The Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet (IPDI) is part of the Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University. Our mission is to promote the use of the Internet and new communication technologies in politics to enhance democratic values, encourage citizen participation and improve governance, at home and abroad; in short, to "democratize democracy." IPDI's blog (www.ipdi.org/blog) covers breaking news and analysis of practical politics, good governance and technology.

IPDI conducts research that anticipates and interprets trends; publishes studies and guidelines that that show candidates, public officials and activists how to make the best use of the new communication tools; and holds seminars and conferences that advocate best practices, teach new skills and allow for the national and international exchange of ideas on the democratizing uses of the Internet and other new technologies.

Every year, IPDI hosts the Politics Online Conference. The 2009 Politics Online Conference will be hosted by IPDI, Campaigns & Elections' Politics Magazine, and GW's Graduate School of Political Management on April 20 & 21, 2009 (Monday and Tuesday) at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC. Technology blurs the edges between campaigning, elected office, and advocacy. Between political professional, candidate, and constituent.

• What innovations exist just around the corner?
• How can you incorporate those ideas into your campaign or organization?
• What can you do to produce the kinds of innovative tools, applications, and strategies that transform your organization, campaign, or the issue that matter most to you -- and the way the rest of the country participates in the political process?

Learn, innovate, and caucus with a brilliant, multi-partisan group of political professionals, campaigners, candidates, and advocates at the nation's premiere non-partisan technology and politics event. More information about the 2009 Politics Online Conference.

IPDI's groundbreaking research has attracted national and international attention. In the last year our studies and senior staff have been cited in the The New York Times, Economist, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, ABC News, Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio, Washington Post, National Journal, the NewsHour, MSNBC, Fox News, CBS, ABC, NPR, AP Newswire, Boston Globe and C-SPAN, Financial Times, The Guardian, Canadian Broadcasting, BBC World News and Ottawa Citizen as well as regional and local newspapers and trade magazines. In September 2005, The Institute was included in the "Top Ten Changing the World of Internet & Politics," by PoliticsOnline, Inc., and the Worldwide Forum on E-Democracy.

Recent publications include:

E-Constituent Relationship Management for State Legislators - This white paper is about something called Constituent Relationship Management (CRM), developing a constituent- focused philosophy in state legislatures that helps elected officials use technology to manage constituent correspondence and requests in a responsive, efficient, and effective way. Read the publication.

2008 Politics & Technology Review - The March 2008 edition of IPDI’s semi-annual online journal of research, commentary, and analysis on technology and politics. In this issue, David Faris looks the way citizens used social networking sites and mobile phones to spread political rumors in Egypt. James Valentine questions whether the wisdom of crowds can produce creative thought. Lowell Feld analyzes the online Draft Jim Webb movement in 2006. In our research section, Dave Karpf measures influence in the political blogosphere, while Christine Williams and Girish Gulati look at the political impact of Facebook on the 2006 elections and the 2008 presidential race. Read the publication.

Best Practices for Political Advertising Online - A study of paid political online advertising, from search engine marketing to display advertising, designed to help political organizations understand online advertising and better leverage their resources to reach voters online. Read the publication.

Poli-fluentials: The New Political Kingmakers - A Follow-up study to IPDI's 2004 publication on Political Influentials Online in the 2004 Presidential Campaign that looks at the media consumption, technology adoption, and political activism of the portion of the American population most likely to vote, donate, volunteer for political organizations, and influence the political beliefs - and actions - of their friends and neighbors. Read the research.

2007 Politics Online Conference Magazine - Couldn't attend the conference this year? Want a sneak peek of next year's conference? Take a look inside our 2007 Conference Magazine for cutting edge essays, speaker bios, and more. Read the magazine.

Constituent Relationship Management: The New Little Black Book of Politics - This ground-breaking publication explains the use of constituent relationship management tools in politics. Over two dozen experts contributed to the publication, which describes how to adapt corporate customer relationship management philosophy, hardware and software into political campaigns, advocacy groups, nonprofits, and elected office. Read the report.

The Audience for Political Blogs - New research that looked at heavy users of political blogs, those who say that they read political blogs almost every day. This research looks at the media habits and political activism of blog readers. Read the research.

Person-to-Person-to-Person:  Harnessing the Political Power of Online Social Networks and User-Generated Content - A handbook on using social network and new media tools in political campaigns, advocacy groups non-profits. This publication compiled the tactics, vision, and ideas of over 20 political practitioners who use the social web to create communities around a candidate, cause, or issue. Read the publication.

2006 Politics Online Magazine - The 2006 Politics Online Conference was our most successful yet. We had 20 panels featuring over 80 speakers, on a wide range of topics, from database management to text messaging to getting out your message via Influentials on the web. Read the magazine.

Small Donors and Online Giving: A Study of Donors to the 2004 Presidential Campaigns - This first ever study of small donors, online donors and first time donors to the 2004 presidential campaigns found that nearly all young donors gave online; and that most online donors contributed without first being solicited by the candidates; and that, contrary to popular wisdom, most online donors are middle aged and only slightly less educated than large donors. Read the research.

The Politics-to-Go Handbook: A Guide to Using Mobile Technology in Politics - This first-of-its-kind publication assembles the ideas and experiences of the most innovative minds in technology and politics and provides hands-on, practical advice on how to use cell phones, iPods, and PDAs to organize and mobilize volunteers and supporters of candidates and issue advocacy groups and nonprofits. Read the research.

The Political Consultants' Online Fundraising Primer - A how-to handbook that teaches campaigns and nonprofits to use the online fundraising techniques developed during the presidential primaries and the weeks leading up to the conventions. It draws examples from the successes and lessons of the 2004 presidential campaigns, which spurred a revolution in Internet-based fundraising, and provides practical lesson on each aspect of online fundraising. Read the primer.

Under the Radar & Over the Top: Online Political Videos in the 2004 Election - This publication studies the independently produced political videos that were circulated on the Internet prior to the election and tended to be filled with more invective and partisan, to an extreme, than the most popular video, and humorous, of the genre, JibJab's this Land is Your Land." Due to the Institute's research, these underground videos gained greater scrutiny from the press just weeks before Election Day. Read the paper.

Pioneers in Online Politics: Nonpartisan Political Web Sits in the 2000 Campaign - This study, commissioned by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, looked at the collapse of the online political information sites after the 2000 election and proposed a new roadmap for providers of nonpartisan information online. It proposed that political information sites should find resources form the nonprofit community, focus on long-term sustainability and recruit personnel with nonprofit expertise. Read the research.

Nonpartisan Political Web Sites: Best Practices Primer - A step-by-step handbook for creating and maintaining political information Web sites and companion primer to Pioneers in Online Politics. This primer put forth a series of recommendations and best practices designed to revive political Web sites now and in the future. Read the primer.

Political Influentials Online in the 2004 Presidential Campaign - The Institute's most publicized study surveyed the community of citizens active in online politics during the months preceding the 2004 presidential primaries. Their activism played a pivotal role in the 2004 presidential campaign, beginning in the primaries. The study was conducted in partnership with Nielson//NetRatings and NOP Worldwide (formerly called RoperASW) and was funded by Slate.com and MSNBC. Read the research.


For more information, visit IPDI's website at www.ipdi.org
The Institute for Politics Democracy and the Internet
The Graduate School of Political Management
The George Washington University
805 21st Street, NW
Suite 401
Washington, DC 20052
1.800.367.4776 toll free
202.994.6006 fax