DCRA's 2021 AWARD FINALIST CASE STUDY: Best Achievement in Operational Excellence to deliver Digital Transformation.

From paper to digital progress-a Washington, DC government agency transforms itself through customer-centric technological innovations

Under the leadership of Mayor Muriel Bowser and upon taking the helm of the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) in late 2018, Director Ernest Chrappah set out on a listening tour aimed at learning how best to improve the agency from a range of stakeholders. Using what he learned, Director Chrappah developed a roadmap to the agency’s digital transformation, which we call Vision 2020, a plan that has resulted in easier and faster experiences for our customers.

At the heart of its mission, DCRA protects the health, safety, economic interests, and quality of life of residents, businesses, and visitors in the District of Columbia by regulating construction and business activity, issuing permits, and ensuring compliance with building codes and zoning regulations. Construction activity, buildings, and rental housing establishments are inspected, and housing code is enforced. To protect consumers, DCRA issues business and professional licenses, registers corporations, inspects weighing and measuring devices used for monetary profit, and issues special events permits.

Guided by its strategic plan Vision 2020: A Roadmap to Digital Transformation, DCRA, one of the largest agencies in the city, made a bold investment in innovation that dramatically altered its delivery of government services. Plagued by a lack of public trust and a substandard customer experience, the agency pivoted to a data-driven culture driven by a strong vision and new operational mission. DCRA eliminated cumbersome paper processes and developed web-based platforms to create a seamless customer journey. Some of the cornerstone initiatives included a website refresh to make it easier to find information from all devices, Access DC- a single sign-on for improved customer experience and cybersecurity, and a more intuitive CRM system to guide customer interactions along with a pledge to resolve customer issues within three business days or less. As a result, customer satisfaction showed a dramatic jump from 31% to 87% over a two-year period. The goal of realizing easier, faster, and better services guided the agency’s development of unique online tools to shorten the time to getting permits and business licenses, resulting in a 46% faster permit issuing rate, and a 24% increase in the number of inspections completed along with over 370,000 interactions with the agency. Finally, these achievements played out during a global pandemic allowing the agency to quickly transition within 48 hours from in-person to online services. 

DCRA now builds on the momentum of the last two years with its “Future Ready” five-year strategic plan. With the core values of Safety, Perpetual Improvement, and Transparency, DCRA is poised to become even more responsive to the needs of its customers and a true innovative partner in the economic recovery of Washington, DC.

Digital Transformation & Operational Excellence Industry Awards 2021