Submission Request for Storm Surge Marketing Discussion Groups

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the

Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

OMB Control Number: 0690-0030

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Storm Surge Marketing Small Discussion Groups

PURPOSE: To better understand audiences’ needs in rolling out new National Hurricane Center (NHC) storm surge warning (proposed) and inundation maps.

The goal of the discussion groups is to present NHC’s new storm surge warning (proposed) and storm surge inundation map to key intermediaries to ensure they are equipped to use these new tools in conveying the risks of storm surge so that people take the appropriate preparedness and response actions. The discussion groups will take place in four test geographies communities (locations) where a National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office is based (WFO): Portland, ME (March 6-7), Morehead City, NC (March 18-19 proposed), Tampa, FL (April 22-23 proposed), and New Orleans, LA (April 4-5). We anticipate having up to five meetings per location with no more than 12 non-federal employees in each meeting (at most 60 per location).

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: The respondents will be small groups of emergency managers, emergency personnel, community group members, broadcast meteorologists, and others who interface with the public to communicate hazards during a hurricane.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ X] Small Discussion Group

[] Focus Group [] Other:

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name:_Stephanie Fauver, NOAA, National Ocean Services, Coastal Services Center, 843-740-1287, Stepahnie.Fauver@noaa.gov

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the

Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [ X ] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent (per community; there are four communities)	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hours
Federal Government	40	2 hours	80
State Local Tribal Government	80	2 hours	160
Private Sector	160	2 hours	320
Totals	280	-	560
Total, non-federal participants	240	-	480

Note: NOAA is visiting four communities. The number of respondents is across all four communities. As noted above, we expect at most 60 non-federal participants per community (20 state/local/tribal and 40 private sector), as well as 10 federal participants per community. This adds to 240 non-federal per community (80 state/local/tribal and 160 private sector) and 40 federal per community for a total of 280 total participants.

FEDERAL COST: The estimated cost to the Federal government is $8,125 per meeting or $32,500 total for all communities.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe?

[ ] Yes [x ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

The respondents will be selected by the individual NOAA Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in each pilot community based on their knowledge of how risk information flows in their communities. The respondents will be individuals that interact with the public during a hurricane and provide hazard information to the public related to storm surge. Each WFO will develop its own contact list based on their knowledge of local stakeholders.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[X ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain.

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ X ] Yes [ ] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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