AFAC25 Call for Abstracts

Community is at the heart of fire and emergency services. Embedding a positive, diverse and learning culture in our organisations is key to adapting to future challenges. First Nations have a long, continuing culture with land and waterways. How are fire and emergency services partnering and learning from others? How are we embedding culture into our approaches? In response to numerous review and inquiries, how are we adapting and working to change?

Abstracts under this topic could include:

• Capability building
• Diversity, equity and inclusion
• Engagement
• First Nations approaches to land management and recovery
• Organisational culture
• Response, risk and involvement
• Volunteerism

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Sharing insights and learning from each other is essential to improving practice. The exchange of knowledge through storytelling, case studies and lessons identified can help to improve consistency, capability and ultimately, community safety. Even sharing what didn’t work for you can help others who are grappling with similar issues. Instead of waiting for the next major event, what can we learn now? What have you or your team done lately that is worthwhile sharing? How can we amplify what we learn at a local level to a national or international level?

Abstracts under this topic could include, but are not limited to:

• Knowledge management
• Application of lessons identified
• Case studies: local, national or international
• Operational reviews
• Tactical reports, insights

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Emergencies do not discriminate. They affect communities, businesses, environments and economies. With a changing climate and more severe events more often, new approaches to mitigating and managing risk are needed. By working together across different sectors and industries we can look to solve problems with collective effort. Where should strategic partnerships be formed? How does Australia and New Zealand connect into the global system? How can we improve our service delivery through partnerships?

Abstracts under this topic could include, but are not limited to:

• Collaborative approaches
• Connection across sectors
• Partnerships
• Public/private sector
• Response and recovery

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Research and new technology play an important role in improving the service we provide. Research utilised and embedded into practice reflects a learning culture and one open to continuous improvement. New technologies are providing new capabilities through artificial intelligence, robotics, UAVs, and alternative energy appliances. Embracing artificial intelligence offers exciting opportunities to assist our work, but it also requires careful management of the risks associated with its implementation. New technologies can also pose risks to first responders and community safety, such as alternative energies like lithium-ion batteries. However, collaboration across industries can help in building effective strategies to manage these risks. How are our organisations embracing new research and technologies? What are the risks, and how are we managing them? What does the research tell us?

Abstracts under this topic could include, but are not limited to:

• Alternative energy
• Artificial intelligence
• Pathways from research to practice
• Research
• Technology
• Utilisation and translation of research

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To continue to provide quality services and outcomes, we need to be focused on how to tackle the challenges of the future. While we often associate innovation with technology, innovation can be much broader encompassing processes, procedures, business improvement across the spectrum of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. What does the future look like? What will the challenges of the next 5, 10, 20 years be? What innovative solutions have you or your organisation come up with? How can we inspire and create space for innovation?

Abstracts under this topic could include, but are not limited to:

• Climate change
• Data
• Innovation
• Processes and procedures
• Strategic foresight

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