Constituent Communications

Frequently asked questions about the common issues offices face when trying to manage their constituent mail.

7 recommendations for responding to backlogged mail.

The following testimony was delivered on June 5, 2019 at the hearing of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress by Bradford Fitch, CMF's President & CEO:

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice Chairman, and Members of the Select Committee. On behalf of the Congressional Management Foundation, I wish to thank the Committee for inviting CMF to testify on the state of citizen engagement.

University of California at Irvine Ph.D. student and former CMF Research Assistant Samantha McDonald presents a new paper, “Constituent Correspondence in the U.S. Congress: A Survey of Staff Perspectives.” Sam’s work focused on surveying Legislative Correspondents to understand the flow and impact of constituent communications on Capitol Hill. It is an outstanding contribution to the growing body of work in this field.

Many reports show that citizen advocacy is exploding in the U.S. and Congress is besieged with an onslaught of communications. But what really works? Whether you're a first-time citizen activist, a leader or member of an activist organization, or just a citizen who wants to hear research-proved methods for participating in our democracy, you'll come away with more potency and confidence in your actions.