Informal Interviews

Informal Interview Telephone Script

OMB Control Number: 1660-0089

Expiration Date: 1/31/2014

PAPERWORK BURDEN DISCLOSURE NOTICE

Public reporting burden for this data collection is estimated to average 4 hours per response. The burden estimate includes the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the needed data, and completing, and submitting this form. This collection of information is voluntary. You are not required to respond to this collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding the accuracy of the burden estimate and any suggestions for reducing this burden to: Information Collections Management, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 500 C Street, SW, Washington, DC, 20472, and Paperwork Reduction Project (1660-0089). NOTE: Do not send your completed information to the above address.

“Good (Morning/Afternoon); my name is (Provide Full Name) and I work in FEMA’s Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration. I was referred to you by (Name) regarding the mitigation project that your community completed and would like to make an appointment to speak with you to gather information about the project for possible publication in our Best Practices Portfolio on FEMA.gov. Would it be possible to meet with you on (date) at (time).

No – respond “Would there be another time that I could meet with you and if so, when would be good?” “Thank you, and I will contact you then.”

Yes – continue

“Please give me the title you wish to appear as headline for your Best Practice. The title must be 75 characters or less.”

“Please give me the name of the state or territory where your Best Practice was implemented. For Best Practices implemented in Tribal areas, which are Federally recognized Indian Reservations, if the Reservation transverses state boundaries, what is the name of the state containing the portion of the Reservation where the Activity/Project was actually implemented. If the Activity/Project is Reservation-wide, any of the states in which the Reservation lies may be given.

“What is the geographical area for this Activity/Project? Is it State-wide, regional, within a single county, or federally recognized Indian Reservation?”

“Is this a County-wide Activity/Project? Answer “Yes” only if you answered “Within a Single County” to the previous question and this Activity/Project was implemented throughout an entire County.

“County/Counties (required unless otherwise indicated in the instruction): Do not provide any Counties if this Activity/Project has a geographical area of “State-wide” or “Federally recognized Indian Reservation”. If the geographical area selected was “Regional (multiple Counties)”, provide the names of all counties that apply; but if the geographical area for this Activity/Project was “Within a Single County”, provide only that one County name. Note: The County field also supports Boroughs and Census Areas (Alaska), Parishes (Louisiana), and both Counties and Cities in Virginia.”

“Community/Communities (NOT required): you do not need to provide any Communities for this activity/Project if the geographical area selected above was “State-wide”, “Regional (multiple Counties)”, or “Federally recognized Indian Reservation”. Provide one or more Communities (as many as apply) if the geographical area selected was “Within a Single County” and you did not answer ‘Yes’ to “Is this a Countywide Activity/Project.”

“Sector; Select 1 of the choices that best indicates where the activity took place: Public Sector: A publicly funded project for community benefit (e.g., park land creation, infrastructure improvement, school-based shelters) Private Sector: A project with private sector funding that benefits a private sector business or individual (e.g., improved drainage for an industrial park, downtown revitalization) Public/Private Partnership: Any project that combines both public and private sector funding. Private Public Public/Private Partnership.”

“Hazard: Indicate as many as apply to your project. For help determining Hazard types please refer to: http://www.fema.gov/fima/bp/type.shtm: Chemical/Biological; Flooding; Tornado; Coastal Storm; Hurricane/Tropical Storm; Tsunami; Dam/Levee Break; Mudslide/Landslide; Typhoon; Drought; Nuclear; Volcano; Earthquake; Severe Storm; Wildfire; Extreme Temperatures; Technological; Winter Storm; Fire; Terrorism.”

“Category/Activity/ Project Type: Indicate up to 3 appropriate project types. Do not select more than 3. Acquisition/Buyouts; HAZUS-MH; Building Codes; Land Use/Planning; Community Rating System Activity; Relocation Cooperative Technical Partner Activity; Retrofitting Non-structural; Disaster Resistant Universities/ Mitigation Planning; Retrofitting Structural; Education/Outreach/Public Awareness; Safe Rooms/Community Shelters;

Elevation, structural; Training; Elevation, utilities; Utility; Protective Measures; Flood Control; Vegetation Management; Flood Insurance; Warning Systems; Flood Insurance Marketing; Wetland Restoration; Floodplain Management; Other; Flood-proofing Flood Study Map Rollout/Map Modernization.”

“Structure Type (NOT required) Select up to 2 structure types. You may continue without making a selection if this is an Activity/Project (such as outreach, education, marketing, and training activities) that DOES NOT affect a specific structure type. Do not select more than 2. For Structure Type definitions please refer to: http://www.fema.gov/fima/bp/structure.shtm Concrete, Reinforced; Mobile Home; Insulated Concrete Form (ICF); Safe Room/Community Shelter; Light Gauge Metal; Shear Walls; Manufactured Housing; Steel Frame; Masonry, Reinforced; Tilt-Up (Concrete Pre-cast); Masonry, Unreinforced/Plain; Wood Frame; Metal Building; Other:”.

Activity/Project Start Date (Enter as: Month - Year)

“Please provide the Month and Year the Activity/Project started. This field is required so you will need to approximate if you are not sure of the exact Month and Year. Do not provide a future start date or a start date prior to 1950.”

Activity/Project End Date (Enter as: Month - Year)

“Please provide the Month and Year the Activity/Project ended. If the Activity/Project has not yet ended or if an End Date does not apply at this time, indicate “On-going”. If an end

date is provided, the date must be later than the start date entered above.”

Funding: Select as many Funding sources

Academic

Business Owner

Community Assistance Program (CAP)

Community Rating System (CRS)

Cooperating Technical Partners (CTP)

Environmental/Historical Preservation

Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA)

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)

Hazard Mitigation Technical Assistance Program (HMTAP)

Homeowner

Local Sources

Map Modernization

Mitigation Planning

National Dam Safety Program (NDSP)

National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP)

National Earthquake Technical Assistance Program (NETAP)

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

National Hurricane Program (NHP)

Non-profit organization (NPO)

Other Federal Agencies (OFA)

Other FEMA funds/ US Department of Homeland Security

Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM)

Private funds

Property owner, residential

Property owner, commercial

State sources

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

Wind and Water Technical Assistance Program (WATAP)

Other:

Funding Recipient: If applicable, select only 1 Funding Recipient:

Academic Local Government

Business/Industry Non Profit – Environmental

Critical Facility – Medical Non Profit – Religious

Critical Facility – Police/Fire Property Owner – Residential

Critical Facility – School Property Owner – Commercial

Cultural Facility State Government

Lifelines – Gas/Electric Transportation

Lifelines – Telephone Tribal Organizations/Government

Lifelines – Water/Sewer Other:

Name of Organizational Funding Recipient (NOT required): “If applicable, provide the name of the Organization that received funding. Do not enter the name of an individual.”

Economic Analysis: “Provide Activity/Project Cost ($ amount ONLY) in and then indicate whether the amount provided is Actual or Estimated. If the Activity/Project cost is not known and can’t be reasonably estimated, indicate “Unknown at this time”. If ‘Actual’ or ‘Estimated’ is selected you must also provide a $ amount. Do not enter a $ amount if ‘Unknown at this time’ is selected.

Actual Estimated: “For program and project related activities, please provide the information as requested for the Benefits-to-Costs and Losses Avoided. It is understood that it is not possible to perform economic analyses or determine benefits for all activities (e.g. CRS, Outreach, Marketing, and Training). If neither benefit amount (Benefits-to-Costs or Losses Avoided) can be calculated or estimated, indicate “Not Applicable/Not Program/Project Oriented”. Please describe intangible benefits in the “Category/Activity/Project Details”.

Benefits: “Please indicate if the benefits are “Not Applicable/Not Program/Project Oriented”. Otherwise, please provide the following information:

Benefits-to-Costs $

Provide $ amount of estimated benefits, or projected avoided damages, determined in evaluating the cost-effectiveness of the proposed mitigation measure. If a Benefit-Cost Analysis was conducted, enter the present value of the benefits or avoided damages as determined by the analysis. Please clarify the Benefit-Cost Analysis source in the “Category/Activity/Project.

Losses Avoided $

Provide $ amount only if mitigation effort has been tested by a subsequent event and calculations can be made on savings realized from avoiding damages that have previously occurred in pre-mitigation events. Please clarify “Category/Activity/Project Details” any overlap with values entered in the Benefits-to-Cost field.

“Did mitigation effort(s) result from a federally declared disaster?” Indicate either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ if you know whether or not the mitigation effort undertaken in this Activity/Project resulted from a federally declared disaster. Not all Activities or Projects have a direct relationship to a particular disaster; as could be the case for outreach, education, marketing, and training activities. In instances where a Yes or No answer to this question can’t be made with assurance, indicate ‘Unknown’.”

Federal Disaster Declaration Number

Year (NOT - required)

If the mitigation effort undertaken with your Activity/Project resulted from a disaster (Federally

Declared or other), enter the Year that disaster occurred (use YYYY format). You may skip this field if it is not applicable to your Activity/Project or if you do not have the information.

Cost $ Unknown at this time

“You are required to provide a Federal Disaster Declaration Number ONLY if you answered “Yes” to the previous question. For assistance in locating the Disaster Number, please refer to the listing at: http://www.fema.gov/library/drcys.shtm”.

“Since the mitigation effort began, has a disaster tested its value?” Answer ‘Yes’ if a disaster has tested the mitigation effort of your Activity/Project. If the mitigation effort has not yet been tested by a disaster, answer ‘No’.

Year That Disaster First Tested Value (NOT - required): “If you answered “YES” to the previous question and you know the Year that the mitigation effort was first tested by a disaster, provide that year

Is this a Repetitive Loss Property? “If your Activity/Project involves a property and is flood related, indicate if it is a repetitive loss property as defined under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) by placing an ‘ X ’ indicate ‘Yes’. If it is not flood or property related, or if you do not know the answer to this question, indicate ‘Unknown’.”

Activity/Project Contact Information

IMPORTANT NOTE: We request that you provide contact information so that a FEMA representative can contact you should we have questions or require additional information about your Best Practice submission. This information will ONLY be accessible to designated FEMA staff, and will under no circumstances be visible on FEMA’s Web site or searchable by the public. Of these fields, we only REQUIRE that you provide a Contact Name; however, if FEMA staff is unable to contact you to ask questions or obtain clarifications, your story may not be approved for posting on FEMA’s Website. If you choose not to provide this information, you may, at any time, email FEMA Mitigation staff in your FEMA Regional Office (see www.fema.gov/mitigationss/regionalOffices.do) or at MITsuccess@dhs.gov to inquire about the status of your submission.

Activity/Project Contact Name: “Please provide the name of the person that should be contacted if FEMA has any questions or needs clarification on your submission.

Activity/Project Contact Phone (optional)

Activity/Project Contact E-mail address (optional)

Category/ Activity/ Project Details: “Here is where you tell us your story. We can provide you with a sample format titled “Mitigation Best Practice Guided Format”.

Attachments: “A variety of supporting materials such as photos, maps, graphics, and/or PDF files can also be included to enhance your Best Practice. You may send us up to 6 attachments per Best Practice. If you are submitting attachments you must agree to the following statement.”

I warrant and represent that I own or otherwise control the rights necessary to submit this

material (documents, photographs, images), and acknowledge that I am granting the U.S.

Government permission to (1) use, modify, copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display,

reproduce, publish, and transfer any such work, photograph or image, and (2) publish my

name in connection with any such communication. I also understand that I will not be

compensated for the U.S. Government's or the general public's use of the submitted materials and that the U.S. Government is under no obligation to post or use any materials I may provide and may remove my materials at any time.

All photographs must be JPEG file type (.jpg, .jpeg)

Other acceptable image file types (for non-photo images) are .gif, .png, .bmp, JPEG (.jpg,

.jpeg), and TIFF (.tif, .tiff)

All image files must be given a caption or title (maximum 100 characters)

All image files must include a short description (maximum 150 characters)

Longer descriptions (up to 1500 characters) may also be provided, but are not required.

Maximum acceptable image file size is 5MB

Document File Attachment Rules

Acceptable document file types are .doc, .xls, .pdf, .txt, .ppt, .rtf, .html, and .xml

Accessibility regulations require that for each .pdf file submitted a .txt version of that same file

must also be submitted or we will not be able to use the .pdf file on the FEMA Web site

All document files must be given a caption or title (maximum 100 characters)

Maximum acceptable document file size is 5MB

If you send file attachments via e-mail, please send each file attachment separately to ensure we receive them properly through the FEMA email system.