Government 2.0 involves changes in policy and revolutions in technology that fit together to improve government missions - and perhaps even invent new ones. Government 2.0 embodies the spirit of transparency, collaboration, participation, and innovation. It is about empowering government employees to serve citizens better and about opening up the government into a platform that enables citizens to better help their communities.

Such empowerment happens at all levels of government, from the White House to Cabinet-level agencies like the State Department, to components of Federal agencies like the Navy's 5th Fleet that patrols the Persian Gulf, to State-level governors and representatives, to local governments innovating with cheap technology during a recession when their towns and cities are struggling.

Government 2.0 means many different things. It's about working better together as a team, in an office, or in an agency. It's about breaking down silos between groups that should be collaborating instead of competing or ignoring one another. It's about touching citizens' lives more closely, or delivering goods and services more efficiently, or promoting a "do it ourselves" attitude in the community.

Gov 2.0 Expo is about showcasing the people whose ideas and projects have taken them from problem to experiment to solution. It's about showcasing the innovative companies whose technologies are helping to make this possible. And it's also about showcasing the many political and technological challenges and difficulties in this process.

The topics are as varied as the people involved. Government 2.0 is an umbrella, with lawyers thinking about government intellectual property, citizen advocates worried about a digital divide, and security experts concerned about protecting our cyber assets. Meanwhile, geeks are thinking about diverse issues that include cloud computing services, open data platforms, and mobile social media.

These topics and more fit together into a coherent whole, but in these early days of Government 2.0, it's difficult to see how. The primary goal of the Gov 2.0 Expo in May 2010 is to convene people to hear enlightening speakers, workshops, and panel discussions about these issues, and frame them in their own minds to figure out how Government 2.0 can best work for them.

We're looking for your great ideas and best practices. We want to hear what you're doing at the intersection of emerging technology and government at all levels, from local to international, and from strategic planning to tactical implementation. We'd like to read proposals about current Gov 2.0 topics, including but not limited to:

• Policy - rules and laws that govern what can and cannot be done
• Technology - Gov 2.0 hardware, software, and other mechanical inventions
• Challenges - obstacles stemming from policy, technology, or other barricades
• People - possibilities, challenges, and realities of working with and in government

We hope you'll join us May 25-27, 2010 at the Washington Convention Center in Downtown Washington, DC for this groundbreaking convergence of public/private sector and civic engagement.

Important Dates:

• Early registration opens in February 2010
• Standard registration begins April 2010