Judging by the standing-room only crowd from government, academia and the private sector at last week’s Center for Plain Language Symposium in Washington DC, transparency is again a major focus in government. Siegel+Gale was the exclusive sponsor of the Symposium entitled “Achieving transparency through plain language” on October 30, 2009, which featured an impressive roster of speakers on information design, plain language initiatives in government, and clarity and transparency in financial communications.

Jodi Patterson of the IRS presented a major IRS initiative to clarify taxpayer correspondence. Dona Wong, Strategy Director of Information Design at Siegel+Gale presented “The grammar of graphics,”a primer in effective information design techniques. Other highlights included a study on how plain language at the ballot box impacts election results and a fascinating and important Harvard Business School study on how educational information graphics on credit card bills can positively influence consumer credit behavior. The keynote address was given by Congressman Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), sponsor of the Plain Language Act of 2009, which is making its way through Congress.

The fact that plain language legislation is being introduced in 2009 illustrates how far we still have to go to make clarity and transparency the standard in Washington. It’s been 28 years since President Carter ushered in the Paperwork Reduction Act in 1981. Back in the early 1980s, no one would have predicted that such a common-sense idea – making information accessible and understandable to American citizens—would still need to be debated and legislated almost thirty years later. As Alan Siegel stated in his opening remarks at the symposium, “Clarity cannot be legislated, just like common sense cannot be taught.” But legislation can serve as an important guidepost to lead us on the path to clearer communications.

While there is still much work to be done, it is heartening that there is a renewed focus on transparency in Congress and in the White House, and growing recognition that clarity is the surest path forward to rebuild trust in many of our most important public and private institutions. The Plain Language symposium was one small step in the right direction. Siegel+Gale plans to be involved all along the way.