In 2005, the City of Houston's Bureau of Air Quality Control (BAQC) terminated the contract it had with a state agency, to conduct the enforcement of state rules and regulations (Williams & James, 2009). Consistently ranked among the worst cities in the United States for air quality and pollution control, previous collaboration with the state has proven ineffective with applications and processes difficult to manage for employees, agencies and citizens alike ( Williams & James, 2009). The City of Houston's BAQC implemented a new strategic plan, to internalize functions previously managed by the state, and included policy changes, improved use of technology, and, most importantly, strategies to engage the community (Williams & James, 2009). The emphasis of this case study analysis will be on the technical aspects of communicating the city's plan to improve air quality. Plain language means fewer customer calls, less time for users to resolve an issue, higher compliance rates, and fewer customer errors (“PlainLanguage.gov”). The previous reporting system was tedious, reports were difficult to understand, and did not encourage further communication or collaboration (Williams & James, 2009). The inclusion of citizens and other stakeholders, who were unfamiliar with scientific and technical terminology, in the audience led to reports that included the use of first-person narratives, detailed descriptions, descriptive language, and active voice (Williams & James , 2009). . The BACQ has also revised reports to include a combination of graphics and text to explain technical information (Williams & James, 2009). When needed, the public can phone city representatives for investigation findings and details…middle of the paper…stakeholders side. Works Cited Kim, S., & Lee, J. (2012). Citizen participation and transparency in local government: an empirical analysis [PDF]. 2nd Global Transparency Conference. Retrieved from http://www.transparencyconference.nl/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Kim-Lee.pdf Piotrowski, S. J. (2008). Freedom of information: a duty of public bodies. InM. Lee (Ed.), Government Public Relations (pp. 309-314). Boca Raton, Florida: Auerbach Publications.PlainLlingual.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2014, from http://www.plainlingual.gov/Williams, M. F., & James, D. D. (2009). Embracing new policies, technologies, and community partnerships: A case study of the City of Houston's Office of Air Quality Control [PDF]. Technical Communications Quarterly, 8(1), 82-98.http://dx.doi.org/10.10.1080/10572250802437515