Our research is built around the voices of those inside Congress and the observations of outside experts whose job it is to support them. We began with in-depth interviews with 20 House staff and Members, probing into their existing practices, overall communications strategy, daily challenges, and ideas for improvement. These were augmented with five interviews with outside communications experts on Capitol Hill, typically technology or franking vendors. Using the map provided to us by these expert interviewees, we then surveyed Hill staff to understand their day-to-day challenges more concretely.
Choosing a Strategy
When it comes to outbound communications, successful Member offices prioritize doing one thing well. For many offices, that focus is on a robust email newsletter program. For others, it is communicating via franked mail…
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Five Platforms in Focus
House staff rate four communications channels as very important in their communications strategy: Email, Facebook (as the primary example of social media), traditional press, and franked mail.
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Success Stories
Many offices are succeeding despite limited resources and rules constraints. A successful strategy often involves choosing one primary communications medium and focusing the majority of available staff time and attention…
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Rules Challenges
Outdated rules are seen as the main barrier to modern communications on Capitol Hill, a challenge the Franking Commission has recently attempted to address with its new communications standards
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