WASHINGTON (October 25, 2011)—Congressman Chandler’s official website was named one of the 15 best out of 435 Member websites this week and was given a “112th Congress Gold Mouse Award.” Chandler was the only Representative from Kentucky to win a Gold Mouse Award, which is awarded to Members of Congress who best use the Internet to communicate with and serve citizens.
“Communicating directly with my constituents and making my office accessible has always been important to me,” said Congressman Chandler. “Whether it is through meeting with constituents, traveling around the Sixth District, or updating my website, I will continue to stay actively engaged with the people of Central Kentucky, and I am honored that CMF has selected my website to receive this distinguished award.”
The award was given by the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF), a nonpartisan nonprofit working to improve communications between citizens and Congress and enhance operations in Capitol Hill offices. CMF conducted its analysis from June to September 2011 and this week released its latest report, “112th Congress Gold Mouse Report: Best Practices in Online Communications on Capitol Hill.”
Download a copy of the report here.
"Rep. Chandler is to be commended for educating citizens and achieving the highest degree of transparency and accountability in online communications," said Bradford Fitch, President and CEO of CMF. "In the 21st Century, a website is much more than a broadcasting tool for a political message - it's a virtual office and a window into our democratic institutions. These winners understand the value of using the Internet to enlighten and serve constituents, and are examples for all congressional offices to follow," he said.
Of the 618 congressional websites graded, a total of 98 personal office, committee and leadership websites earned A’s, and will therefore receive a Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze Mouse Award. With the assistance and guidance of faculty from the University of California-Riverside, the Ohio State University, and Northeastern University, CMF staff assessed and graded the websites and gave each a numerical score, which was translated into a grade of A through F.
The criteria for website assessments have been developed and refined by CMF over the past decade based on survey research, focus groups with constituents, and interviews with key stakeholders to congressional offices. Reviewers assessed 10 categories of criteria: usability of website; timeliness of content; breadth and depth of information on issues; constituent services and casework information; promoting accountability to constituents; legislative process information; district/state information; floor proceedings information; availability of diverse forms of content; and availability of diverse forms of content channels.
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