September 2023 Edition
Dear Customers,
As we reach the close of FY23, the DOB team has been reflecting on our accomplishments while we plan for the road ahead. As we reflect, I am struck by the dedication of our team and our commitment to the higher purpose we are called to achieve.
The work of our team affects neighborhoods and livelihoods. We are called to this purpose: to elevate the quality of life for the District. We shall continue to grow our capacity to deliver an ever-improving customer experience.
Standing up a new agency is no easy task. Our team executed a complex transition with poise and no interruption in service delivery to the residents, businesses, and visitors of the District. When I joined DOB in May 2023, here’s what I saw: a team effectively managing its heavy volume of work while making room for innovation and transformative thinking. This is resulting in ongoing enhancements to our service delivery that reverberate throughout the District.
Ultimately, we know that our work, our success, is only possible with your input, guidance, and trust which we hope to earn every day. As customers, we deeply appreciate your input as we strive to serve you better.
We shall continue to work each and every day to meet that responsibility. Though FY23 is coming to an end, we are excited to reach new heights in FY24.
Onward,
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 Brian J. Hanlon, AIA LEED AP®
Acting Director
 Each fiscal year, District government agencies operate based off of a performance plan that is generated as a result of collaboration between the Executive Office of the Mayor (EOM) and individual agencies. DOB's process for memorializing and charting our plan for each fiscal year is no different.
FY23 presented a unique challenge for DOB; having just begun operations as a brand-new agency on October 1, 2022, it was important for the agency to start strong. With this in mind, our team rallied together and put together quite a strong performance under the careful leadership of our previous Acting Director, Ernest Chrappah. When Director Chrappah decided to leave District government after over a decade of faithful service, we were excited to welcome our new Acting Director, Brian J. Hanlon, in May 2023. Even amidst a leadership change and shifting of organizational priorities, our work continued.
We are proud to announce that as of September 30, 2023, DOB will meet or exceed all 15 of our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for FY23 based on our FY23 Performance Plan. Beyond this, we also were able to continue fostering innovation within our agency to think critically and implement initiatives that have helped us to serve you better. Three key initiatives that we introduced in FY23 were our enhanced community outreach plan, Career Pathways Program, and DOB Training Academy.
- Our enhanced community outreach plan played a critical role in the early days of our agency. By investing in external communication and outreach, we were able to spread awareness of our new agency and connect the residents, businesses, and visitors of the District to our agency's services. This was accomplished through agency events and open houses, investment in digital and physical advertisements, and consistent external email marketing efforts to target key stakeholders.
- The Career Pathways Program was a pilot program for FY23, and it was an exciting opportunity to partner with regional universities to source current student and recent graduates to participate in building DOB's workforce of tomorrow. We were happy to hire several participants of the program to internal positions they were qualified for following the conclusion of the program. Our excitement continues to grow for future iterations of this program as we continue to reimagine investment in talent and the talent pipeline as a local government agency.
- Our DOB Training Academy was launched as an engaging digital platform for training and employee development for our new and existing employees. Courses were prepared through collaboration with our training staff and business units, resulting in the generation of curriculum that provided staff with the foundational context they need to go above and beyond in their service to you. As a living platform, we are excited to continue adding new courses in FY24 and add to our collective knowledge to enhance our public service delivery.
FY24 presents another opportunity for our agency to rise to the occasion and continue to excel as a model for customer service. If you are interested to see what we are working on for the coming fiscal year, please feel free to view our FY24 Performance Plan on the Office of the City Administrator's (OCA) website.
 We are proud to announce that DOB has been recognized amongst its city government peers with the 2023 GOVX City Government Experience Award from the Center for Digital Government. The Government Experience awards recognize the achievements of states, cities and counties that have raised the bar on the experience of government services to create a better engaged constituency and a more responsive government.
DOB received the award as a result of our work investing in the customer experience. Our suite of digital programs, including Tertius, Dispatch, and our DOB Public Dashboard, continue to set a tone of creating digital solutions to tackle many of construction regulatory agencies’ biggest challenges. Agility in public service is crucial, and as we leverage data and technology to ensure efficient service delivery, DOB knows how crucial it is to be open to reimagining processes and strategies to better reflect changing regulatory landscapes and evolving customer needs. Our efficient delivery of services relies on our dedicated team who works within well-established systems to achieve our objectives and produce excellent outcomes for all involved stakeholders.
 The upcoming Indigenous Peoples' Day holiday is on Monday, October 9, 2023. As with other federal and District government holidays, construction is not permitted in the District on these days without an After Hours Permit. For these holidays, all construction work, for which a permit is required, is illegal and could result in a Stop Work Order and may be subject to fines. For more information, visit the Department of Buildings' (DOB) illegal construction webpage. Illegal construction may be reported by submitting an Illegal Construction Inspection Request Form or by calling 311.
DOB will also be closed on Indigenous Peoples' Day, as is standard with federal and District government holidays. DOB offers many online services, tools, and resources, enabling customers to conduct business 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
Please note that construction will also be prohibited on the following dates in the forthcoming months:
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Veterans Day: Friday, November 10, 2022
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Thanksgiving Day: Thursday, November 23, 2023
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Christmas Day: Monday, December 25, 2023
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New Year's Day: Monday, January 1, 2024
 Members from DOB's Account Management team and the Office of Strategic Enforcement were happy to join community members for Mayor Muriel Bowser's 6th Annual National Maternal & Infant Health Summit.
The summit kicked off with a dinner discussion with 50 leaders from across the spectrum of healthcare delivery and support organizations committed to improving maternal and child health by using data to inform decision-making. The goal of the dinner event was to share work that has been done in this field and explore ways to expand the partners that are contributing to the PRC’s data ecosystem (including state and local government providers) to reduce disparities in perinatal and maternal health.
DOB was able to connect with stakeholders and collect valuable data that was presented regarding maternal mortality and the preventative societal factors that continue to be developed. We continue to work with our local government and nonprofit partners to continue investing in maternal and infant health both locally and internationally.
DOB was able to host a table alongside many DC agencies (DOH, DOEE, DOES), colleges, and non-profit organizations in DC. Hundreds of attendees of the summit were able to speak with our team about the work DOB is doing in the community and who they can contact with further questions. These community events continue to be a high priority for our agency, and we thank the Mayor and various sponsors for inviting DOB to the summit.
 Members of our account management team joined the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners (ANCs), and other stakeholders for a community walk in the Deanwood neighborhood in Ward 7. These walks are an excellent opportunity for District government agencies to engage in collaboration through building rapport with community members across the District. DOB takes special care to attend these walks and to continue to share with residents, businesses, and visitors about the work that we do and how stakeholders can acces our services.
Contact DOB via email at dob@dc.gov, through our online inquiry form or during normal business hours using the live chat available on dob.dc.gov or by phone at 202.671.3500, and we will get back to you in three business days or less.
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