2006 Gold Mouse Report

Recognizing the Best Web Sites on Capitol Hill

summary of key findings

General

  • The Internet is becoming an increasingly essential part of the lives of the American people: 73% of adults considered themselves Internet users as of March 2006¹ and by 2004, 97 million Americans had used the Internet to get information from, or communicate with, government agencies.² Congressional offices need to recognize the importance of having an effective presence on the Web. (Page 7)
  • Through extensive research, we identified five building blocks that underlie the success of the most effective Web sites on Capitol Hill. In order of importance, these are: (Page 9)
    1. Audience
    2. Content
    3. Usability
    4. Interactivity
    5. Innovation
  • There were a relatively small number of outstanding congressional Web sites: 85 sites (or 13.8% of all congressional sites) received a score of an “A” and a Mouse Award, including 18 Gold, 27 Silver and 40 Bronze Mouse Awards. Of the remaining sites, 23.7% received “B”s, 23.9% got “C”s, 25.4% obtained “D”s, and 13.2% scored “F”s. (Page 16)
  • Overall, the quality of congressional Web sites is disappointing. Of the 615 Member, committee, and leadership office Web sites that CMF evaluated in 2006, 38.6% were substandard or failing. Regrettably, the most common grade earned was a “D.” (Page 15)
    • Almost half (49.1%) of all Member Web sites do not clearly explain how or why constituents should contact the office regarding a problem that they have with a federal agency.
    • 30.9% of all Member Web sites do not have a self-service privacy release form available for constituents.
    • 32.0% of all Member sites do not have links to sponsored or co-sponsored legislation. Of the ones that do, 13.7% did not reference the most current session of Congress.
    • Only 16.2% of all Member Web sites have clearly marked information on Congress and the role of its Members.
    • Only 26.4% of all Member sites offered guidance concerning the best ways to communicate with their offices.
    • Information on state or local issues was not available on 58.7% of Member Web sites.
  • A high percentage of award-winning Member office sites have received awards in the past: 54.6% of Gold Mouse winners in 2003 won a Mouse Award this year. (Page 27)
  • There is a relationship between Web site grade and 2006 election margin. Members who received less than 50% of the vote had the highest percentage of sites that scored an “F” – 21.1%. (Page 16)
  • The most successful Web sites identify their audiences and sculpt the content of their site to meet the audiences’ needs and the goals of the office. They choose and present the content in a way that their audience can easily understand and use, as well as in a way that fosters interactivity. They also utilize innovations that compliment their goals and enhance the value of the site. (Page 53)
  • The offices with the most successful Web sites are those that manage them effectively. They get buy-in from the top and choose the administration option that best suits the needs of the office. They also formulate a strategic plan, allocate the necessary resources, empower staff to make decisions, and incorporate the Web site into everything they do. (Page 73)

Chamber and Party Trends

  • Senate offices (including Member, committee, and leadership offices) are doing better overall than their House counterparts. The Senate had 7.7% more “A”s and “B”s. The House had a higher percentage of sites that scored a “D” or “F” (4.5%). (Page 18)
  • House committee Web sites performed better than their counterparts in the Senate. None of the House committee sites received a failing grade compared to 17.4% of Senate sites. (Page 20)
  • Republican congressional Web sites (including Member, committee, and leadership offices) generally scored higher than Democratic sites³: 65.9% of Republican sites received at least a “C,” compared to 56.1% of Democratic sites. (Page 21)
  • The divide between the quality of Democratic and Republican congressional Web sites is particularly pronounced in the Senate. Senate Republican Member sites scored much higher, with 10.3% more “A”s and 14.9% more “B”s than Democrats. (Page 22)
  • Top performing Member sites in the House are split equally between the two parties. A single point separates the percentage of “A”s in each party, though the Democrats hold a slight lead. Both Republicans and Democrats have the same percentage of “B”s (22.8%). (Page 23)

¹Home Broadband Adoption 2006, May 2006, Pew Internet & American Life Project, 18 Jan. 2007.
²How Americans Get in Touch With Government, May 2004, Pew Internet & American Life Project, 18 Jan. 2007.
³For the purposes of analysis, Independents were counted with the party with which they caucused.

 

additional information

overview

table of contents

introduction

selected charts

View the 2006 Mouse Award winners!

Download the entire 2006GoldMouseReport.pdf (5.59 MB)

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88 pages

Copyright 2007 by the Congressional Management Foundation

ISBN: 1-930473-97-4