Right now, Senators and Representatives are facing unprecedented communication challenges because of the Coronavirus and its consequences. These challenges go beyond the physical confinement barriers of social distancing: according to the World Health Organization's Outbreak Communications Guidelines, "it is now time to acknowledge that communication expertise has become as essential to outbreak control as epidemiological training and laboratory analysis." Essentially, it doesn't matter if the experts know the best ways to slow the spread of this disease if they can't communicate their methods compellingly. The average person needs to be both informed and convinced.

As the federal officials closest to and most in touch with people, Members of Congress are particularly well-equipped to do this informing and convincing. They and their staff can act as liaisons between experts, federal and state resources and the experiences of their constituents. To help in these efforts, CMF is pursuing a strategy which will help Senators and Representatives communicate more effectively with constituents about the crisis while increasing constituents' trust: the deliberative online town hall meeting.

CMF has previously conducted research alongside The Ohio State University's Institute for Democracy and Accountability (IDEA) on the efficacy of deliberative online town hall meetings. The researchers facilitated in-depth, single-issue remote town hall meetings with Members of Congress, and they surveyed participating constituents both before and after. The findings are noteworthy.

Before the online town hall meeting, about two-thirds (34%) of those surveyed said they would trust their Member to do the right thing "most of the time," while only 4% said they would trust them "sometimes." After the online town hall, many changed their minds. More than half (52%) said they would support their Member "most of the time," while about two-thirds (34%) said they would "sometimes." For those without a calculator handy, that's an 18% increase in those who said they would trust their Member to do the right thing "most of the time," and a 30% increase in who said "some of the time." There were similarly dramatic increases in those describing their Members accessible (+32%), fair (+28%), and compassionate (+24%). Overall approval also went up by 16%, just from a single online town hall.

So, recognizing both the significance of these findings and the unique need for innovative and effective communication during this crisis, CMF and IDEA are working on a COVID-19 online town hall pilot program for congressional offices. Though currently in its early stages with just a few congressional offices, once the model is ready, CMF and IDEA hope to work with more offices to conduct online town hall meetings with constituents that increase trust and change behavior.

In the meantime, CMF is encouraging Members of Congress and their staff to conduct their own remote town halls in a more deliberative manner to increase constituent trust by using some of the key findings of our research:

• Invite constituents ahead of time: We found that remote town hall meetings were most successful when they included a representative sample of constituents. By focusing on outreach to ensure a broad swath of constituents, we found people were both less aggressive and more persuadable. In fact, our sessions were more representative than the electorate. They didn't just include the "usual suspects." This takes a little more work than dialing out in the moment, but the benefits are worth it.
• Focus on a single issue: At this time, CMF and IDEA are recommending focusing on COVID-19 to change constituent behavior and save lives. Our research has found that conducting single issue online town halls helps ensure focus, depth, and substance. As a result, the sessions go beyond simplistic overviews and talking points, and they are more persuasive. They are also more satisfying for both constituents and Members.
• Provide neutral material beforehand: Distribution of independent information in advance of the town hall helps generate interest, as well as more productive discussion. We found that, by preparing people with 2-5 pages of easy-to-read, neutral policy information ahead of time (usually based on CRS reports), the quality of the questions and engagement increased AND correct answers on a policy "quiz" we did before and after the session increased by 50%.
• Use a moderator: While staffers can fill this role, CMF and IDEA have found that perceived credibility increases when online town halls involve a neutral moderator. In our sessions, this was usually a CMF or IDEA staffer. The moderator's role can be as simple as introducing the Member, providing instructions, keeping order, and asking or calling for the next question or as involved as serving more like a talk show host. This relieves the Senator/Representative from having to manage the call so she can focus solely on responding to constituents.
• For more guidance: visit CMF's Preparing for a Telephone Town Hall page.

Ideally, these strategies will help congressional offices address some of the biggest constituent concerns about COVID-19. As we worry about health, businesses, employment, sources of government relief, the scope of safety, and so much more, CMF hopes one thing you won't have to worry about is how to best fulfill your crisis communications role

For more information on conducting online town halls during this time, you can access slides and the recording of CMF's webinar, "Online Town Halls for the COVID-19 Crisis: Proven Methods to Connect, Learn, and Lead." The webinar was hosted by Bradford Fitch, CMF's President and CEO and Dr. Michael Neblo and Amy Lee from IDEA. Dr. Neblo's book, Politics with the People: Building a Directly Representative Democracy, is based on the research collaboration with CMF to conduct and study remote town hall meetings with Senators and Representatives.

This blog post was written by Sarah Vroegop, a virtual Research Assistant at CMF during the COVID-19 shut down. She is currently a senior at Calvin University majoring in International Relations and Writing.