Here at the CFPB Tech Team, we just launched a pretty cool initiative that lets the public weigh in on our draft designs for a new mortgage disclosure form. What’s a mortgage disclosure form, you ask? Read on! (And participate! And spread the word…) This is a major chance to participate in shaping an important government product that people rely on every day, and we’re asking for feedback early on in the process.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s mission is to make consumer financial markets work better for all Americans. As a 21st century agency, we are committed to using technology to involve consumers and lenders directly in our work.
Today, we’re doing just that by launching the Know Before You Owe Project.
We’re redesigning and combining the disclosure forms that consumers get before signing on the dotted line of a mortgage they’ve applied for. To create a disclosure that works for you, we need to hear from you.
From May 18th-27th, you can head to http://www.consumerfinance.gov/knowbeforeyouowe and tell us what you think about our new draft disclosure designs. Explore our draft designs before they’re final, and tell us what does and doesn’t work for you. We’ve made it fun, quick, and easy for you to weigh in. Your comments will be delivered to our team, and as our disclosure design firms up, we’ll reach out again over the coming months. At the end, we’ll have a final product that’s been shaped by you from the beginning.
Spread The Word!
Once you’ve weighed in, the most important thing you can do is spread the word. Here’s how:
- Send this message in an e-mail to five friends or colleagues who know or care about these important issues.
- Post a message or link to http://consumerfinance.gov/knowbeforeyouowe on your blog, newsletter, corporate intranet, or e-mail list.
- Use Facebook or Twitter to spread the word to your social networks.
Sounds like a great project, Dan. Beyond the word of mouth marketing that you’re requesting from readers (which I will do!), are there other ways that you are making the general public aware of the initiative?
Thanks Andy! The best thing people can do is spread the word – particularly to people we might not usually hear from. You don’t have to know a lot about finance to participate. If you’re a graphic designer, a plain language advocate, a web content strategist, or anyone who is interested in how information is presented, we really want to hear from you.
There are a few different ways we’ve reached out about Know Before You Owe:
1. Social Media – We’ve used Twitter (http://twitter.com/CFPB) and Facebook (http://facebook.com/CFPB) to spread the word, and that has been hugely valuable, particularly in attracting audiences beyond those we might have expected or known about.
2. Traditional Media – Many “traditional” media outlets, from the NY Times to USA Today to the AP, have understood how important this initiative is, and passed word along to their readers.
3. In-Person Outreach – Our staff has been hard at work for a while, reaching out to experts and stakeholders to learn what they could about this and discuss the chance to weigh in. That has been key.