As many of you will already know, FutureGov is somewhat USA curious. Since heading along to Gov20Camp in DC in 2009, we’ve spent increasing amounts of time in Washington DC and beyond, learning from the vibrant digital government community inside and outside of government in the US. We’ve even partnered with DC based firm Rock Creek on one of our main projects, Simpl, launched in San Francisco last month.

More recently we’ve had one eye on how we might be able to bring together the diverse and growing group of digital government innovators we hang out with in the UK and US. Well now we’re offering you a chance to work with us to make this happen with the launch of Digital Mission DC.

Read on to find out more and register your interest now!

We’re extremely grateful to Sam and all the team at Chinwag for letting us jump on board their brilliant Digital Mission series with this event. This post was originally published by Chinwag over on their Digital Mission DC page.

Image: Tom Lohdan

We’re gathering interest for a digital government and social innovation-focused trade mission to Washington for UK-based digital companies in July. Interested? Read on…

The last few years have seen a dramatic adoption of social media and digital technologies in government, NGOs and campaigning organisations. There’s a highly active community here in the UK, and an equally vibrant counterpart in the United States, centered around Washington DC.

What started as a conversation with our friends at digital government consultancy FutureGov, community builder Bright Lemon and digital media consultant Kathryn Corrick, has come together to form concrete plans for a Digital Mission to Washington DC, scheduled the week 11th July 2011.

Digital Missions are designed specifically for companies in the digital sector to understand the opportunities and challenges of overseas markets. Over a week, mission delegates will have the opportunity to network, meet investors, find partners and develop valuable business relationships.

Building on the success of the previous seven trips, this inaugural week-long Digital Mission to DC, will focus on the exciting space where government meets the digital sector, whether that’s adopting open source technology, opening data, working collaboratively or developing social enterprises.

The full schedule is being confirmed, but will include:

• Masterclass sessions on setting up and doing business in the US
• Specialist briefings on campaigning, transparency, media & technology in government
• Rundtable meeting, Q&A and pitch events
• Networking dinner and meet-ups with DC-based communities in tech & Gov 2.0
• Session covering contracting with the US Government
• VIP reception and company showcase

With pre and post-mission events in the UK. The cost will be in the region of £650 + VAT. Mission delegates will be responsible for covering their own travel and accommodation expenses, although local grants may be available towards this.

The trip will be open to innovative UK-based digital SMEs (<250 staff, <€50m turnover) with up to 20 slots available, with space (but sadly not funding) for a limited number of press and academic slots. Companies are chosen through a competitive process, selecting only the leading firms that can use the trip to support their development plans.

If you’re interested in joining this mission, please let us know by registering your interest using this form. If you’d like to support the mission through sponsorship or by hosting an event, or have access to grant funding to support companies attending the trip, we’d love to hear from you.

The full application form will be available in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, if you have any questions, do drop us an email, or leave a comment below and we’ll get back to you.

Register Interest: Digital Mission to Washington DC