Sen. Murkowski’s Web Site Wins Platinum Mouse Award
620 House and Senate Web Sites Evaluated in the 111th Congress Gold Mouse Project
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Web site of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was recognized today by the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) for having the best Senate Member Web site in Congress. CMF analyzed all 620 congressional Web sites, including those of all Senate and House Members, committees (both majority and minority sites), and official leadership sites. Sen. Murkowski's Web site, https://www.murkowski.senate.gov, was one of only four Web sites to receive a Platinum Award from CMF in its 111th Congress Gold Mouse Project and the only Web site so honored in the Senate Member Category.
"It takes a long time and costs a lot of money to get from Alaska to Washington, D.C., which is why I place such a high priority on maintaining a comprehensive and timely website," Sen. Murkowski said. "I want to make it easy for Alaskans to get the information they need by the simple click of a mouse.
"I also aim for a high level of transparency, which is why I've posted a link to my voting record on the homepage, and seek to provide extensive information under the issues and priorities tab. I thank the Congressional Management Foundation for this prestigious award, and I look forward to the challenge of maintaining a quality website, one that continues to evolve and serves as a useful resource for all Alaskans."
The 111th Congress Gold Mouse Awards are part of CMF's Partnership For A More Perfect Union, which seeks to improve the quality of communication between Members of Congress and their constituents. For this project CMF partnered with researchers from the Harvard Kennedy School, Northeastern University, University of California-Riverside, and the 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 reasons for the awards is to highlight best practices so offices can improve their sites by learning from those already excelling in online communications," said Beverly Bell, CMF's Executive Director. "Web sites such as the one maintained by Sen. Murkowski serve as a prime example that we hope other congressional offices will follow.
"Sen. Murkowski's Web site shows that she understands how to meet the needs of her various audiences. The Congressional Management Foundation congratulates Sen. Murkowski for having the best Senate Member Web site on Capitol Hill, and we are pleased to present her with the 111th Congress Platinum Mouse Award."
"The 111th Congress report shows that Web sites continue to be a critical channel through which Members and congressional committees can communicate with, and hear from, citizens. The Internet is a vital tool for elected officials and the public to use in the give-and-take of ideas and opinions that has characterized the American form of government since its founding."
Web sites were graded on how well they incorporate five core principles that CMF identified through extensive research as critical for effectiveness: know your audience, provide timely and targeted content that meets their needs, make the site easy to use, foster interaction both on and offline, and add value through innovation.
Using these core principles, an evaluation framework was developed by CMF and their research partners, which would be fair and objective while still taking into account important qualitative factors that affect a visitor's experience on a Web site.
The 111th Congress Gold Mouse Project report, a full listing winners, and other comparative data is available on CMF's Partnership For A More Perfect Union Web site at www.pmpu.org.
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