Monday, February 26, 2007

CMF Names Becerra.house.gov Among the Very Best on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Web site of Representative Xavier Becerra (CA-31), Assistant to the Speaker of the House, was honored today by the Congressional Management Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan consulting and research organization, for being one of the best in Congress. Becerra.House.Gov was one of 615 evaluated in The 2006 Gold Mouse Report: Recognizing the Best Web Sites on Capitol Hill, which analyzed congressional Web sites including those of all Senate and House members, committees, and leadership sites. Rep. Becerra's Web site was one of 18 winning the top Gold Award, while 27 won Silver, and 40 won Bronze Mouse Awards.

"Constituents deserve both a personal and virtual connection with their elected representatives," Rep. Becerra said. "I am pleased that my Web site facilitates better and more frequent communication with my constituents and streamlines the casework process for those in need of assistance. I consider my Web site an extension of my office where constituents have access not only to the information they need, but a direct line to my staff and to me."

The Gold Mouse Report and awards are part of the Congressional Management Foundation's broader research project, "Connecting to Congress," funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. For this project CMF partnered with researchers from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, University of California-Riverside and Ohio State University to study how members of Congress can use the Internet to improve communications with their constituents and to promote greater participation in the legislative process.

"One of the key purposes of the awards is to highlight best practices so offices can improve their sites by learning from those doing a good job," Beverly Bell, executive director of the Congressional Management Foundation, said. "Web sites that garnered an award in 2006 illustrate the best practices that we hope can serve as examples for others to follow. Congressman Becerra's Web site shows that he has identified the needs of his various constituencies and has developed easily accessible content that meets their needs online."

Web sites were graded on how well they incorporate five basic building blocks that extensive research has identified as critical for effectiveness: audience, content, usability, interactivity, and innovation. Using these building blocks, an evaluation framework was developed by CMF and their research partners at Harvard, Ohio State, and the University of California-Riverside that would be fair and objective, while still taking into account important qualitative factors that affect a visitor's experience on a Web site.

"Congressman Xavier Becerra's Web site is a sterling example of how a member's Web Site can be an extension of his or her congressional office," states the report.

A full copy of the report, the 2006 Gold Mouse Report: Recognizing the Best Web Sites on Capitol Hill, is available on the Congressional Management Foundation's Web site at www.cmfweb.org.