The Accenture and Northwestern University City of Chicago Analytics Competition Official Rules
1. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PURCHASE WILL NOT ENHANCE CHANCES OF
WINNING.
2. ELIGIBILITY: The Accenture and Northwestern University City of Chicago Analytics Competition
(the "Competition”), brought to you by Accenture LLP (the "Sponsor” or “Accenture”), is governed by
these Official Rules. The Competition is open to legal United States residents of the 50 United States and
the District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older (19 for residents of AL and NE) at the time of
entry and at the time of entry are eligible to work or study in the United States during the Competition
Period, and during the Competition Period are enrolled in Northwestern University’s Master of
Engineering Management Program, Masters of Science in Analytics Program or in Northwestern
University’s Spring 2014 IEMS Course #490 – Managerial Analytics (“Candidates”). Void where
prohibited. Sponsor reserves the right, at any time, to verify eligibility requirements, in any manner it
deems appropriate. Employees and directors of Sponsor, its parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies,
licensees, advertising, promotion or production agencies and provider companies (and their immediate
family members and individuals residing in their same household) are not eligible. All entries become the
exclusive property of Sponsor.
3. THE COMPETITION PERIOD: The Competition begins on April 11, 2014 at 12:00:01 p.m.
Central Time (CT), or as soon as the Case Materials are distributed to the Teams, and concludes on May
9, 2014 at 11:59:59 p.m. CT ("Competition Period"). The computer of the Sponsor is the official
timekeeping device for this Competition.
4. HOW TO ENTER:
Sponsor will host an information session at the Technological Institute LR5 at 2145 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208 at approximately 5:00pm CT on April 4, 2014 (“Information Session”) to answer
questions about the Competition and distribute paper copies of the a registration form which includes
these Official Rules (“Registration Form”). The Information Session may be rescheduled or relocated at
Sponsor’s discretion.
To participate in the Competition, Candidates must complete the Registration Form and agree to these
Official Rules by signing and dating the Registration Form and providing all required information,
including name, email address and student identification number, and either (1) submitting a hard copy of
the completed Registration Form to Sponsor’s representative during the Information Session; or (2)
submit a scanned copy of completed and signed Registration Form by email to Sponsor at
christopher.devitt@accenture.com and sara.m.taylor@accenture.com no later than 11:59:59pm CT on
April 9, 2014. Registration Forms that do not contain all required information will be deemed void. All
e-mails must have the subject as “Accenture and Northwestern University City of Chicago Analytics
Competition.”
Candidates will compete in the Competition in teams of at least two (2) and up to three (3) Candidates
(“Team”). Candidates may request who they would like to be on their Team either in the same email
message which includes the signed and completed Registration Form or at the Information Session.
Sponsor will attempt to, but is not required to, accommodate such requests and all Team assignment
decisions will be made in Sponsor’s sole discretion. Candidates will be notified by email at the email
address listed on their Registration Form on or around April 10, 2014 if they have been selected to
participate and given a Team assignment.
On April 11, 2014, information, instructions, and specific criteria for work product to be used for the
Competition will be emailed to the Teams at the email addresses listed on the Registration Forms of the
members of each Team (“Case Materials”).
Each Team must submit a problem statement as set forth in the Case Materials to sponsor by email no
later than 11:59:59pm CT on April 28, 2014 (“Problem Statement”). The Problem Statement must be in
English and must provide a brief one paragraph description that includes the Team’s understanding of the
project, the Team’s hypothesis for potential new use-cases or business opportunities, and a brief
description of the Candidate or Team’s approach (i.e. how do you plan to analyze the data to test your
hypothesis?) and be in Microsoft Word format and no greater than 200 words. All e-mails must have
the subject as “Accenture and Northwestern University City of Chicago Analytics Competition.”
Each Team may only submit one (1) Problem Statement.
Sponsor may, but is under no obligation to, hold conference calls at 2:00pm CT on 4/18/2014 and
5/2/2014 to answer questions of participants regarding the Competition (”Q&A Calls”). Weekly Calls
may be rescheduled or cancelled at Sponsor’s discretion. Participants may also send questions
concerning
the
Competition
to
Sponsor
during
the
Competition
Period
at
christopher.devitt@accenture.com and sara.m.taylor@accenture.com with and e-mail subject as
“Accenture and Northwestern University City of Chicago Analytics Competition.” Sponsor is under
no obligation to respond to the questions.
Each Team will create a presentation meeting the criteria set forth in the Case Materials provided (“Final
Deliverable”). Final Deliverables must be in English, in PowerPoint format and no more than 12 slides
(including cover and appendix slides). All Final Deliverables must meet the Entry Requirements in
Section 5 below to be eligible to win the Competition. Supporting and explanatory Excel files, charts, or
data analysis may be submitted in addition to the Final Deliverable (“Supporting Files”), but any key
findings and analysis should be incorporated in the Final Deliverable. Supporting Files must be in
English, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Powerpoint format and no larger 10MB in
total. If Supporting Files are submitted, they must be submitted in the same email as the Final
Deliverable. Supporting Files will not be used in the judging determination. Final Deliverables and
Supporting Files must be submitted by email to christopher.devitt@accenture.com and
sara.m.taylor@accenture.com no later than 11:59:59pm CT on May 9, 2014. All e-mails must have the
subject as “Accenture and Northwestern University City of Chicago Analytics Competition.” Once
a Final Deliverable and/or Supporting Files are submitted Sponsor, they becomes the property of the
Sponsor and Teams will not be able to edit or change the Final Deliverable or Supporting Files. Limit
one Final Deliverable/Supporting Files per Team. Candidates may only be part of one (1) Team.
Sponsor may change the deadline for submission of the Final Deliverable or any other deadlines at its
discretion and any such changes will apply to all Teams. If any deadlines are changed, teams will be
notified by email sent to the email address listed for each Candidate.
5. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS. By submitting a Final Deliverable and/or Supporting Files (“Entry”) in
the Competition, you hereby warrant and represent that your Entry conforms to the Entry Requirements
set forth herein.
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Entry cannot contain Payload Information
Entry cannot be sexually explicit or suggestive, unnecessarily violent or derogatory of any ethnic,
racial, gender, religious, professional or age group, profane or pornographic, or contain nudity;
Entry cannot promote alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the
foregoing), any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous, or any particular political agenda or
message;
Entry cannot be obscene or offensive, endorse any form of hate or hate group;
Entry cannot defame, misrepresent or contain disparaging remarks about Sponsor or its products, or
other people, products or companies;
Entry cannot contain trademarks, logos or trade dress owned by others, or advertise or promote any
brand or product of any kind, without permission, or contain any personal identification, such as
license plate numbers, personal names, e-mail addresses or street addresses;
Entry cannot contain copyrighted materials owned by others (including photographs, sculptures,
paintings and other works of art or images published on or in websites, television, movies or other
media or musical "samples" other than the musical tracks provided) without permission;
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Entry cannot contain materials embodying the names, likenesses, photographs, or other indicia
identifying any person, living or dead, other than entrant, without permission;
Entry cannot communicate messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or
goodwill to which Sponsor and Sponsor Partners wish to associate; and
Entry cannot depict, and cannot itself, be in violation of any law.
BY SUBMITTING AN ENTRY, ENTRANT ACKNOWLEDGES THAT HIS/HER ENTRY MAY BE
POSTED ON SPONSOR’S or SPONSOR PARTNER’S WEBSITE AND/OR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES,
IN SPONSOR OR SPONSOR PARTNER’S DISCRETION. Submission of an Entry grants Sponsor,
Sponsor Partners, and their agents an unlimited, worldwide, perpetual, license and right to publish, use,
sublicense, and publicly perform the Entry in any way, in any and all media, without limitation, and
without consideration to the Candidate.
By submitting an Entry, each Team and Team member warrants and represents that the Entry: (a) is your
original work, (b) has not been previously published, (c) has not previous awards, (d) does not infringe upon
the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any
person or entity, including, but not limited to by way of an employment agreement; (e) and that publication
of the Entry via various media including Web posting, will not infringe on the rights any third party
rights. Any such entrant will indemnify and hold harmless, Sponsor and Sponsor Partners from any
claims to the contrary.
Sponsor is not responsible for any change of email address or other contact information of entrants, or for any
Team or Team member’s inability to receive notification or the Case Materials, or to submit an Entry.
6. JUDGING AND WINNER SELECTION:
Finalist Selection: From May 10, 2014 through May 13, 2014 all eligible and qualifying Final
Deliverables will be evaluated by a panel of judges appointed by Sponsor (“Judges”). Sponsor will
evaluate each eligible Final Deliverable based on the following criteria (“Judging Criteria”):
Criteria
Points
Overall quality of report
10
Identify and address key issues
10
Response to introductory analysis
10
Analysis of data
20
Proposed Use-Cases or Business Opportunities
50 (break down below)
Depth and logic of recommendations
20
Supporting argument
15
Implementation (practicality)
15
Total
100
The 3 Teams with the highest scores for their Final Deliverables based on the Judging Criteria as
determined by the Judges will be selected as “Finalist Teams”. If Sponsor does not receive a sufficient
number of eligible and qualified Final Deliverables as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion,
Sponsor reserves the right to select fewer than 3 Finalist Teams. All decisions of Judges are final and
binding. In the event of a tie, the Team with the highest score in the first criteria will be selected as the
Finalist Team. In the event there is still a tie, the Team with the highest score in the second criteria will
be selected as the Finalist Team, and so forth. Finalist Teams will be notified of their selection by email
on or around May 14, 2014.
Final Round: The Finalist Teams will present their Final Proposal to a panel comprised of Sponsor’s
executives and executives from companies that are clients or business partners of Sponsor (“Sponsor
Partners”), which may include the company or companies who provided information in the Case
Materials (“Panel”), on May 16, 2014 at Sponsor’s offices at 161 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL or
other date at Sponsor’s discretion (“Final Presentation”). Each Final Presentation may last up to thirty
(30) minutes long, and will occur in a designated time slot that will be provided to each Team prior to the
Final Presentation. Finalist Teams must bring at least one electronic copy of the Final Deliverable to the
Final Presentation. Finalist Teams may only use the Final Deliverable during the Final Presentation and
cannot use or rely on any other materials. All members of the Finalist Teams must be present at the Final
Presentation in to be eligible to win the Competition.
The Panel will evaluate all eligible Final Proposal according to the Judging Criteria. The one (1) Finalist
Team with the top scores based on the Judging Criteria will be selected as the “Winner” and the one (1)
Finalist Team with the second highest scores based on the Judging Criteria will be selected as the
“Runner Up.” In the event of a tie, the Finalist Team with the highest score in the first criteria will be
selected as the Winner or Runner Up as applicable. In the event there is still a tie, the Finalist Team with
the highest score in the second criteria will be selected as the Winner or Runner Up as applicable, and so
forth. Finalist Teams will be notified who the Winners are at the end of the Final Event.
Sponsor may waive requirements at its discretion, but any waiver of any obligation hereunder by Sponsor
does not constitute a general waiver of any obligation to entrants.
By submitting an Entry, you agree that your submission is gratuitous and made without restriction, and
will not place Sponsor under any obligation, that Sponsor is free to disclose or otherwise disclose the
ideas contained in the Entry on a non-confidential basis to anyone or otherwise use the ideas without any
additional compensation to you. You acknowledge that, by acceptance of your submission, Sponsor does
not waive any rights to use similar or related ideas previously known to Sponsor, or developed by its
employees, or obtained from sources other than you.
Competition winning Team will be notified in person on May 16, 2014 after all Finalist Teams have
presented their Final Presentation.
7. PRIZE DETAILS:
Winners: Each member of the Winner Team will receive an equal share of the $1000 prize. (Approximate
Retail Value (“ARV”) $$333-$500 each, depending on the number of members on the Winner Team)
Total ARV of all prizes: $1000, depending on number of Team members on Winner and Runner Up
Teams.
Prizes are non-transferable and no cash equivalent or substitution of prize is offered, except at the sole
discretion of the Sponsor. Taxes on a prize are solely the responsibility of the winner. Candidates who
receive prizes acknowledges that Sponsor and Sponsor Partners have not made nor are in any manner
responsible or liable for any warranty, representation, or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law,
relative to any prize, including but not limited to its quality, mechanical condition or fitness for a
particular purpose. Any and all warranties and/or guarantees on a prize (if any) are subject to the
respective manufacturers’ terms therefore, and winners agree to look solely to such manufacturers for any
such warranty and/or guarantee.
8. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION: Participants agree (a) to these Official Rules and the
decisions of Sponsor which are final and binding, (b) that Sponsor, their parent, subsidiary and
affiliated companies, advertising and promotion agencies, and all of their respective officers,
directors, employees, representatives and agents will have no liability whatsoever for, are released
and shall be held harmless by participants against any liability for any injuries, losses or damages
of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting in whole or in part, directly or
indirectly, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any prize or participation in this
Competition or Competition-related activities or use of the Entry and (c) except where legally
prohibited, winners grant (and agree to confirm that grant in writing) permission to Sponsor and
those acting under Sponsor’s authority the right to the use of his/her name, photograph, likeness,
voice, image and biographical information and statements and the Entry for advertising, trade,
publicity and promotional purposes without additional compensation, in all media now known or
hereafter discovered, worldwide and on the Internet and World Wide Web, without notice, review
or approval.
9. REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION: All members of Finalist and Winner Teams will be required to
complete, sign, and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release and, where lawful, a Publicity
Release within seven (7) days after notification. If documents are not returned on a timely basis, or if any
prize notification or prize is returned as non-deliverable, or if Winner or any of its members is found to be
ineligible or not in compliance with these Official Rules, such prize will be forfeited.
10. GENERAL PROVISIONS: Neither Sponsor nor its agencies are responsible for not receiving
Entries, no matter what the reason even if known in advance, or other errors of any kind whether human,
mechanical, electronic or network or the incorrect or inaccurate capture of entry or the failure to capture
any such information. Persons who tamper with any aspect of the Competition, as solely determined by
the Sponsor, or who attempt to participate with multiple email addresses or under multiple identities will
be disqualified. Should any portion of the Competition be, in Sponsor’s sole opinion, compromised by
virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention, technical failures or other causes which, in the
sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play, or
submission of Entries, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the
Competition. In case of dispute, the authorized subscriber of the email account used to enter the
Competition at the actual time of entry will be deemed to be the participant, and must comply with these
Official Rules.
11. GOVERNING LAW AND ARBITRATION: This Competition will be governed by and interpreted
under the laws of the State of Illinois, without application of any conflicts of law rules. Disputes between
the parties or their affiliates related to this Competition shall be submitted to final, binding arbitration
heard by a single arbitrator in accordance with the then-current Commercial Arbitration Rules of the
American Arbitration Association (except as modified herein). Any counterclaim not brought within
thirty (30) days after receipt of the arbitration notice shall be barred. The arbitration shall be conducted in
Cook County, Illinois in English. Unless otherwise specified herein, the arbitrator may award any relief
that he deems proper, including but not limited to equitable relief. The award shall be final and binding
and enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction.
12. WINNER’S LIST: The names of the winners will be sent to all participants at the email address
listed in the registration Form on or around 5/23/2014.
13. SPONSOR: Accenture LLP, 161 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois 60601
correspondence to this address.
©2014 Accenture LLP.
Do not send
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