Michigan State Legislature Announces Partnership with Indigov to Improve Constituent Services

LANSING, Mich., July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Indigov, the leading constituent service platform for modern elected officials and their staffs, today announced a new partnership with the Michigan Legislature to modernize constituent services offered by each legislative office. The partnership will allow offices to respond to constituents more quickly and provide better and more personalized information using Indigov's platform, increasing availability for electeds to spend on casework and services.

Constituents communicate through more digital channels than ever before, and they have a higher expectation of receiving fast and personal responses. At the same time, technology has enabled advocacy organizations to organize mass communication campaigns targeted at elected officials. The high volume of messages generated by advocacy campaigns can obscure a smaller number of messages from individuals seeking help from their representatives. With the current platforms and technology in place to respond to constituents, elected officials have a difficult time sorting inbound requests, prioritizing casework and responding promptly.

Indigov identifies and batches messages that require a similar response, isolates messages from within a representative's district, and helps elected officials and their teams track and manage individual cases through resolution. Indigov's secure platform is making it so that elected officials can respond to the 5.1 billion messages they receive every year in minutes, rather than months.

"Constituent outreach and services are crucial functions of my office, and Indigov has been an essential part of connecting with people in my district to hear their thoughts, questions and concerns," said Rep. Andrea Schroeder. "Indigov's work in Michigan has allowed elected officials to connect with their constituents in quicker, more efficient and more effective ways. They have truly changed the nature of constituent communication and I look forward to utilizing their services throughout my term."

In the past year and a half the Michigan House of Representatives has received a barrage of communication related to unemployment requests. In a typical year an office may have received just a handful of requests from people who were having trouble applying for or receiving unemployment benefits. At the height of the crisis, some offices were receiving hundreds of inbounds through email and social media per month. Prior to partnering with Indigov they manually entered these requests into the State's unemployment system and had little information to track the status or outcome. Indigov allows them to see in one view all communication with an individual about an unemployment request. They can provide a higher level of service and reach out proactively to provide updates.

"Technology has created a fundamental shift in the way citizens communicate with their elected officials," said Alex Kouts, CEO and Founder of Indigov. "We're excited to work with offices in the Michigan legislature to streamline their constituent services so they can spend less time sorting, and more time focusing on providing the services they were elected to do. By speaking to their communities more effectively and frequently, elected officials can create more trust at the state and federal level and we're excited to work with offices in Lansing to do just that."

Indigov's constituent service platform was designed to integrate every channel of communication, including website, CWC, scanned mail, Facebook, Twitter and phone calls, and sort messages into smart inboxes for easy management. Offices using the technology are not only able to reduce average response time from weeks and months to minutes, Indigov's tagging system allows staffers to identify trends and track information related to common constituent inquiries. Indigov leverages encryption and security standards trusted by over 120,000 companies, federal and state government agencies including the FCC, the EPA, and the GSA.

Additional Quotes

"Indigov has been extremely helpful during my first months in office. As a new member, making sure the residents in my district are getting the help they need is crucial. Indigov has made it easier for my staff to keep track of cases and follow up with those in need of assistance." Rep. Timothy Beson

"Being able to communicate with my constituents quickly and effectively is one of my office's highest priorities. IndiGov has allowed my staff and I to stay connected with constituents so that we can provide necessary assistance while hearing their thoughts and concerns on pressing issues. While constituent service tends to receive little attention, it makes a significant difference in the lives of people in my district." Rep. Kyra Harris Bolden

"Over the last year and a half, my office has received a record-breaking number of calls, emails, and letters. With our old system, that would have meant countless hours of record-keeping and delays for my constituents. Today, Indigov takes care of the details that used to slow us down and allows my team and I to focus on what matters most: serving the people I have the privilege to represent."

Rep. Darrin Camilleri

"We made the full transition from our former emailing system to Indigov in a very short amount of time due to the great team they have. The system is a game changer in organizing the hundreds of emails our office receives every day." -Rep. Bryan Posthumus

About Indigov
Indigov is the leading technology platform for elected officials to communicate with their constituents in a more meaningful, modern way. Indigov has already reduced average response time from months to a matter of minutes and given elected officials and their staffs unprecedented capabilities and data insights that change the way they do their jobs and structure their teams. To learn more, please visit: https://indigov.us/

Contact: Rachel Livingston, [email protected]

SOURCE Indigov