*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** I am on the look out for other projects or online resources specifically aimed at helping representative institutions use the Internet to better serve their missions and citizens. As I have noted previously, the lack of investment in the information infrastructure of representative bodies, from local councils to national assemblies, will lead to shifts in power from the legislative to the administrative service side of government. This is why initiatives like the Congress Online Project are so important. E-Government must stand on two equal legs - service and democracy. Steven Clift Democracies Online ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 11:57:33 -0400 From: Congress Online Project <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: undisclosed-recipients: ; Subject: CMF-Congress Online Project newsletter -- September 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CONGRESS ONLINE -- September 2001 http://www.congressonlineproject.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------- A monthly newsletter by the Congress Online Project, a partnership of the Congressional Management Foundation and The George Washington University, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts. To access the Web version of the newsletter go to http://www.congressonlineproject.org/september.html ------------------------------------------------------------------- INNOVATIONS IN CONGRESS - SUMMARY ------------------------------------------------------------------- APPROPRIATIONS FOR DUMMIES (ONLINE) - Senator Pete Domenici has a site that actually explains the arcane appropriations process to constituents in language everyone can understand. IT'S 7:00 PM, DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR CONGRESSMAN IS? - Rep. Tom Allen's constituents do, thanks to his online schedule. Want to know why? USING THE WEB TO REDUCE CASEWORK - Rep. Nick Smith provides casework help online, creating happy constituents (and happier, less-burdened caseworkers). PRE-PACKAGING WEB CONTENT TO BETTER MEET CUSTOMER NEEDS -- Senator Jeff Bingaman's Web site classifies its visitors, anticipates their needs, and provides them access to the info. they want with just one click of the mouse. ------------------------------------------------------------------- IN THE NEWS - SUMMARY ------------------------------------------------------------------- CONSUMERS WOULD RATHER CLICK THAN PHONE - When dealing with a federal agency, people prefer Internet to phone, survey says. 2000 ELECTION ERRORS BASED ON MANAGEMENT FLAWS, NOT TECHNOLOGY - For once, it really was "user error." HOW TO DO AN ONLINE POLL, CORPORATE STYLE - IBM report offers online polling guidance that Hill offices should check out. MOST INTERNET USERS NOW GET NEWS FROM 'NET, NOT TV - New study tags new media for news leader over TV news for 'net savvy users. ------------------------------------------------------------------- INNOVATIONS IN CONGRESS ------------------------------------------------------------------- APPROPRIATIONS FOR DUMMIES (ONLINE) Senator Pete Domenici's office (R-NM) has tackled one of the most complicated aspects of the legislative process -- appropriations bills -- and made it easy for constituents to understand (http://domenici.senate.gov/). What's more innovative is that this document has REPLACED his "Welcome Statement," a page most constituents never read anyway. As a senior member of both the Appropriations Committee and the Budget Committee, the Senator is an ideal position to explain "New Mexico's Stake in Federal Appropriations Process." With one concise, easy to understand and interesting document, the Senator educates constituents about the budget and appropriations process, describes its impact on New Mexico, AND illustrates his role in the process. Domenici has used a simple formula that can be transferred to every congressional office: determine what's hot in the news, explain it in simple terms, demonstrate your role in the process, and show how it affects constituents' lives. IT'S 7:00 PM, DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR CONGRESSMAN IS? Research has shown one of the items constituents most want to see on a Web site (and one that few Members of Congress provide) is their Member schedule. Rep. Tom Allen (D-ME) shows how simply telling people how you spend your time can address constituent concerns about the accountability of their representatives in Washington (http://tomallen.house.gov/upcoming.asp). Providing a user-friendly schedule isn't groundbreaking stuff, but it's actually a rare jewel on Hill Web sites. In our focus groups with constituents about Hill Web sites, we were told repeatedly that they want to be assured that their elected officials are accessible and working hard on their behalf. Constituents generally don't know that a Member of Congress keeps a busy schedule while working at home in the district. And they don't know that, while in Washington, Members typically have three hearings and a constituent meeting scheduled in any given hour and late night votes. Offices should consider posting a schedule, however abbreviated, as a means to communicate their congressional activity to their constituents. USING THE WEB TO REDUCE CASEWORK Is there a way to use the Web to improve casework services to constituents and help relieve the burden on overworked district staff? Rep. Nick Smith (R-MI) has found a way. Rep. Smith has created a kind of "casework triage" Q&A process, which uses a "Problem Solving Wizard" (http://www.house.gov/nicksmith/casework.htm) to identify the kind of problem constituents are experiencing and helps them match their needs with targeted information and services online. Constituents help themselves WITHOUT staff assistance (see article below about why consumers prefer this type of service). No personal information is collected; constituents are simply asked to select options that most closely resemble their problem, and the navigation tool guides them to helpful resources. If they can't find the solution to their problem or an answer to their question, they are invited to contact the office. By enabling constituents to self-serve their needs whenever possible, the Congressman is now able to directly assist many more constituents than ever before! PRE-PACKAGING WEB CONTENT TO BETTER MEET CUSTOMER NEEDS Ever arrive at someone's house unannounced, but it looks like they were expecting you? If you visit Senator Jeff Bingaman's (D-NM) Web site, you might get that feeling. The site anticipates and matches information to meet the needs of the most logical visitors: first time visitors, frequent visitors, students, educators, small business owners, or any of several other groups that often seek information on the site (http://bingaman.senate.gov). When you click on one of these classifications, it offers you a list of expected questions you probably want answered. By putting this question on the main page, constituents can avoid searches or hunting around the site for basic needs. These pages take people to targeted and user-friendly portals that enable them to quickly and easily find the information they came for. And when people easily find what they're looking for on a Web site, they usually return. ------------------------------------------------------------------- IN THE NEWS ------------------------------------------------------------------- CONSUMERS WOULD RATHER CLICK THAN PHONE Consumers would rather get the information they need from the government on a Web site than through a phone call, even if it takes the same amount of time, according to a new survey. This goes against standard congressional practice of driving traffic to staff assistants and interns answering the phone, instead of offering services via the Web. Since constituents prefer to self-serve their needs online, congressional offices should look to increase the depth of the information and services provided on their Web site. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2001/0820/web-survey-08-24-01.asp 2000 ELECTION ERRORS BASED ON MANAGEMENT FLAWS, NOT TECHNOLOGY The problems in the 2000 election were the result of poor management procedures, not poor technology, according to an August report by the National Task Force on Election Reform. "Only a small percentage of the problems [in the November 2000 election] were directly related to any failure by vote tally devices themselves," according to the report released Aug. 9. "The problems were created by people, not machines." This just goes to show that using technology without sound management practices can create some big problems. Hill offices should consider this if you're upgrading systems at the end of the year. http://www.civic.com/civic/articles/2001/0806/web-vote-08-10-01.asp HOW TO DO AN ONLINE POLL, CORPORATE STYLE Online polls and surveys are great ways for constituents to interact with congressional offices in a low-maintenance, user-friendly way. IBM has now written an easy-to-read "white paper" outlining exactly how to set one up. The computer giant also noticed that increasing numbers of corporations are providing them. If you're thinking about using online polls to interact with and gather feedback from your constituents, start here: http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/usability/library/us-polls/ MOST INTERNET USERS NOW GET NEWS FROM 'NET, NOT TV Even with the myriad of news sources on the Internet, online users still have relied mostly on newspapers and TV for information ? until now. The Internet has surpassed television and radio as an information source, according to a study conducted by UCLA. Now it's second only to newspapers. The study also revealed that 45.6% of Internet users believe the Web is a useful resource for furthering their knowledge about politics. There's a clear trend here and Hill offices need to rethink their communications strategy with new media as a primary tool, not as an afterthought. http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905355981&rel=true ------------------------------------------------------------------- DID YOU KNOW . . .? ------------------------------------------------------------------- ** The House of Representatives is now beginning the process of upgrading its data connections ("flagship service") between the Washington office and the district? Watch for news from House Information Resources on how your district office can move from 56k to 256k - your caseworkers will thank you for the increased connection speed! ** Senate Web sites are losing their tildes (~)! You can access Senate Web sites by typing in http://senator.senate.gov, rather than http://www.sen ate.gov/~senator. The old address still works, but now staff can thankfully forego discussions about "that squiggly thing" with constituents on the telephone! ** The number of Hispanics using the Internet has increased by 25% in the last year? An ongoing study by The Pew Internet and American Life Project (http://www.pewinternet.org/releases/release.asp?id=27) states that half of Hispanic adults are now online. Site translators, which are being used by some congressional Web sites, are just the beginning of a communications opportunity with this fast-growing online constituency. In addition to providing bilingual Web Sites, are you developing content to appeal to the fastest growing minority in America? ------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER ------------------------------------------------------------------- If you know of things - or if you're doing things - that you think should be included in future newsletters, let us know! Send us a message at mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]. To subscribe to this newsletter, send a blank e-mail to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with "Subscribe" in the subject line. To unsubscribe, send a blank e-mail with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line. 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