Glossary of terms

• Batching — The process of automatically or manually sorting incoming communications and placing in larger mail sets.
• Casework — A constituent service where congressional staffers help constituents resolve issues involving federal agencies. Challenges with Veterans Affairs and Social Security Administration are common examples.
• Caseworker — A staffer typically based in the district office responsible for managing a portfolio of casework and proactive outreach based on issue or geographic area.
• Communications Director — The official spokesperson for a congressional office. This job includes writing speeches, monitoring social media, and drafting communications strategy.
• Constituent Correspondence — The specific activity in which constituents communicate directly to a congressional office through postal mail, phone, email, fax, or social media.
• Constituent Engagement — The ways that an office engages with its constituents. This includes responding to correspondence, seeking input on decision making, and proactive outreach.
• Constituent Relationship Management system (CRM) — The software that manages constituent contact information and the record of correspondence with the office.
• Constituent Verification — The process of confirming a person as a constituent by matching an individual’s mailing address to a congressional district.
• Form Letter — A letter that provides a general topic overview and position of a member that can be reused.
• Franking — The official mass mailing process in Congress.
• Legislative Assistant (LA) — A member of the policy team who is typically assigned a portfolio of issues of which they are an expert.
• Legislative Correspondent (LC) — A member of the policy team responsible for handling, monitoring, sending, and reporting traditional constituent correspondence.
• Legislative Director (LD) — The director of the legislative staff, this person is responsible for managing legislative staff and setting policy.
• Staff Assistant — A junior-level staff member responsible for managing the frontline staff of the office.

NEXT
Relevant works

This article is part of From Voicemails to Votes (PDF), a report conducted by The OpenGov Foundation on the mindsets, capacities, tools, and operations of Congressional offices with regard to constituent engagement. More about the project here.