This lesson will introduce the Recovery coordinating structures, including Recovery Support Functions (RSFs). It will describe the RSF structure, its scalability, and each RSF’s mission in support of recovery.

Enabling Objectives:

After completing this lesson, you should be able to:

• Identify coordinating structures used to deliver recovery capabilities.
• Define the term RSF.
• Describe the mission of each RSF.
• Explain how the RSF structure is scalable to meet different levels of Post-Disaster needs.

Jurisdictions develop arrangements with other organizations before a disaster to plan and coordinate the delivery of the Recovery Core Capabilities. These are arrangements, called Coordinating Structures, which maintain and deliver Core Capabilities.

For example, a recovery task force is a Coordinating Structure that can be established between a locality and other jurisdictions and groups to organize and integrate recovery resources.

Coordinating Structures support preparation for recovery through activities including information sharing, resource identification and technical assistance.

Coordinating Structures are not the same for all jurisdictions; each tailors the structures to meet its specific needs. 

Next we will explore local, state, territorial, tribal and non-governmental Coordinating Structures for recovery.

Local/ State/ Territorial Coordinating Structures

• Task forces and recovery committees are two common types of Coordinating Structures that organize and integrate their capabilities and resources with neighboring jurisdictions, the state, tribes, territorial, the private sector, and NGOs.
• Many jurisdictions employ a coordinating structure called Recovery Support Functions (RSFs) which will be discussed later in this lesson.

Tribal Coordinating Structures

• Tribes interact directly with the Federal Government, with state and local governments, and with the private-sector and nongovernmental partners. Tribal Coordinating Structures support this interaction.

The recovery coordinators discussed in Lesson 2 (State, Tribal, and Territorial Disaster Recovery Coordinators), are selected to facilitate these Coordinating Structures.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Coordinating Structures

• Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) are coalitions that provide disaster-related services through volunteer resources.
• Long-Term Recovery Groups/Interfaith Roundtables are Coordinating Structures in which the local faith community, government, voluntary organizations, and others form a committee to support disaster recovery activities such as donations and volunteer management.

Federal Coordinating Structures

The Federal government uses a Coordinating Structure called Recovery Support Functions (RSFs). RSFs are similar to the Federal Emergency Support Functions (ESF) used for the response core capabilities.

RSFs bring together the knowledge, experience, skills, and resources of Federal departments and agencies and other supporting organizations to focus on recovery issues and needs.

RSFs are utilized to organize and request assistance, and to contribute resources and solutions for recovery.

The RSFs are organized into six functional components that support the Recovery core capabilities.

Each RSF is headed by a coordinating agency. Through the coordinating agency, supporting agencies and entities provide subject matter expertise for a particular sector or issue related to disaster recovery.

Now we will examine the six recovery RSFs, describing the structure, scalability and mission in support of recovery for each.

Roy Dunn
Federal Disaster Recovery Officer
Under the National Disaster Recovery Framework we have a recovery support function called Community Planning Capacity Building. That function inside of recovery is specifically to help local communities with their recovery plans.

Tim Gelston
Community Planning & Capacity Building Field Coordinator
We work with the community to understand what their needs are Post-disaster, and specifically recovery needs, at that community level again. And then we try to bring the needed resources together, or information to the communities so they can make better decisions really.

We don’t come to a community and force ourselves upon them and you know there is some vetting that goes on, because we want to make sure our efforts are provided to those communities who have the most need, but we’re also not necessarily saying no to anybody, if we can help out we will.

Roy Dunn
Federal Disaster Recovery Officer
We have over seventeen Federal agencies that are deployed here in New York to do that federal interagency coordination on the Federal level. And they are working directly with their state agency partners and local agency partners and communities to help us all; we’re all working together toward creating a recovery support strategy for Hurricane Sandy here in New York.

Natalie Grant
Health & Social Services Field Coordinator
Principally, we are here to collaborate amongst the Federal Interagency and bring to bear all those programs and resources that exist not only within the US Department of Health and Human Services but also throughout the Federal Interagency. That includes programs that support childcare, family well-being, schools principally as well as they are a hub for Healthcare and Human Services for some at risk groups. In addition, we are looking to coordinate across the larger, broader community effort with community planning, capacity building, economics and housing recognizing that the health of the community is where they reside and where they work and play, so really seeking to infuse concepts of healthcare, and healthy living principles as well in part of all of the community redevelopment, as community is recovering from disaster.

Sheila Daniels
Housing Field Coordinator
Our primary focus is on housing. We’re HUD, we’re housing, and to bring to the table support and resources for those who have been impacted in terms of helping them to identify housing solutions whether they are permanent or temporary. There are always going to be challenges, when you bring together major organizations, Federal Government or non, just in terms of organizational culture how we operate independently, and then in a very much emergency situation, try to bring us together and have us work collectively, you’re going to run into some challenges, but I think that we all recognize that this is a disaster and we’re all here for the good of the community and the people that we serve.

Daniel Alexander
Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator
We have different Federal agencies assigned functional responsibility for those six recovery support functions, and they work on the ground in trying to support state and locals. Under Housing it’s obviously Housing and Urban Development, Under the Economic Recovery, it’s the Economic Development Administration of the Department of Commerce. Under infrastructure it’s the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Hibba Wahbeh
Infrastructure Systems Field Coordinator
We’re focusing on the 18 critical infrastructure sectors that are described in the National Infrastructure Protection Plan. Definitely transportation, Public Transit, Waste Water facilities in the state got hit really hard, the coastal areas were definitely hit hard, that was one of the biggest cross cutting issues between the different recovery support functions. And energy, energy was a big one.

Cheryl Hapke
Natural & Cultural Resources Field Coordinator
Our main goal is to work with state and local agencies to address a variety of issues having to do with Natural and Cultural Resources for developing a strategy, for resilient rebuilding of the coast line and the structures that are associated with it. We are trying to find out what the needs of the different agencies are at the variety of levels, and with the hope that we can identify the need and either provide things like technical assistance, access to data, funding if possible or at least help them leverage funding or direct them to funding, and any sort of assessments and technical assistance that they might need.

Each RSF has a coordinating agency, primary agencies, and supporting organizations.

1. Coordinating Agencies
• The RSF coordinating agency, with the assistance of FEMA, provides leadership, coordination, and oversight for that particular RSF.
2. Primary Agencies
• Primary agencies are Federal agencies that have significant authorities, roles, resources, or capabilities within an RSF.
3. Supporting Organizations
• Supporting organizations are organizations with specific capabilities or resources that support the coordinating and primary agency. Supporting organizations may be more or less involved in recovery depending on need.

The six RSFs, each with a specific focus area, have as members multiple agencies with specific responsibilities, expertise, and resources. The RSFs and their respective coordinating agencies are:

• Community Planning and Capacity Building (U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency)
• Economic Recovery (U.S. Department of Commerce)
• Health and Social Services (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
• Housing (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development)
• Infrastructure Systems (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
• Natural and Cultural Resources (U.S. Department of the Interior)

Coordinating Agency: U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (DHS/FEMA)

The CPCB RSF supports local government, states, and tribes to effectively organize, plan, and manage their recovery process. To that end, the RSF identifies opportunities to foster leadership, create partnerships, engage citizens and leverage resources.

Examples of CPCB RSF activities include:

• Identifying disaster impacts
• Providing planning support
• Promoting an inclusive planning process

Select this link to access the FEMA website.

Coordinating Agency: U.S. Department of Commerce

The Economic Recovery RSF brings the expertise of the Federal Government to help state, tribal, territorial and insular area governments, and the private sector to sustain and/or rebuild businesses and employment and to develop economic opportunities after a disaster.

Examples of Economic Recovery RSF activities include:

• Providing economic development support
• Supporting workforce development
• Assisting in the identification of economic opportunities

Select this link to access the U.S Economic Development Administration (Department of Commerce) website.

Coordinating Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The HSS RSF assists locally led recovery efforts in the restoration of the public health, health care, and social services networks to promote the resilience, health, and well-being of affected individuals and communities.

Examples of HSS RSF activities include:

• Providing analysis of local health and social service impacts
• Supporting planning for the recovery of local health and social services programs
• Identifying and leveraging resources to enable the recovery of local health and social services

Select this link to access the HHS website.

Coordinating Agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Housing RSF addresses pre- and post-disaster housing issues to assist local, state, tribal, territorial, and insular area governments as they rehabilitate and reconstruct destroyed and damaged housing, when feasible, and develop new accessible, permanent housing options.

Examples of Housing RSF activities include:

• Encouraging decisions about land use and housing location
• Identifying gaps and resolving conflicting policy issues regarding housing
• Identifying and leveraging resources to assist in the development of long-term housing solutions

Select this link to access the HUD website.

Coordinating Agency: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The IS RSF helps local, state and tribal governments, as well as other infrastructure owners (which may be from the private or non-profit sectors) in the identification of infrastructure impacts and solutions for addressing those impacts.

Examples of IS RSF activities include:

• Assessing damage to infrastructure
• Identifying and leveraging resources to support the recovery of infrastructure
• Helping to resolve conflicts (e.g. competition for key resources) essential for the overall recovery of impacted infrastructure systems

Select this link to access the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website.

Coordinating Agency: U.S. Department of the Interior

The NCR RSF brings federal resources to help state and tribal governments and communities address long-term environmental and cultural resource recovery needs after a disaster.

Examples of NCR RSF activities include:

• Identifying opportunities to incorporate hazard mitigation into natural or cultural resource recovery projects
• Conveying the relationships between natural and cultural resources and other community assets in recovery planning
• Identifying and leveraging resources to support the recovery of natural and cultural resources

Select this link to access the Department of the Interior website.

The following screens will present examples of how the Federal structure for recovery aligns with state recovery sectors. An important theme to keep in mind is that the Federal recovery structure is flexible to meet the needs of states and tribes. States and tribes do not necessarily follow the Federal structure in organizing their recovery since that is not required. Managing recovery is a state/tribal responsibility and the Federal structure will be flexible to support the way they choose to organize their recovery operations.

Alternatively, in large-scale disasters, all RSFs may be needed.

• In the diagram, the state has activated its Public Health and Health Care, Human Services, and Education recovery sectors. On the Federal side, the Health and Social Services RSF is activated to support those departments.
• The state’s Transportation and Infrastructure and Public Safety and Flood Protection recovery sectors are supported by the Infrastructure Systems RSF.
• The state’s Environmental Management and Coastal Restoration recovery sectors are supported by the Natural and Cultural Resources RSF.
• In a large-scale disaster that affects utility, transportation, and other infrastructure, housing, environmentally sensitive areas, historic properties, physical and mental health of survivors, and local businesses, all RSFs will be activated.

Roy Dunn
Federal Disaster Recovery Officer
The implementation of the National Disaster Recovery Framework is going to be different in every disaster, with every state. The key for the federal family is to make sure that we modify our implementation to meet the needs of the state and to meet the needs of those local communities. The framework is very clear that all disasters are local and what that translates to is how we develop our organization in making sure we are supporting the local primacy and local leadership.

Daniel Alexander
Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator
What the NDRF is designed to do and what is provides, because of the folks that are working across the country at the Regional Level, it provides that consistency to keep a coordination structure in place for years to come. To continue working the issues that are going to be long term issues.

Effective recovery requires the ability for the recovery coordinating structures to link to, and share, information with the coordinating structures in other mission areas. For example, effective mitigation efforts directly impact recovery. Establishing close working relationships, lines of communication, and coordination protocols between Protection, Prevention, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery mission areas is critical to achieving Successful Recovery.

Let's take a look at how Recovery integrates with the other four mission areas.

Select the first four sections on the graphic below for more information. You will need to review each item before proceeding to the next screen.

After a terrorist incident, public information and security related to law enforcement activities will impact recovery. Through the management of the release of public information following an incident, follow-on attacks can be prevented while initiating psychological and social recovery efforts.

Additionally, proper recovery planning can ensure that all available resources and response assets are identified and trained to fill relevant vulnerability gaps to meet evolving threats that may prolong recovery efforts. Finally, proper crisis response plans can aid in the prevention of significant economic loss resulting from an incident and damage to vital infrastructure.

Previous mitigation activities may reduce recovery requirements. Opportunities for mitigation occur during recovery. Following an incident, recovery efforts can capitalize on the critical post-disaster window of opportunity to influence public opinion to take steps toward mitigation. These mitigation concepts can be communicated to community officials, homeowners, NGOs, and private sector owners, operators, and managers to minimize risks resulting from future incidents. Application of mitigation initiatives and investments pre-disaster can aid in reducing recovery resource requirements post-disaster.

Proper recovery planning can ensure that all levels of government work to implement disaster resistant building codes and incentivize private sector and individual pre-disaster preparedness activities and mitigation. Finally, recovery plans should work to incorporate health considerations and resilience and sustainability measures into identified infrastructure systems and housing recovery strategies.

The National Response Framework and ESF activities will be the foundation for early recovery processes and decision-making. The NDRF does not speak to short-term activities such as life sustaining, property protection, and other measures intended to neutralize the immediate threat to life, environment, and property and to stabilize the community. However, these activities influence recovery activities, necessitating the need for a structure to consider and advise on recovery implications during the early phases of incident management.

The recovery organizational constructs introduced in the NDRF coexist with ESFs and build upon the response organizational structure and resources to more effectively address inclusive recovery needs. These constructs incorporate and adopt the central tenets of the National Incident Management System and support the primacy of local, regional/metropolitan, state, tribal territorial and insular area governments in preparing for and managing the response and recovery from natural and human-caused incidents.

The NDRF also provides the tools to encourage early integration of recovery considerations into planning the response operations. The Response and Recovery mission areas include some of the same people and organizations; therefore, each coordinating agency ensures ongoing communication and coordination between primary agencies and support organizations, and between the Federal agencies, corresponding local, regional/metropolitan, state, tribal, territorial and insular area authorities, and nonprofit and private sector organizations.

The Recovery Federal Interagency Operational Plan (FIOP) provides further detail regarding roles and responsibilities, specifies the critical tasks, and identifies resourcing and sourcing requirements for delivering the Recovery core capabilities. It is written to describe how the Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator (FDRC) and Recovery Support Function (RSF) agencies and their partners will work to support local, state, tribal, territorial, and insular area recovery efforts in coordination with nongovernmental and private sector organizations.

The Response and Recovery mission areas are developing joint incident Annexes; the final plans will be attachments to both the Response and Recovery FIOPs. The incident Annexes identify authorities, capabilities, and roles and responsibilities that are unique to responding to and recovering from identified incidents.

The purpose of this Course Review is to:

• Review the key concepts presented in this course.
• Prepare to take the final exam.

This lesson introduced the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF). The NDRF was developed to address the need for:

• Focused recovery leadership at every level of government
• A strategic approach to addressing a wide range of recovery needs
• An effective structure for coordinating Federal resources to support disaster-impacted communities

The Recovery Continuum depicts the level of effort associated with each phase of recovery and includes the following phases of activities:

• Pre-Disaster Preparedness
• Post-Disaster Short-Term (days to weeks)
• Post-Disaster Intermediate-Term (weeks to months)
• Post-Disaster Long-Term (months to years)

The NDRF eight Guiding Principles were identified as necessary principles to incorporate into recovery efforts. They are:

• Individual and Family Empowerment
• Leadership and Local Primacy
• Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning
• Engaged Partnerships and Inclusiveness
• Unity of Effort
• Timeliness and Flexibility
• Resilience and Sustainability
• Psychological and Emotional Recovery

Experience shows that the presence of certain factors in a community can help ensure Successful Recovery efforts. The NDRF lists the following factors:

• Effective Decision Making and Coordination
• Integration of Community Recovery Planning Processes
• Well-Managed Recovery
• Proactive Community Engagement, Public Participation, and Public Awareness
• Good Financial Management
• Organizational Flexibility
• Resilient Rebuilding

This lesson covered Recovery stakeholders from all sectors of the community and how they have important recovery roles and responsibilities, both Pre-disaster and Post-disaster.

• Individuals and Families
• The Private Sector
• Local Government
• State Government
• Tribal Government
• Federal Government

The NDRF outlines roles and responsibilities of recovery leadership:

• The Local Disaster Recovery Manager (LDRM) organizes, coordinates, and advances the recovery at the local level. He or she works with other levels of government and other sectors of the community to coordinate resources and support.
• The State Disaster Recovery Coordinator (SDRC) organizes, coordinates, and advances the recovery at the state level. He or she works closely with local officials to help communicate local recovery priorities and resources to Federal officials.
• The Tribal Disaster Recovery Coordinator (TDRC) organizes, coordinates, and advances the recovery at the tribal level. He or she works closely with Federal and sometimes state and local officials to communicate tribal recovery priorities.
• The Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator (FDRC) is a central coordinator and leader for the Federal recovery support effort. Additionally, the FDRC supports non-disaster activities by building interagency and intergovernmental recovery support capacity and Pre-disaster planning and coordination with other Federal agencies.

This lesson covered the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) which provides guidance that enables effective recovery support to disaster-impacted states, tribes and local jurisdictions through delivery of the Recovery core capabilities.

Planning

Public Information and Warning

Operational Coordination

Economic Recovery

Health and Social Services

Housing

Infrastructure Systems

Natural and Cultural Resources

This lesson covered the RSFs which represent the Coordinating Structure for Federal recovery support.

• Community Planning and Capacity Building
• Economic
• Health and Social Services
• Housing
• Infrastructure Systems
• Natural and Cultural Resources

 Select this link to access all information presented.

• Coordinating Agency: U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (DHS/FEMA)
• Supports local government, states, and tribes to effectively organize, plan, and manage their recovery process

• Coordinating Agency: U.S. Department of Commerce
• Helps state, tribal, territorial and insular area governments, and the private sector to sustain and/or rebuild businesses and employment and to develop economic opportunities after a disaster

• Coordinating Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Assists locally led recovery efforts in the restoration of the public health, health care, and social services networks to promote the resilience, health, and well-being of affected individuals and communities

• Coordinating Agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Assists local, state, tribal, territorial, and insular area governments as they rehabilitate and reconstruct destroyed and damaged housing, when feasible, and develop new accessible, permanent housing options

• Coordinating Agency: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Supports local, state, and tribal governments and other infrastructure owners and operators in their efforts to achieve recovery goals

• Coordinating Agency: U.S. Department of the Interior
• Provides Federal resources to help state and tribal governments and communities address long-term environmental and cultural resource recovery needs after a disaster

You have completed the NDRF Overview Course.

You should now understand:

• Why the NDRF Was Developed
• NDRF Guiding Principles
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Coordinating Structures

This overview course has prepared you to take other, more advanced NDRF courses. Additionally, if you would like to explore the concepts presented in this course in more detail, you may download a copy of the NDRF from FEMA’s web site.

You may now take the final course exam. You will also have an opportunity to provide feedback about the course.

Sources:

National Disaster Recovery Framework