As society changes, Congress has stood still. Innovations in technology have revolutionized how people communicate with one another, yet Congress by and large still operates the same way it did in the 1960s. The result: offices find themselves unable to handle ever-increasing volumes of communications, critical knowledge cannot be shared in a timely manner, and staff experience unnecessary frustration, stress, and burnout. The institution itself has been weakened. How can Congress transform itself to better meet the demands of the Information Age?
The Congressional Management Foundation was awarded a two-year grant from Democracy Fund to leverage existing CMF knowledge and conduct new research to improve the operational effectiveness of individual offices, enhance their citizen engagement practices, and benchmark Congress-wide attitudes and activities. Through the Congress 3.0 project, CMF and academics from four major U.S. universities conducted innovative experiments for engaging constituents with a cohort of 17 House and Senate offices to assess whether the enhanced engagements resulted in greater understanding and trust in Congress.
Featured Resource
Office Toolkit
From 2016-2017, CMF conducted research with 17 congressional offices to test better methods for common tasks. The result is this online CMF Office Toolkit. The CMF Office Toolkit provides a general overview of some of the easy-to-implement suggestions CMF has found to have the best positive impact on offices' constituent interactions. Read More
Featured Research
STATE OF THE CONGRESS: STAFF PERSPECTIVES ON INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE
Americans widely believe that Congress is not working because it does not want to work. Conventional wisdom holds that the blame for any democratic dysfunction lies primarily with current occupants of Capitol Hill. In its latest report, "State of the Congress: Staff Perspectives on Institutional Capacity in the House and Senate," CMF offers an alternative perspective. Congress may not be working well because it does not currently have the capacity to work well.
"State of the Congress" focuses primarily on the resource and operational challenges congressional staff have been facing over the past few decades and provides a context for them. It offers new insight into the roots of current congressional dysfunction and paths toward pragmatic reforms to strengthen Congress and American democracy. Read More
Related Projects
Resilient Democracy Coalition
Through a grant from Democracy Fund, CMF, in collaboration with Voice of the People and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, is forming a Resilient Democracy coalition. This concept postulates that for government to successfully discharge its responsibilities in the face of complex and rapidly-evolving events, the Congress must have the infrastructure, capacity, time, and knowledge necessary to perform its role. Read More
Communicating with Congress
The Internet spawned an explosion of electronic messages and forever changed how citizens and Members of Congress interact. The goal of this project is to reduce the challenges and frustration felt by both sides, facilitate increased citizen participation in the public policy process, and promote a meaningful democratic dialogue that benefits our country. Read More
Past Projects
For almost 20 years, CMF has conducted research and education to enhance the online communications between Members of Congress and the constituents they represent. This research has sought to go beyond basic studies of how Congress functions to instead bring about behavioral change in Members and staff to enhance the relationship between citizens and Congress. Through these efforts, CMF has documented a measurable increase in the effectiveness and transparency of congressional offices, as well as an increase in the public's trust in Congress.
GOLD MOUSE AWARDS
From 2001-2014, CMF periodically evaluated all congressional websites and recognized the best with the prestigious Gold Mouse Awards. In the 113th Congress, CMF also recognized social media practices, focusing on Members who used these tools to further transparency, accountability, and constituent service.
We also used this research to identify best and innovative practices that could be more widely adopted by House & Senate offices. Through this work, the percentage of Members of Congress who posted their voting record online doubled. Read More
21ST CENTURY TOWN HALL MEETINGS
In 2006 and 2008, 13 Members of Congress participated in a study utilizing innovative practices to interact with their constituents. Surveys were taken before and after citizens participated in 30-minute online town hall meetings. Among the key findings: trust in the Member of Congress increased 14%, from 38% to 52%; when asked whether the participants trusted how the Member of Congress handled the issue discussed (immigration, not exactly a softball topic), 58% "approved" after the session, compared to 20% before the session. Read More
