As a follow-up to the release of Communicating with Congress: How Capitol Hill is Coping with the Surge in Citizen Advocacy, CMF offered training programs to congressional staff to help them improve their offices’ ability to respond to constituent communications. There are currently no plans to hold these programs again. However, the handouts from these programs are available here.

• Who are these people who are e-mailing us? This handout shows that constituents who are politically active online and those who contact politicians are significantly more likely to be "Influentials" in their community.
• I'm sold on better using technology, but how do I convince my boss? This handout provides answers to some of the common objections to technology, including answering e-mail with e-mail and upgrading the Web site.
• 9 ways to make technology work for you and not against you. This handout contains tips on how to maximize the benefits from constituent correspondence while minimizing the time devoted to it.
• Mail FAQs. This handout answers some common questions about how to implement a model mail system.

If your office is interested in assistance with your correspondence system, CMF offers mail management consultations to individual offices.