American Experiments

The American Experiments Showcase will run from 10 a.m. to noon.  Everyone in town for the convention – delegates, journalists, advocates, philanthropists, venture capitalists – is invited to visit this exhibit of innovative ideas to improve the conduct of democracy in the United States. 

The Showcase will put your organization’s ideas and products in front of people who could become your champions, partners or supporters.  (This event is limited to nonpartisan organizations; groups promoting a particular political party or candidate may not participate.)

Space is free of charge but very limited, so act quickly.  To reserve your space or learn more, contact Committee of Seventy CEO David Thornburgh at dthornburgh@seventy.org.

From noon to 1:30 p.m., will be Microsoft’s American Experiments Challenge. During a buffet lunch, six competitively chosen organizations will present their best ideas for improving elections or democracy.

The presentations will be in the fast-paced Ignite style (20 slides in five minutes), to an audience and an elite panel of judges from the the worlds of technology, politics, journalism, philanthropy, and venture capital.  Stan Freck, Microsoft’s senior director for technology and civic engagement, is confirmed as a judge.

Presenters are eligible for two awards: One will be decided by the panel of judges. The other, the People’s Choice Award, will be chosen in a live, mobile vote by the entire audience for the Challenge. Winners will have their ideas featured in articles by the event’s media partners: Governing.com and the Technical.ly chain of digital news hubs.

To enter the afternoon Microsoft Challenge, click here to respond to a prompt asking you to tell us, in 200 words or less, your best idea for improving elections or our political process.  We’ll pick six promising ideas out of all those submitted, and invite those applicants to prepare their Ignite talks.