2026 Wildfire Mitigation Sim Competition

Sim Flyer

The Student Nomination Window is now open! It will be open through the end of February 2026.

Nominate your Students for the Simulation Competition

Read this before you nominate:
  • Each NASPAA member school is permitted to nominate up to five students.
  • These five students can be a mix of graduate and undergraduate students.
  • Students from all schools and at all levels are combined to form diverse teams. Even if you nominate five graduate students, it will be the goal of the NASPAA Simulation Competition to put each of those students on a team with students representing five different schools. Graduate and undergraduate students will also be combined on their teams.
  • Nominations must be made by the principal representative of a NASPAA member school.
  • The entry fee is $25 per student.
  • This will be an 8-hour day on Zoom on your choice of either March 7th or March 14th, 2026. The competition has several virtua sites all over the world, so you will have several different time zones to choose from.
  • Students will receive some preparation materials a week ahead of their competition date, but most of the experience will be in responding to a live simulation of a wildfire mitigation task force preparing a community wildfire protection plan. 
About the Wildfire Simulation:

NASPAA's 2026 Student Simulation Competition features the Forio Wildfire Simulation designed by Professor Matt Koschmann of the University of Colorado Boulder and built by Forio. The simulation competition teaches students practical communication and negotiation skills as they balance their roles against their team goals to collaborate on a joint wildfire mitigation plan for the fictional town of Westmount. In addition, as part of NASPAA's initiative to improve how we embody diversity, equity, and inclusion as an organization and as an essential part of public service education; NASPAA worked with Forio to update the simulation to incorporate DEI facets of wildfire mitigation and public service decision-making as core elements of the learning experience. The competition will once again include professional practitioners and academics to serve as guest judges from various public service fields.

2023 Flipbook

Check out our last Wildfire Competition 

What Students Get:
  • Engage with a realistic wildfire mitigation simulation, learn from knowledgeable practitioners and academics, and prepare a formal community wildfire protection plan presentation.
  • Learn by experiencing dramatic public service challenges first-hand without the fear of consequences.
  • A formal certificate from NASPAA to celebrate your achievement.
  • The top three global teams will win cash prizes of up to $3,000.

 

Thank you to the NASPAA member schools that agreed to host the competition this year:

  • Arizona State University
  • California State University San Bernardino
  • Georgia Southern University
  • Hamad Bin Khalifa University
  • Kean University - Ocean Campus
  • Ludovika University
  • Oregon State University
  • Rutgers University - Newark
  • The George Washington University
  • The UMass Amherst
  • Universidad de los Andes
  • University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service
  • University of Central Florida
  • University of Missouri
  • University of North Dakota
  • Virginia Commonwealth University