Official Competition Guidelines
December 2011, updated January 2012
The BloodTechNet Learning Competition ("Competition") is administered by Canadian Blood Services, with unrestricted funding provided by Grifols.
The Competition is designed to find innovative learning projects for Medical Laboratory Technologists ("MLTs") in those parts of Canada served by Canadian Blood Services.
1. Competition Stages
The Competition has three (3) Stages, each of which offer different ways for you to participate:
| Stage 1 | Ideas | noon EST February 24 - March 26, 2012 |
| Stage 2 | Project Details | noon EST April 9 - April 30, 2012 |
| Stage 3 | MLTs Vote | noon EST May 4 - May 11, 2012 |
During Stage 1 you may submit an Idea for a learning project and join in online discussions about your ideas or the ideas other Applicants have submitted. Selected Applicants advance to Stage 2 (see Judging Ideas) and are invited to submit Project Details. In Stage 2, you may join in online discussions about the Project Details. During Stage 3, MLTs may vote for the learning projects that, in their opinion, best support their learning needs.
You should allow ample time to prepare and submit Ideas and Project Details during the Competition. Some Project Details, in particular, may be large and require a significant amount of time to upload depending on your Internet service provider, as well as the potential volume of fellow Participants. BloodTechNet will make every effort to help you with questions and technical problems, but in no way can we guarantee that late queries or technical difficulties can be resolved in time to meet the deadlines. Start early so as to have sufficient time to address any questions that may arise.
2. How to participate
To participate in the Competition you must register at BloodTechNet.ca.
During Stage 1 and after you have registered and logged in to BloodTechNet.ca, you may submit your Idea using the Submit an Idea form.
During Stage 1, anyone registered with BloodTechNet may comment on any Idea submission, and respond to comments made by others, including making suggestions that they feel will improve the Idea and offering opportunities for collaboration. It is at the discretion of the Primary Applicant whether they will act on any advice offered. Any comments, suggestions, and advice may be used by anyone submitting or editing an Idea.
During Stage 2, selected Applicants only are invited to submit Project Details. A panel of judges selects 15 Applicants using the criteria below. Selected Applicants may complete the online Project Details form, including providing a list of collaborators.
During Stage 2, anyone registered with BloodTechNet may comment on the Project Details, including making suggestions they feel will improve the project. It is at the discretion of the Primary Applicant whether they will act on any advice offered. Any comments, suggestions, and advice may be used by anyone submitting or editing their Project Details.
During Stage 3, only MLTs who are registered with BloodTechNet and are practicing MLTs within those regions in which Canadian Blood Services provides services (that is, excluding MLTs who practice in Québec and who fall under Héma-Québec's jurisdiction) may vote for one or more projects. Each MLT may cast a total of five (5) votes. MLTs can support many projects or only a single project with their votes. MLT voting will determine the Competition winners.
3. How to register
To register, visit BloodTechNet.ca at any time. You will be asked to provide a valid email address and create a password. You will be asked to indicate if you are an MLT, and in which province you practice as an MLT. To participate in the Competition, you must acknowledge you accept and agree to be bound by these Official Learning Competition Guidelines by clicking the checkbox where indicated. All requested registration information must be provided and be truthful and accurate for Competition submissions to be valid.
4. Who can participate?
To participate in the Competition, you must have a valid email account registered in your name as described above.
Participants who vote in Stage 3, MLTs' Vote, have additional eligibility requirements. In addition, these participants must be an MLT practicing in any province or territory to which Canadian Blood Services provides services. MLTs practicing in Quebec are served by Héma-Québec are not eligible to vote, but are invited to participate in other ways, such as commenting, and as a Collaborator.
Judges are not eligible to submit an Idea or vote.
5. Funds available
Funds will be awarded in three budget categories: Small (up to $5,000), Medium ($5,000 to $15,000) and Large ($15,000 to $25,000). BloodTechNet will fund one project in each budget category, and continue funding the projects according the number of votes until the entire fund of $125,000 is allocated.
6. Eligible Ideas
Your Idea should benefit Canadian MLTs who are interested in learning in Transfusion Science. This includes MLTs who specialize in Transfusion Science,or in related specialist fields, and those who are generalists.
Your Idea must be realistic to implement using the funds available through the Competition, and capable of being implemented by July 31, 2013. BloodTechNet can only provide one year of funding, beginning August 1, 2012, after which funding may no longer be available. An Idea requiring recurring funding will receive a lower score on the "Sustainability" component of the scoring criteria unless there is a feasible plan to obtain ongoing funding from other sources.
The Competition does not fund any project that lacks a learning component.
BloodTechNet embraces a liberal definition of learning. Submissions may involve structured or informal learning opportunities, technical/scientific or transferable skills such as leadership and advocacy, self-directed and participatory learning approaches. See the Learning Survey Report for examples.
Your submission may be in either English or French or both languages. BloodTechNet will translate into English or French up to ten (10) Idea submissions on a first come first serve basis for the judges as required. The translations for the judges will not be published on bloodtechnet.ca.
BloodTechNet may disqualify and remove any Ideas and Project Details that it deems at its sole discretion does not meet the eligibility criteria, or is an Idea that is identical or nearly identical to an Idea already submitted, or is indecent, defamatory, offending, or demonstrates a lack of respect for participants, the Competition, or BloodTechNet.
7. Submitting an Idea
Each participant may submit one Idea only using the Submit Your Idea online form.
You may submit an Idea individually, as part of a team, or part of an organization. Teams and organizations who wish to submit an Idea must designate one person as the Primary Applicant to submit the Idea. If an Applicant is submitting an Idea on behalf of a team or organization, the Applicant must disclose this fact in their submission.
Once you have submitted your Idea, you have an opportunity to generate interest among your colleagues, encourage feedback and even find potential Collaborators. Collaboration among individuals from different institutions and among institutions is strongly encouraged (but not required).
Engaging the transfusion community through discussion of your Idea is strongly encouraged. Comments are part of the Idea submission, and managing comments is part of the scoring criteria. Applicants who encourage feedback and respond to comments will receive a higher score on the "Submission Quality" component of the scoring criteria.
You may update and revise your Idea until noon EST March 19, 2012, and receive comments on your submission until noon EST March 26, 2012. All submissions will be retained by BloodTechNet.
8. Judging Ideas
The Judging panel is a group of impartial judges assembled by BloodTechNet to score all eligible Ideas submitted during Stage 1. Judges evaluate Ideas using the following criteria:
| Significance 5 points |
How deeply are MLTs affected by this idea? How urgent is the need? How many benefit? How broad is the benefit? |
| Success 5 points |
How likely is this idea to be successfully executed within the short term? The funding period is one year, beginning August 2012. |
| Sustainability 5 points |
How long will the idea's effects last? Will it require regular funding beyond the initial request. If yes, is there a plan to obtain additional funding? |
| Originality 5 points |
How innovative is the idea? Does it tackle a new learning need or one that has not been adequately addressed in the past? |
| Submission Quality 5 points |
How much effort went into understanding the learning needs of MLTs? Was the idea well conceived and clearly explained? How well did the Applicants engage the community through comments? |
The Idea submissions are ranked from 1 to 5 for each budget category. These fifteen (15) Applicants will be invited to submit the Project Details in Stage 2.
If BloodTechNet believes there may be a conflict of interest based on a relationship between a judge and an Idea submitter, that judge's scores may not be included in that Idea's evaluation.
9. Project Details
If you have been invited to Stage 2, you may submit Project Details for your Idea only (although you may act as a Primary Applicant on one submission, and as a Collaborator on other submission). You may use the Project Details online form to provide sufficient level of detail to show how you will carry out each of the specific activities to achieve the principle goal of the project.
By submitting Project Details, you represent and warrant that your entire submission: (i) is your original work; (ii) has been legally obtained and/or created; (iii) does not infringe on the copyrights, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property rights of any others.
You may update and revise your Project Details until noon EST April 23, 2012, and receive comments on your submission until noon EST April 30, 2012.
All submissions will be retained by BloodTechNet.
10. MLTs' Vote
During Stage 3, you may vote online for the learning projects that, in your opinion, best serve the learning needs of MLTs interested in Transfusion Science. You may cast up to five (5) votes. These votes will determine which projects receive funding.
In the event that an Idea is disqualified during Stage 3, the submission with the next highest number of votes may be promoted in its place.
BloodTechNet will fund one project from each budget category, starting with the projects with the most votes and then keep funding projects until the entire Competition fund of $125,000 is allocated.
11. Allocation of Competition fund
For all awards, the term is one year beginning August 1, 2012.
If you are an eligible winner, BloodTechNet will ask you to complete, sign and return within seven (7) days an Award Agreement which contains the terms and conditions for receiving the grant, and is described below. The Award Agreement will be sent to the address provided/updated at registration. If the Award Agreement is not received within seven (7) days, the grant will be forfeited and another recipient may be selected.
12. Your commitment as an Award Recipient
The Award Agreement confirms that you: a) will implement the learning project as presented in the submission; b) release BloodTechNet from any liability for any loss, harm, damages, or expense arising out of participation in this Competition; c) provide brief, quarterly project updates to be published on bloodtechnet.ca; d) provide a final update that includes a description of how MLTs will access your learning product.
Copyright in the learning product produced as a result of the award shall remain with the Award Recipient subject to the terms of the Competition. BloodTechNet strongly encourages each Winner to license the use of the product in accordance with a Creative Commons License (Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, ShareAlike).
13. General Conditions
BloodTechNet assumes no responsibility for lost, late, misdirected, or incomplete entries or any computer or technical malfunctions that may occur in the processing, transmission or receipt of entries.
BloodTechNet reserves the right at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, fails to comply with the Official Competition Guidelines, or acts in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner.
BloodTechNet may in its sole and absolute discretion, disqualify or disallow any submission it deems inappropriate or otherwise non-compliant with these Official Competition Guidelines.
BloodTechNet reserves the right to cancel, modify or suspend the Competition at any time if BloodTechNet determines that the Competition cannot be run as originally planned or if any occurrence compromises the fairness or integrity of the Contest.
14. Privacy
BloodTechNet collects your personal information (including name, address, e-mail address) for the purposes of operating and administering the Competition. By participating in the Competition, you are consenting to this collection and use of your personal information.
Once registered, Participant have the opportunity to opt-in to receive periodic communications relating to important Competition deadlines and information. Participants will have the opportunity to opt-out at any time.
Information collected will not be sold, rented or provided to anyone for commercial or marketing purposes. Any use of the Competition website for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. Like all websites and web servers, the BloodTechNet web server automatically receives and records information from web browsers, including IP addresses, browser types, referring URLs, session and cookie information, and pages visited on the website. This information will not be used to identify individuals. It will be used to enhance the site and inform decisions about possible future BloodTechNet initiatives.
15. Limitation of Liability
BloodTechNet, Canadian Blood Services and funders are not liable for any claim, loss or injury based on errors, omissions, interruptions or other inaccuracies either in this site, or for any claim, loss or injury that results from your use of this site.