News

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.

Democrat Dan Mica and Republican Kelly Johnston to Govern 34-Year Old Nonprofit

The Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) Board of Directors has unanimously elected former Congressman Dan Mica and former Secretary of the Senate Kelly Johnston as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board. Congressman Mica, a Democrat, served in the House of Representatives from 1979-1989; Kelly Johnston, a Republican, served as Secretary of the Senate from 1995-1996.

In the fifth installment of 'Inside the Hill', congressional staff discuss how online video can help connect citizens and Members of Congress.

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.

In the fourth installment of "Inside the Hill", Members of Congress and congressional staff discuss how citizens' voices are heard on Capitol Hill.

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:

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?

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.

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.”

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: