NFFF Events
2024 Thought Leadership Essay Contest
Event Details
Overcoming Institutional & Interpersonal Resistance to Change in the Fire Service
The essay competition is not about reiterating known problems in the fire service, restating current doctrine, or drafting theoretical essays; it’s about offering original thought and identifying actions to address the specific root causes of institutional and interpersonal resistance.
Thought-provoking essays will ignite discussions and challenge readers to understand & embrace their roles in a diverse and evolving fire service. We encourage new ideas to help foster a culture within the fire service that embraces both change and curiosity. Authors and readers of this essay should be motivated and challenged to act beyond the status quo using critical thinking concepts.
We encourage participants to focus on the substance of their ideas and put personal experiences in context without spending too much of their essays on personal stories. We also encourage you to address impactful change at every level of the organization so that the proposed solutions have a broader reach and contribute to overall organizational improvement.
"Darley Essay contest is one way to bring out critical thinkers who will examine specific issues and challenge the fire service to do something that might upset the status quo. The nominees are all practitioners who may actually be working through some of the issues identified by the papers. Each of the authors did complete significant research to validate their paper in a very limited time."
Prizes
- 1st place – $3,000
- 2nd place – $2,000
- 3rd place – $1,000
Essay Format
- 3 pages maximum / 1500 word maximum
- 12-point, Times New Roman
- Double-space
- Submit as a PDF (preferred) or Word Document
- PLEASE do not include your name on the essay!
Grading Rubric
- Specific Solutions Offered – Do you present specific recommendations for change? How innovative, impactful, and viable are the proposed solutions?
- Potential Impact on the Fire Service – Can this impact the fire service in the short and long term? Can this concept move the fire service forward in a positive manner?
- Quality of Writing – How is the essay structure, vocabulary, readability, and overall authorship?
- Intangibles – Is this exciting? Does it challenge preexisting assumptions? Does it invoke a thought-provoking discussion? Is the core message courageous?
