Open Government Directive UnConference-- an invitation to join the planning team

[Lucas Cioffi]

(This message is cross posted to several groups- so I apologize if you receive it multiple times)

This is an invitation to join the planning team for the upcoming Open Government Directive UnConference (OGD UnCon). This event will be transparent, participatory, and highly collaborative.

OGD UnCon will take place 30-60 days after the OGD is issued.  The purpose of the event is to identify barriers to successful implementation of the Directive and to share best practices across agencies.

What: an unconference focused on implementation of the Open Government Directive (challenges, case studies, and next steps)
Who: federal, state, and local government employees collaborating with the open government community
Where: Washington, DC

Planning for the unconference has not yet begun, so all these ideas are open to modification.  Here are some starting principles which are completely open to improvement:

• To increase public sector turnout, the event will take place on a Monday and will not cost anything for government employees.
• Non-government employees will pay a modest fee to cover the costs of the event (perhaps in the range of $30-$50).  This will help us ensure that RSVP numbers are accurate and will pay for a decent venue.
  
• There will be no need for sponsors.
• All organizers will be volunteers and the registration fees will go directly to food, venue, and supplies-- no profit.
• The event will have a heavy live-streaming component so Americans outside the Beltway can participate in a meaningful way.
• Instead of a standard tech fair where vendors have booths and talk about their products, this unconference will be a an opportunity for people to kick the tires on these apps to make sure they work as advertised.  The main point is not to sell yet another bright and shiny software program; the main point is to combine face-to-face discussion and all appropriate technologies to create solutions and solve problems that government employees face every day.

This is an event that needs to happen, and it will take many bright minds to pull it all together.  Please spread the word to other networks that are not addressed in this email.  Feel free to join the planning team and let's start the conversation.

Lucas Cioffi
AthenaBridge Inc
Washington, DC
917-528-1831