Over the years, I've had the honor to speak across scores of universities about lessons and trends related to digital democracy and civic technology from a practitioner perspective. I joke that I share "what works" in practice and my academic friends then say, "Yes, but does it also work in theory?" Typically, I've been fiscally hosted by a government or some conference and I've asked if I could also have a free open to all side event at a local university. I value these exchanges tremendously. So here is my looooong shot request ... Based on my 7500+ member Civic Technology and Open Government Facebook Group I am applying for the Facebook Community Leadership Program. They will select five $1 million winners and 100 fellows who will receive $50K to boost their online communities. As part of my proposal, I am plotting a world tour to build the global network city by city and to highlight great civic tech stories we can share from local places to the world. The $1M version involves physical travel and the $50K some virtual real-time travel. If you'd like to tentatively express interest in hosting one of these events, please add a comment here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/opengovgroup/permalink/2080273208870931/ Also, if you don't want to miss out on the vibrant daily global exchange on using tech for civic good and open government, join in here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/opengovgroup It really is quite an amazing community. Thanks, Steven Clift http://stevenclift.com