Campaign Mobilization in the Social Media Era: To what extent are Digital Tools changing the quality and quantity of Party Contacting in Elections?

The central objective of this research collaboration is to further our understanding of how the quality, quantity and effects of campaign contacting are changing as a result of the use of social media by parties, candidates and their supporters. Specifically, we advance the argument that online tools are increasing not only the amount of contact that voters receive in elections encouraging them to vote but also its mobilizing effects. We make this claim based on the viral properties of the digital medium and its increasingly socially networked basis which make contact faster, more widespread and more likely to be mediated through friends and family. We investigate these propositions using cutting edge methodologies and a range of existing and new election survey data from the U.S. and UK that measures the incidence of different forms of voter contact in these countries during their most recent national elections. The work is highly significant given the concerns that have been raised over falling rates of voter turnout and attachment to parties and politicians within Western Democracies and the U.S. and UK in particular. Based on our findings we will be able to provide new systematic insights for academics and practitioners into the extent and effectiveness of traditional versus new online forms of voter contacting, and what works best to stimulate political engagement. The comparative element of the research is useful in that it will allow us to also examine whether the context and particularly nature of elections and party system affects the rate and impact of these contacts.
Beyond its substantive significance the project is important in extending the PI's current ESRC funded comparative study of online election campaigns and participation. In particular it brings additional methodological skills and expertise in analysis of U.S. National election study data from the U.S. to the project, allowing the PI and the international CI to work together on a cutting edge paper for publication and a follow up grant application. The practical implications of the work are notable in that it will provide the first systematic comparative insight into the effectiveness of online and offline contacting by parties and candidates' during elections and also demonstrate the extent and value of secondary contacts across informal social networks. This will be of benefit to those working on election campaigners as well as other types of public outreach and communication efforts. Finally, given the strong overlap in the research agenda of the U.S. CI and scholars and students at the Institute for Social Change (ISC) and the Democracy Citizens and Elections Research Network (DCERN) at the University Manchester, the collaboration is expected to yield extensive benefits in terms of providing advice, feedback and the building of links with the CI's joint Research Centre with North Carolina on American Politics (DUNC).

This research will be of benefit to a wide range of non-academic audiences. Following the pioneering work by Gerber and Green (2000) in the U.S. in assessing the cost of individual contact per vote returned we will be able to measure the comparative benefits of traditional forms of contact versus newer web and mobile phone-based applications. By adding the UK to the analysis we will be able to assess the extent to which different techniques are more suitable and relevant to different institutional settings. Finally, by dividing both offline and online contact into more formal approaches from the party directly and informal approaches by friends and family in support of an individual candidate the research will provide important insight into the extent to campaigns benefit from employing a more non-intrusive 'bottom-up' networked strategy to spread their message, rather than a top-down more orchestrated system of message delivery.
These findings will be delivered in a research paper that will be presented at an international workshop (organized as part of this project) on campaign mobilization in late 2013. This workshop will bring together academics and practitioners in the field. The key findings will be written up as a short report to be disseminated by Duke and Manchester University Press Offices, the PI and CI project websites and the user networks established during the ESRC Fellowships.

Key non-academic beneficiaries of the project and those targeted with the report are outlined below (more specific details and examples of organizations/groups/agencies involved are provided in the Pathways to Impact document):
(1) Parties, Unions and Non-profit organizations - particularly those involved in election or issue campaigns within these groups.
(2) Campaign professionals - private consultants and commercial firms seeking to advise political organizations, candidates and those campaigning for changes in the social or economic arena. The research will provide rigorous cutting edge research on the best tools to exploit in the bid to capture public attention for one's cause.
(3) A wider body of less organized individual activists outside parties and formal bodies that are interested in understanding how digital technologies can and are being used to enact political change both in the UK and elsewhere such as NetRoots.
(4) Media and Independent/Private research organisations - the findings would be of interest to political journalists in the mainstream news media in both the US and UK as well as specialist publications for political campaigners and legislative/political staff. In addition, the findings would be of interest to independent research bodies dedicated to researching changes in democratic practice, reform and e-democracy issues such as the Hansard Society as well as Thinktanks conducting work in this area.
(5) Policy officials - Staff within national, state and local government departments, agencies and committees seeking to engage in public education programmes or those seeking to examine how falling rates of voter turnout and citizen engagement can be addressed .
More generally the research has the potential to contribute to democratic culture and society by identifying how the parties and other organizations can engage the public in politics and stimulate interest in elections. With concerns emerging since the UK election of 2001 about falling turnout rates and declines observed the past decades in the U.S., particularly among young people, these findings will be of particular importance to those who see electoral participation as an important stepping stone onto other forms of engagement.