Welcome to the 2011 National Intelligence Writing Contest sponsored by AFCEA Intelligence (AFCEA) and the Naval Intelligence Professionals (NIP). Annually, AFCEA and NIP provide those interested in the Intelligence profession an opportunity to express themselves on a topic of importance to intelligence and national security.
2011 Topic:
What are the major intelligence challenges we face in today’s national security environment? Which one would you fix and how?
Eligibility:
The contest is open to everyone and can be approached from any relevant perspective: Strategic, Operational and/or Tactical.
Deadline:
1:59pm EST, June 30, 2011
Guidelines:
Entries must be submitted via email to ebourke@afcea.org. The email subject line must say “NIWC Contest” and the body of the email must include the author’s name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, and the exact title of the submission.
There must be two attachments to the email. The first is the author’s biography – consisting of no more than 50 words.
The second attachment is the entry itself, and it must be submitted as either a Microsoft Word document or an Adobe PDF file. The second attachment’s file name should reflect the essay’s title to the extent practical, but not the author’s name. Submissions can be no longer than 2,000 words, double-spaced, with a minimum of a 12-point font. To ensure anonymity of the author during judging, the document must not include the author’s name on any page, but each page of the submission must show the exact title of the paper as a header.
Appropriate graphics or illustrations are permissible, but not required. Graphics may be embedded in the entry or a placeholder inserted to mark the location of the graphic. In either case, please send the graphic (photos or illustration in JPEG format; others (table/spreadsheet) in native format) as a separate attachment to enable proper viewing and formatting for possible publication.
Submissions will be evaluated based on originality, strength of argument and recommendations, adherence to the norms of spelling, grammar, and syntax, and clarity. Entries must be unclassified original analytical and/or interpretive work not previously published or currently submitted for publication elsewhere. Entries not fully complying with the following contest guidelines will not be considered.
Evaluation:
A panel of intelligence professionals from the AFCEA Intelligence Committee and the Naval Intelligence Professionals will judge all entries and make the final selections. Entries will be judged without knowing the authors’ identities.
Permission to Publish:
Submission for the contest constitutes the author’s permission to publish. Winning entries become the property of AFCEA and NIP and may be published in SIGNAL Magazine, the NIP Quarterly, or other sponsored journals. It is the responsibility of the author to meet any requirement for pre-publication security review prior to submission.
Prizes:
- First Place: $3,000 and a three-year membership in AFCEA and NIP
- Second Place: $1,500 and a three-year membership in AFCEA and NIP
- Third Place: $750 and a three-year membership in AFCEA and NIP
(If an essay is co-authored, each co-author will receive one-half the monetary prize as well as a three-year AFCEA and NIP membership.)
Notification:
Winners will be notified in writing not later than August 31, 2011.
Questions:
703-631-6219
Please be in touch with Jim at Parafinch if you have any questions.
More information here.
