Password:
RECIPIENT: District of Columbia Unified Communications Center
DC Unified Communications Center Host: Dianne Adams, NASCIO Programs and Education Coordinator Featuring: Vivek Kundra, Chief Technology Officer, Office of the CTO, District of Columbia June 9, 2008 Run Time: 8 minutes, 17 seconds Download
The Unified Communications Center (UCC), a magnificent building that opened in September 2006, consolidates all communications functions of the District of Columbia into a common state-of the-art facility. The UCC is the result of a $116 million investment that consolidates all public safety and non-public safety communication functions of the District of Columbia, including E9-1-1, 3-1-1 and the Mayor’s Citywide Call Center, which processes non-emergency constituent service calls. The UCC is also the home for the District’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA), which houses the emergency operation center (EOC), the Regional Incident Command and Control Center (RICCC), and the Mayor’s Command Center. During major emergencies, the UCC provides centralized regional coordination and communications hub involving, beside local authorities, FEMA (RICCC), FBI, Capitol Police, Secret Service, Park Police and other critical agencies within the National Capital Region (NCR). "The Unified Communications Center project represents the District's commitment to improving our local and regional emergency preparedness. It provides our first responders the environment and the tools needed to carry out their public safety mission serving our Nation's capital and our constituents. The UCC will improve the District's ability to respond to local and regional emergencies through embracing innovative design, technologies and processes." Vivek Kundra, Chief Technology Officer, Government of the District of Columbia
The 128,000-square-foot facility is located on 11.8 acres on the grounds of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital campus, approximately four miles from the Capitol in the District of Columbia. The site also includes an 11,000-square-foot childcare development center, adjacent to the UCC and primarily for the use of the staff working at the center. The facility was designed to meet or exceed GSA Level C security standards.
Some of the key facts and features of the UCC include a design that provides for a minimum 72-hour emergency self-sustaining operation in the event of emergency and loss of commercial utilities, blast/bullet-resistant glass/walls, a 100-foot security setbacks and multiple systems redundancy, including power, HVAC equipment and communications systems. As part of this initiative, the District’s old E9-1-1 center (PSCC) was upgraded with the same technology infrastructure to serve as a redundant and back-up site.
The technical systems infrastructure is also a model of integration for the most advanced technology, and is redundant at both UCC and PSCC sites. These include:
NOMINATIONS: Click on the link to download program submission.
Iowa State of Iowa Business Continuity Center
Kentucky Kentucky Emergency Warning System (KEWS) Digital Upgrade
Missouri MO Enterprise Server Disaster Recovery Plan
Nebraska Nebraska Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) Satellite Warning System/Rapid Notification Network
Utah Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Across Government Boundaries
Virginia Providing Best Practice Public Safety Response: Commonwealth of Virginia Statewide Common Language Protocol
Return to 2007 Awards Main Page
