathematical symbols and Greek letters.
- Include page numbers
submitting a technical paper
To upload your team’s Technical Paper (.pdf only), please click the button above to complete the online Technical Paper Submission Form.
No revisions can be accepted on your Technical Paper, so please proof your file very carefully before submitting it. It is very important that you provide us with up-to-date contact information on the submission form. We will contact you immediately if there are any technical problems with the content of your submission (for example, your file was corrupted).
Initial Screening
Upon submission of a technical paper, you will receive acknowledgment of a successful upload and entries will be reviewed to determine that all required submission elements are included and eligibility requirements are met. In some circumstances, supplemental information including supporting documents, more detailed contact information, and statements of authenticity to guarantee the originality of the work may be requested. The Challenge Program Team and the Federal Government assume no responsibility for lost or untimely submissions for any reason.
TECHNICAL PAPER EVALUATION CRITERIA
The FAA Challenge Steering Committee, a panel of FAA subject matter experts will evaluate each finalist team’s Technical Paper according to the following criteria:
- Approach = 45%
- Do significant aspects of the proposed concept directly address the theme?
- Has the submission proposed a logical and workable solution and approach to solving the problem(s)?
- Has the team provided details that identify how the improvements, changes, and/or related activities of the proposal can be implemented in a practical manner?
- Has the submission clearly described the depth of integration required to implement the innovation, idea, or proposed concept?
- Is sufficient descriptive information provided that would allow the work to be reproducible and transferrable?
- Has sufficient detail to demonstrate the use of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) and advanced analytics.
- Approach = 45%
- Need/Benefit = 45%
- Has the submission presented a clear understanding of the associated problems being addressed?
- Has the submission clearly defined the direct beneficiaries of this concept and the breadth of impact of the various components of the innovation?
- Has the submission provided details identifying how the concept directly provides a benefit?
- To what extent does this project have the potential to make a significant impact and/or contribution?
- Has the submission provided information on how likely the concept will be accepted and easily used?
- Need/Benefit = 45%
- Originality = 10%
- To what extent is this concept new, or in what way is this an innovation on an existing idea?
- How is this concept unique? Novel? Outside the box thinking?
- Was the problem a challenging data science one?
- How did the team members’ experiences inform the proposed concept?