2013 NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE WRITING CONTEST

DEADLINE: JUNE 30, 2013

Welcome to the 2013 National Intelligence Writing Contest sponsored by AFCEA Intelligence (AFCEA) and the Naval Intelligence Professionals (NIP).

Both AFCEA and NIP are not-for profit associations. We have joined forces for this writing contest to encourage thoughtful discussion of issues relevant in today’s intelligence and national security environment.

2013 Topic

The US Government is discussing a so-called “Pivot to the Pacific.” It has not yet been established how this will affect the current set of engagements and interests in the Middle East where Intelligence Community resources are heavily engaged in supporting U.S. national interests.

In light of this shift in priorities, the 2013 National Intelligence Writing Contest topic is "Pivoting from the Middle East to the Pacific – Implications for Achieving a Balance in Intelligence.”

The following questions are offered as an elaboration of the topic. A winning essay need not address all or any of them.

Will there be a need to change the mix of sensors, skill sets and resources to accommodate a change in emphasis to the Pacific Region?
How will the Intelligence Community maintain required support to current engagements while “retooling” for a new set of challenges in the Pacific Region?
Will there be a rebalancing of emphasis between “topic based requirements” (counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency, etc.) to dealing with “peer competitor” issues?
What are the considerations and trade-offs for the Intelligence Community?

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.)

Eligibility

The contest is open to everyone and can be approached from any relevant perspective: strategic, operational and/or tactical.

Deadline

11:59pm EST, June 30, 2013

Guidelines

Entries must be submitted via email to geisenhower@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 which must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document. 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 (inlcuding footnotes and captions for graphics), 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.

Notification

Winners will be notified in writing not later than August 31, 2013.

Questions?

703-631-6219

Good luck!