Innovation in Practice: Advice for new Members from Rep. Mark Takano
Advice from Rep. Mark Takano [D, CA-41] on hiring, building a creative team, and more
On December 9th, 2020, Members-elect of the 117th Congress joined current members, staffers, technologists, scientists, academics, and advocates for the inaugural Tech, Science, and Data New Member Orientation Day, hosted by the First Branch Tech, Science and Data (TSD) cohort.
In the “Tech” section of the day, Representative Mark Takano offered advice to new colleagues on innovation, modernization, and hiring the right team.
For a full transcript of this conversation, please see here. For a summary, read on.
Setting up a tech-forward office culture from the beginning let Rep Takano’s office be flexible to serve constituents in a pandemic.
Having the digital infrastructure and skills in place already meant their office was able to continue with little break in operations when they (and the country) shifted to remote work, including virtual town halls, virtual grant-writing workshops, and more.
New offices should look at where digital communities are forming and meet people there.
Rep. Takano credits his staff with thinking outside the box to find new communications opportunities to reach audiences that are not traditionally engaged — for example, popular podcasts from millennial influencers. There is a policy benefit as well, in that these forms of media allow the team to dig deeper on policy than CNN soundbites, building a coalition.
On hiring good staff, new offices should look outside the box.
One of Rep Takano’s earliest and best hires was someone who had a background in hip hop promotion, who really understood social media brands. That helped them set up for digital profile-building right away, building his reputation as an innovator, which eventually was key for drawing in other staff with similar interests down the road.
Building an innovative office culture can help strengthen Congress as an institution.
Rep Takano’s committee on Veterans Affairs held the first virtual hearing of the COVID-19 pandemic, paving the way for other committees to continue the people’s business. Rep. Takano’s staff also finds ways to share their expertise, particularly in digital communications, with other members of the Caucus, strengthening the digital communications capacity of the party as a whole.
The First Branch TSD Cohort is a forum for information sharing and collaboration, bringing together innovators on and off the Hill focused on Technology, Science, and Data research and resources for Congress. The cohort is a forum for information sharing and collaboration, made possible by support from Democracy Fund and the Hewlett Foundation, and led by POPVOX.
For more information, contact tsd@popvox.com.
