ESF Scholarships - Victoria RESCA

The aim of the ESF scholarship program is to provide an opportunity for both paid staff and volunteer members of the Victorian Emergency Services to undertake a study tour that will lead to improvements in Victoria’s emergency management sector. It provides successful applicants with a valuable opportunity for self-enrichment and career advancement through the pursuit of knowledge and experience in an area they are passionate about.

ESF scholarships are not for completion of tertiary or other qualifications.

ESF has granted scholarships since 1988 to provide recipients with funds to cover the expense of travel to advance their knowledge and expertise.  Scholarship recipients become ESF Alumni and are encouraged to maintain their association with the ESF and support its work.

Due to travel restrictions associated with COVID-19 pandemic no scholarships were awarded in 2020 or 2021.

In the past, topics of research have been varied. In line with ESFs new strategic direction, priority will be given to applications that address evidence and knowledge gaps in relation to mental health and wellbeing.

ESF Scholarships supported by Rotary

The Emergency Services Foundation has entered a partnership with Rotary to support the longstanding ESF scholarship program.

This partnership with Rotary builds on strong collaboration between the two organisations at the local level, through Tony’s Trek early in 2024, and the new Rotary Emergency Services Community Awards. The partnership will help fund two additional scholarships.

This year's winners can be seen here

ESF has been awarding scholarships since its inception and is this year delighted to be supported by Rotary to enable two more people to travel to undertake a study that will provide sector wide benefit.

Paul Fitzgerald, Fire Rescue Victoria, will be researching the topic of servant leadership.

Paul said, “'I am humbled to have been awarded the 2025 ESF scholarship to explore a topic of such interest to myself and importance to the sector. Leadership has a profound influence on people's lives, wellbeing, and careers, it's exciting to be undertaking research to help inform healthy, psychologically safe workplaces for our first responders.”

Mark Welch is Commander of Performance and Assurance at Fire Rescue Victoria, and his project is to explore how operational debriefs for potentially traumatic events can better protect the wellbeing of participants.

Mark said, “I am immensely grateful to ESF and Rotary for this opportunity to explore an evidence-based approach to debriefing potentially traumatic events. It is important that we learn from these events, but equally important that we do no harm to emergency services personnel when asking them to recount their experiences. The intent of these studies is to help close some current knowledge gaps about debriefing and inform us of improved debriefing processes that look after the wellbeing of first responders.”

Learn more about our scholarship program and view previous scholarship reports here