NIH New Pub on Principles of Community Engmt Now Available Online

Great news!  The new NIH publication, Principles of Community Engagement, 2nd Edition, that we blogged about recently is now available online at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/communityengagement/.

New Research Report on Social Media and Congress

We're glad to share this research report from Brad Fitch at the Congressional Management Foundation:

"The Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) today released the first study of congressional staff views of social media, and how it is being used by Congressional Offices. #SocialCongress: Perceptions and Use of Social Media on Capitol Hill shows that most Members of Congress have thoroughly integrated social media into their communications operations, and are using new media tools to gauge public opinion, communicate with constituents, and reach new people.

http://congressfoundation.org/storage/documents/CMF_Pubs/cmf-social-congress.pdf

Among the key findings:

·         Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the senior managers and social media managers surveyed think Facebook is a somewhat or very important tool for understanding constituents’ views and opinions, 42% say Twitter is somewhat or very important, and 34% say YouTube is a somewhat or very important tool for understanding constituents’ views and opinions.

·         Nearly three-quarters (74%) of the senior managers and social media managers we surveyed think Facebook is somewhat or very important for communicating their Members’ views. YouTube is viewed by nearly three-quarters of staffers surveyed (72%) as somewhat or very important for communicating their Members’ views.  More than half (51%) of the staffers surveyed say Twitter is a somewhat or very important vehicle for their Members’ communications.

·         A strong majority of staffers (72%) believe that social media allows their Members to reach people they had previously not communicated with.  A majority of the staffers (55%) feel social media offers their offices more benefits than risks.

The report is part of CMF’s initiative, the Partnership for a More Perfect Union.  The Partnership seeks to enrich the relationship between citizens and Congress through education, building trust, and providing innovative yet pragmatic tools to facilitate purposeful two-way communication. 

If you are interested in more information on the Partnership, and how you can use this research to enhance your advocacy efforts, please contact me at 202-546-0100, or bfitch@CongressFoundation.org."

The Community Planner: An Electronic Hands-on, How-to Journal for Citizens, Community Leaders, and Planners

Passing this on from Megan Dorsett, AICP, from Dorsett Publications, LLC:

Announcing the publication of The Community Planner.  

The Community Planner is a quarterly how-to journal, published on cd-rom, that provides nuts and bolts instructions for planning processes and tasks to citizens, communty leaders, and planners. Unlike traditional journals, The Community Planner includes a variety of hands-on materials, including: instructions, case studies, product reviews, examples, and a wealth of other information in a range of formats, including pdfs, powerpoints, spreadsheets, audio and video files, and GIS materials. 

The inaugural issue will be available May 1, 2010. Information on The Community Planner is available from Cambria Planning Group/Dorsett Publications at www.cambriaplanninggroup.com.