Announcement of the Second Round of the USMC Innovation Challenge

1. Situation. This MARADMIN serves to announce the
kickoff of the second round of the Deputy Commandant for
Information's (DC I) USMC Innovation Challenge. The challenge is
about the Service solving service problems and the Marine Corps
effectively scaling those solutions for employment across the
service. The Marine Corps is filled with uniquely talented
individuals with skillsets beyond their designated MOS or billet.
These Marines and DON civilians have a talent for leveraging
technology to solve problems with innovative solutions. However,
no permanent environment or community exists to enable these Marines
to network, collaborate, and crowdsource their hidden skillsets to
develop innovative solutions.
2. Background. The first iteration of the Innovation Challenge has
been successfully executed, proving the concept of leveraging the
innovative spirit of our Marines and DON civilians. The challenge
provided a venue for innovators across the Force to transition from
analog, manual-intensive processes to user-defined, data-centric,
automated approaches. Round one focused on the M365 Power Platform
and produced several impactful solutions that will improve
day-to-day operations across the force.
3. Round Two Concept of Operations. The USMC Innovation Challenge
will be accessible online and managed through the USMC Innovation
Challenge Portal. Within the USMC Innovation Challenge Portal,
Marines, commanders, and staff will be able to submit issues for
challenge participants to develop solutions towards. Marines and DON
civilians will be able to form teams through the site, take on
submitted issues, and develop innovative solutions. A core tenet of
the USMC Innovation Challenge is to enable Commanders and their
staffs to serve as team sponsors. As a team sponsor, a commander,
or staff section lead will serve as the primary advocate for the
issue and provide direct feedback to the challenge participant or
team for features that yield an employable solution.
3.a. Scheme of Maneuver. The four core components of the challenge
remain: Registration and Reception; Issue and Idea Submission;
Collaboration, Development, and Solution Submission; and Assess,
Award, Advertise, and Scale. All activities will continue to be
managed through the USMC Innovation Challenge Portal. For detailed
information, refer to the initial Innovation Challenge Announcement,
MARADMIN 445/25.
3.b. Campaign Platform. For Round Two, the Innovation Campaign will
continue to leverage the M365 Power Platform suite of tools to
automate and streamline processes. The focus area for this round
will be the Commanding General's Inspection Program (CGIP) and the
Functional Areas within the program. Topics outside this theme are
still welcome but will be prioritized for assessment accordingly.
3.c. Coordinating Instructions
3.c.1. Scope. The USMC Innovation Challenge is restricted to the
unclassified network. Participants are prohibited from reverse
engineering, decompiling/disassembling, or working around any
technical limitations of any Microsoft product (without
pre-approval). Data injects to support applications developed should
only include sourcing data that is already within the Microsoft M365
environment or provided through the sponsoring command or staff
section. The participants are limited to capabilities included in
the DOD cloud USMC Tenant M365 suite of capabilities for the M365
environment. Changes to this scope will be announced through the
USMC Innovation Challenge Portal.
3.c.2. Power Platform Connectors. Solutions developed utilizing the
M365 Power Platform suite must exclusively employ standard
enterprise connectors available within the USMC tenant environment.
The use of premium connectors, custom connectors requiring elevated
licensing, or third-party paid extensions is prohibited to ensure
seamless deployability, resource sustainability, and immediate
force-wide accessibility. 
3.c.3. Compliance. All participants will comply with any applicable
terms of service and system of record notice (SORN).
3.c.4. Awards and Financial Incentives. The USMC Innovation Council
will decide upon awards and financial incentives, as authorized by
REF A and REF B, based on the technical accomplishment, reach of the
application and the availability of funds.
3.c.5. Assessment Prioritization. The USMC Innovation Council
members will prioritize assessments of solutions based on the
solution's alignment to the current "Innovation Campaign" and
sponsorship.  
3.c.6. Registration and Sponsorship. All sponsors and participants
must register through the Innovation Challenge Portal. Sponsors can
be commanders or their officer/enlisted staff at or above the rank
of O-4 or E-8. Any changes to sponsorship guidelines will be posted
on the USMC Innovation Challenge Portal.
3.d. Timeline.
3.d.1. Execution. Upon release of this MARADMIN, the USMC Innovation
Challenge round two will be active. Commands, staff, and
participants can register for the challenge, form teams, submit or
sponsor issues and begin development of their innovative solutions
through the USMC Innovation Challenge Portal.
3.d.2. Assessments. USMC Innovation Council assessments will be held
based on the direction of the IC4 Director and will be influenced
based on the quantity and quality of submissions of completed
solutions.
3.d.3. Updates. All other timelines will be posted in the USMC
Innovation Challenge Portal.
4. Admin and Logistics
4.a. Duty Status and Resource Utilization. Innovation Challenge
participants, including DON civilians, are authorized to compete in
the challenge during official duty hours and use government
facilities, equipment, materials, property, funds, and information,
subject to local commander approval and mission requirements.
4.b. Intellectual Property and Ownership. In consideration of the
authorization for participants to work on the challenge during
official duty hours and the permission for participants to use
government resources, all innovations, inventions, technical data,
computer software, products, items, and materials developed,
created, generated, or submitted for the USMC Innovation Challenge
or associated with the USMC Innovation Challenge, are the property
of the USMC and will be delivered to DC I.
4.c. Travel and Funding. Participation in Round Two is designed to
be conducted virtually. No official travel or TAD funding is
authorized solely for challenge participation unless funded by
parent commands.
4.d. Portal Directives. Participants and sponsors shall review the
USMC Innovation Challenge Portal for additional information,
guidance, submission materials, and shall comply with the terms and
conditions associated with the USMC Innovation Challenge.
5. Command and Control.  
5.a. Governance and Oversight. IC4 will serve as chair and is
responsible for the overall conduct and administration of the USMC
Innovation Challenge.
5.b. Command Support. Commands and staff are encouraged to support
participation of all Marines and DON Civilians that desire to
participate in this event. Commanders are also encouraged to permit
participants to utilize duty hours for participation in the
challenge as able given mission requirements.
5.c. Cyber and Deployment Compliance. All applications and tools
developed under Round Two intended for unit adoption must adhere to
DON M365 governance, DoD cyber hygiene protocols, and enterprise
data security standards.
5.d.  Points of Contact. For questions regarding this message,
please access the USMC Innovation Challenge Portal website at
(https:(slash)(slash)usmc.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/DCI/USMC_
Innovation_Challenge).
6.  Release authorized by Lieutenant General Joseph A. Matos III,
Headquarters Marine Corps, Deputy Commandant for Information.