Our office is going for the gold! ...where do we start?
This is the first post in our series on "building a better website."
After the initial excitement of the Mouse Award announcement wears off, congressional offices (even the award winners!) have one question: How do we make our website better?
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Mistrust of Grassroots Advocacy Can Be Avoided
In a May 11, 2010 guest column in Roll Call, titled "Mistrust Unavoidable in Grass-Roots Efforts," (subscription required) Amy Showalter and Kelton Rhoads asserted that efforts among grassroots practitioners to develop a "code of ethics" or "code of conduct" were unnecessary.
CMF has been working on this issue for several years. Through extensive research, we believe that it is possible for grassroots advocacy campaigns that adhere to a voluntary code of ethics to engender the trust that the vast majority of them deserve. Perhaps the biggest benefit of a code of ethics would be the ability for ethical, best-practice practitioners to distinguish themselves and their campaigns from those that seek to influence policy at any cost, ethical or not.
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Don’t Shoot the Messenger!
by Nicole Cooper
on April 28, 2010
Website Grades Were Sent to Offices Today
This afternoon, we sent e-mails to Chiefs of Staff and Staff Directors notifying them of their office's website grade in the 111th Congress evaluations. Don't worry — these grades are confidential and are not provided to anyone but the office itself.
Naturally, we've been fielding numerous calls and e-mails from staff all over the Hill. Some are pleasantly surprised by their performance — others not so much.
But no matter where you fall on the grade spectrum, we have some good news for everyone:
- There is plenty of time to improve your site before the 112th Congress evaluations.
- Anyone, and we mean ANYONE, can win a Mouse Award by following the lead of the best sites.
- And, for those offices wanting to know more than their overall score, you can purchase detailed Website Report Cards that provide grades for each of the major categories that sites were evaluated on.
We hope that you receive this information in the spirit it's given. Our mission is to help you communicate more effectively online. Just don't shoot the messenger.
The 111th Congress Gold Mouse Awards - April 21st 2010
Last Wednesday, we brought together Members and staff for the 111th Congress Gold Mouse Awards to celebrate online innovation on Capitol Hill. For the first time, we gave Platinum Mouse Awards to the #1 website in each category: House Members, Senate Members, committees, and leadership offices.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference; Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and Rep. Steve Israel, three of our Platinum Mouse Award winners, took the stage to accept their awards and talk about the importance of using the Web to communicate with constituents.
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Partnership FAQs
by PMPU
on April 21, 2010
How is the Partnership funded?
The Partnership For A More Perfect Union is a research center at the Congressional Management Foundation and is funded through foundation grants, fee-for-service programs, and membership of its Partner community.
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Polarized Town Hall Meetings
by PMPU
on April 20, 2010
For town hall meetings to be effective and deliberative - defined as the discussion and consideration of all sides of an issue - citizens need to be able to hear each other and the Member. Likewise, Members of Congress need the opportunity to explain their own policy positions in a face-to-face venue and to hear feedback from as broad and representative a group of their constituents as possible.
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Wait, who was at the bottom of the barrel?
Every time we release the results of our Web site evaluations, the first thing most people ask is: 'Who had the worst sites?'
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Inside the Hill: Congress and New Media: The World Has Changed
by PMPU
on April 20, 2010
In the first installment of "Inside the Hill", Members of Congress and staff discuss how social media is changing the way Members can communicate with their constituents.
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Partnership For A More Perfect Union Launched
by administrator
on April 20, 2010
The cornerstone of our democracy is a Congress elected by and accountable to the people. Improving and enriching the relationship between them is essential to forming a more perfect union. And as any relationship expert will tell you, communication is key.
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To Personalize or Not to Personalize
by PMPU
on April 18, 2010
I often get asked by grassroots practitioners just how valuable it is for constituents to add in personal stories, or tailor the suggested text in a grassroots campaign to their Member of Congress.
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