MSI Contract Readiness Prize

Six teams have won from $100,000 to $150,000 in cash prizes for showing an increased level of contract readiness through plans of action, technical trainings attended, mentorship opportunities seized, and letters of support received.

“There are only a few agencies actively reaching out to MSIs as a solution for federal requirements, which is a loss for the federal government and a missed opportunity for MSIs to gain beneficial financial resources,” said Christy L. Jackiewicz, Chief of DOE’s Minority Educational Institution Division. “The MSI Prize aimed to catalyze the pipeline of STEM leaders for the future of DOE and the American workforce.”  

The MSI Contract Readiness Prize aimed to bring environmental justice to all Americans by involving MSIs as key strategic partners with the federal government and building a pipeline of sustainable long-term institutional support. 

The following teams were named winners of the MSI Contract Readiness Prize: 

Enhancing Federal Contract Opportunities at UCR 

• Organization: University of California, Riverside (UCR) 
• MSI Type: Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) 
• School Size: Large (more than 15,000 students) 
• Amount Won: $150,000 

Sustainable Contracting Pathways: Energy & Marine 

• Organization: Hawai'i Pacific University 
• MSI Type: Asian American, Native American, Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) 
• Size: Small (less than 5,000 students) 
• Amount Won: $150,000 

SU POWER C4: The Future of HBCU Contract Readiness 

• Organization: Southern University 
• MSI Type: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) 
• School Size: Medium (5,000–15,000 students) 
• Amount Won: $150,000  

Enhancing FS Contract Readiness & Capacity Building 

• Organization: California State University Fresno 
• MSI Type: HSI 
• School Size: Large 
• Amount Won: $100,000 

Howard University Data Science and Analytics 

• Organization: Howard University 
• MSI Type: HBCU 
• School Size: Large 
• Amount Won: $100,000 

Tennessee Tigers 

• Organization: Tennessee State University 
• MSI Type: HBCU 
• School Size: Medium 
• Amount: $100,000 

Learn more about open and upcoming American-Made prizes here.

The deadline for the MSI Contract Readiness Prize is TODAY, Friday, October 4, 2024 at 5pm Eastern.

Any started submissions will not automatically submit at the deadline, so please be sure you hit the "Submit" button and receive your confirmation email. 

If you have any problems with the submission process, please contact MSIcontractingprize@nrel.gov for assistance. Please note: only submissions received through HeroX will be eligible. No emailed submissions or supplemental documents will be reviewed. 

This is a friendly reminder that the deadline for the MSI Contract Readiness Prize is TWO WEEKS away! Please be sure you are following the challenge, watch the four videos in the web series, and submit your materials by October 4, 2024!

We are happy to announce that the MSI Contract Readiness Prize pool has been increased to $775,000! With this increased prize pool, approximately 35 winning MSIs will receive a minimum of $15,000 each, depending on institution size and their plans and activities that are leading to becoming DOE contract ready. The deadline is less than one month away, so be sure you watch the webinars and get your submission in by October 4, 2024. 

There is only one webinar left in the Funding Futures Webinar Series. It takes place on September 18th so register now. 

Have you missed one another webinar in this series? Links to the videos will be posted in the HeroX resources Tab for your convenience.