citizen engagement

As the volume of incoming constituent communications rises exponentially across Capitol Hill, the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) has pulled together information that might help your office deal with the deluge.

Please read on for our advice – whether for phone, email, social media, or your website.

We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate."

—Thomas Jefferson

Thanks to the Internet and social media, it has never been easier to communicate with congressional offices. CMF estimates that congressional offices have experienced between a 200% to 1,000% increase in constituent correspondence since 2002, making it difficult for congressional offices to keep up with, respond to, and fully benefit from the sheer volume.

That's why the Congressional Management Foundation works to enhance citizen advocates' efforts to effectively engage and communicate with their Members of Congress.

[Available Format - Video (1 minute)]

Congress' relationship with technology has changed over the last 50 years. Thanks to legislative action centers and the wide adoption of social media, which have made it very easy to communication with Congress, Congressional offices are overwhelmed. The volume of correspondence in Congressional offices in-boxes pales in comparison to the volume in Congressional outboxes. Yet the basic system for responding to constituents hasn't really changed in 50 years. That's why it's important that constituents communicate effectively if they want their voices to be heard.