Inside the Hill: Congressional Staff Read Everything
In the sixth installment of 'Inside the Hill', congressional staff discuss how the Internet has affected the ways congressional offices get their news.
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Connecting the Offline and Online Worlds: Rep. Karen Bass Experiments with QR Codes
Technology can advance at a breakneck speed. It seems like new communications vehicles are created all the time and it can be significant challenge for congressional staff to help the Member manage their legislative and other representational duties and keep up with all of the latest trends. That's why I never cease to be amazed at how Members and staff are able to find the time to be creative and innovative. But, being afraid to experiment is a recipe for being left in the dust on Capitol Hill and Los Angeles Congresswoman Karen Bass and her staff have been experimenting with Quick Response or 'QR' Codes.
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Inside the Hill: The Power of Online Video
by PMPU
on April 27, 2011
In the fifth installment of 'Inside the Hill', congressional staff discuss how online video can help connect citizens and Members of Congress.
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One Year Closer to Perfecting Our Union
by administrator
on April 20, 2011
One year ago today the Congressional Management Foundation launched its new venture, the Partnership for a More Perfect Union. For those of you that have been following the Partnership, you know that this represents a broadening of CMF's core mission, which has always been to support the Member, committee, and leadership offices of the U.S. Congress. Now, through the Partnership, CMF is seeking to improve the communication, understanding, and relationship between Members of Congress and the citizens they represent.
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Inside the Hill: How The Public Is Heard
by PMPU
on April 14, 2011
In the fourth installment of "Inside the Hill", Members of Congress and congressional staff discuss how citizens' voices are heard on Capitol Hill.
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citizen engagement, constituents, democrats, facebook, Inside the Hill, leadership, republicans, social media, transparency, twitter, websites, YouTube
Back to Basics: The Foundations of a Good Website
Members of Congress are always coming up with new and innovative ways to engage citizens online, but no congressional office should neglect their website. After all, in our survey of over 10,000 citizens, we found that the website of the Senator or Representative is the one of the first places they turn for information. So it's essential that congressional websites provide at least a basic level of information and services. With limited time and resources, where should offices focus their efforts? Here are the 4 most critical areas to focus on, the questions to ask yourself as you improve your website, and examples from award winning websites from the 111th Congress:
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Ask Us: “Protocols” for Communicating with Congressional Staff
Obviously, Members of Congress have a constitutional responsibility to interact with their constituents because the First Amendment extends us the right "to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." But what about the chief of staff, the legislative director, or the legislative assistant for small business issues? Do I as an individual citizen have a right to communicate with those individuals?
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Advanced Studies: Innovative Ways to Engage Citizens
In our evaluations of congressional websites we found that there is a digital divide in Congress (PDF), with 'A' and 'F' being the two most common letter grades. While we will continue to cover the basics, we also want to highlight a few new and innovative ways Members of Congress are engaging citizens in the 112th Congress.
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Constituents Tell Rep. Forbes What They Think Through His “instaPoll”
Members have long included short polling questions in their regular newsletters or on their websites, and some even pose questions on Facebook or Twitter. Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), however, is taking a slightly different approach. Rather than tacking on a polling question to a much larger email newsletter—almost as an afterthought—he created a cleverly branded regular poll of his constituents called the “instaPoll.”
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Use Web Stats, and Other Tips for Improving Your Website
by administrator
on March 16, 2011
CMF hosted a training program for House and Senate staff on how to improve their websites in preparation for the Gold Mouse Project website evaluations this summer. Here are 5 tips from our Q+A with award winning staffers and 5 recommendations from our presentation:
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