0596-0246-Supp Stmt A Renewal 2022-U.S. Caribbean Hurricane Research 013122

Supporting Statement A - OMB No. 0596-0246

US Department of Agriculture

Forest Service

Post-Hurricane Research and Assessment of Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Communities

in the U.S. Caribbean

Note: This request is for the renewal of the previously approved information collection OMB 0596-0246, Post-Hurricane Research and Assessment of Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Communities in the U.S. Caribbean.  The USDA Forest Service requests approval from OMB to continue the collection of information from farmers, forest owners, and others directly involved in agriculture and forestry in the U.S. Caribbean. This request for renewal includes revision of previously approved information collection instruments, shifting from focus group and interview guides to a researcher-administered questionnaire that has been developed based on new knowledge gained under the previously approved collection.

1. Justification

1. Circumstances that make the col­lection of information necessary. Iden­tify any legal or administrative require­ments that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the col­lection of information.

Agriculture and forest systems across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are shaped by hurricanes and other extreme climate events. Hurricanes Irma and María are two of the most recent major hurricanes to significantly affect the region, moving through the Caribbean within two weeks of each other in September 2017. Agriculture, forests, and rural communities were particularly hard hit. Many farmers and forest owners who depend on their land for their livelihoods, and whose ownerships together comprise a large portion of the landscape experienced widespread losses and damages that compromised commodity production, food security, and the provision and protection of ecosystem services. Yet, there remains limited understanding of hurricane preparedness, response, and recovery in agriculture, forest, and rural communities and the internal and external factors that help to explain hurricane vulnerabilities and resilience. This Information Collection Request seeks approval to continue to collect information on and extend knowledge of agriculture, forest, and rural communities’ readiness and resilience to hurricanes and other major hazards in the U.S. Caribbean.

Hurricanes can pose considerable risks to human life and livelihoods, particularly where exposure is high and capacity to manage and recover from the associated impacts on biophysical factors, social structures, and local economies is low (Doocy et al., 2013). High poverty rates, weak governance, and constrained public services can limit the capacities and options available to address hurricane-associated risks (Hallegatte et al., 2020; Pielke et al., 2003). Moreover, as risk exposure increases, existing vulnerabilities may be exacerbated, and the poorest and most marginalized segments of society may be disproportionately affected (Pascaline et al., 2018).

Vulnerability to major disturbances can be reduced through a range of approaches and practices, including planning and preparation, access to relief and recovery services, mitigation, adaptation, and protection and restoration of ecosystems that provide regulating and provisioning services. Such approaches and practices have been shown to reduce risk exposure, scale, and severity, and enhance coping and recovery capacities at individual and organizational levels (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC]; Scandurra et al., 2018). Developing and implementing risk reducing and resilience approaches and practices are especially important for communities throughout much of the Caribbean, where climate models project hurricanes will occur with increasing intensity and frequency over the coming decades and where shifts in extreme weather events already are detected (Emanuel, 2020, 2005; Gould et al., 2018).

Building from knowledge gained through the 2019-2022 OMB-approved information collection 0596-0246, this request seeks approval from OMB to continue to collect information on agriculture, forest, and rural community hurricane vulnerabilities, readiness, and resilience. This information is particularly important for understanding the effectiveness of current conservation practices and programs, hazard mitigation and adaptation strategies, and other economic and policy measures supported by U.S. Department of Agriculture and other Federal agencies, local government, civil society, and the private sector. Information will be collected through a researcher-administered questionnaire that primarily includes closed and multiple-choice questions. The questionnaire builds from the previously approved information collection instruments and outcomes, permitting the collection of more quantifiable and comparative data from larger segments of the populations of interest, while reducing the burden of time on individual participants. Results from this information collection will continue to provide vital real-time information for ongoing recovery and resilience efforts by USDA and other entities working in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as valuable information for other hurricane-prone systems and regions.

The primary authorities for this renewed collection are the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as amended, which authorizes USDA agricultural research, education, and extension programs, and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978, which authorizes USDA Forest Service “investigations, experiments, tests, and other activities… to obtain, analyze, develop, demonstrate, and disseminate scientific information about protecting, managing, and utilizing forest and rangeland renewable resources in rural, suburban, and urban areas” (Pub. L. 95-307 Sec. 3). Additional authorities that direct USDA to support agriculture and natural resources that are productive, sustainable, and provide benefits for the American public include the Rural Development Policy Act of 1980, which affirms USDA as the lead agency for rural development in the U.S. and expands the department’s leadership role through which multi-state, state, sub-state, and local rural development needs, plans, and recommendations are assessed and received on a continuing basis. Additionally, the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 specifically authorizes the Forest Service to conduct research and provide expert advice on the management of forests that are outside of the National Forest system. Executive Order 12898 Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994), which directs federal agencies to identify and address the disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their actions on minority and low-income populations, to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, is also relevant to this information collection.

The information collected under this renewed approval will contribute to USDA Strategic Goals, including ensuring USDA programs are delivered efficiently, effectively, and with integrity, and facilitating rural prosperity and economic development. This collection also contributes to Forest Service Strategic Goals of sustaining our nation’s forests and delivering benefits to the public as well as current agency priorities related to Climate Change and Agriculture and Rural Community and Economic Development.

Results from the proposed research will inform hurricane and other hazard preparedness, response, and recovery efforts by USDA, Forest Service, and other Federal agencies, as along with other local government, civil society, private sector, and community efforts. In the short term, results from this information collection will be critical in informing ongoing recovery and resilience efforts by USDA and its partners. In the long term, knowledge generated will contribute to reducing societal costs from hurricanes and other disturbance processes, increasing cost-effective management, mitigation, and adaptation efforts, and supporting more resilient communities and economies in the U.S. Caribbean and broader contexts.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what pur­pose the information is to be used.

We will employ a researcher-administered questionnaire to collect information on the state of agriculture and forestry in the U.S. Caribbean, with special focus on hurricane vulnerabilities, readiness, and resilience of farms, forests, and rural communities in the region. Results and findings from research under the current OMB-approved information collection 0596-0246 have been presented and shared with key stakeholders in the U.S. Caribbean, who expressed strong interest in learning more about the recovery of farms, forests, and rural communities from hurricanes Irma and Maria and specific risk reduction strategies, practices, preferences, and plans in use, available to, and of interest to farmers and forest owners in hurricane prone areas in the region. To address these needs and interest in continued collection of related information, we developed a researcher-administered questionnaire based on the previously approved focus group and interview guides and associated research results.

1. What information will be collected - reported or recorded? (If there are pieces of information that are especially burdensome in the collection, a specific explanation should be provided.)

This information collection covers Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Information will be collected from individuals via a researcher-administered questionnaire consisting mostly of closed and multiple-choice questions about their farm and/or forest characteristics, management practices, planning, and preferences, including information specific to hurricane preparedness, response, and recovery, hurricanes and other factors influencing their practices and decisions, and their use of and interest in mitigation, adaptation, and conservation finance and assistance. Specific categories of information to be collected include:

• Farm/forest characteristics (e.g., size and number of landholdings; ownership/tenure type; products produced);

• Farm/forest activities/management practices;

• Hurricane and other major effects on crops, livestock, forests, infrastructure, etc. (in the past five to seven years);

• Hurricane preparedness, risk-reduction, response, recovery activities;

• Factors affecting farm/forest decisions;

• Participation in and perspectives on programs designed to finance and/or assist with hurricane and other hazard risk reduction (e.g., mitigation, adaptation) and conservation

• Standard demographic data

2. From whom will the information be collected? If there are different respondent categories (e.g., loan applicant versus a bank versus an appraiser), each should be described along with the type of collection activity that applies.

Information will be collected from a purposively selected, non-probability sample of individuals who own, lease, or otherwise actively manage agricultural and forest land in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands through a researcher-administered questionnaire. A non-probability, purposive sample is necessary for this research because a complete and accessible sampling frame of the populations of interest are not available. Available data on the agriculture and forest sectors in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will be used by researchers to identify major production sectors (e.g., coffee, bananas/plantains, row crops, poultry, livestock, etc.), range in and average total landholding area held by farm and forest owners (e.g., from Agriculture Census, Forest Inventory and Analysis), and other key criteria for selecting respondents. Researchers will use farm and forest owner and operator databases maintained by USDA agencies, Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture and Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, and U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture, seeking representation across subregional geographies, production sectors, landholding size, and other key factors. Although data from a non-probability sample cannot be used to make statistical inferences or generalizations about the populations of interest, planned variation among participants is designed to capture a broad range of characteristics and perspectives approximating theses populations.

3. What will this information be used for - provide ALL uses?

Results from this information collection are used by federal, commonwealth, territorial, and local agriculture, forestry, and other public sector agencies; land owners and managers; academics; nongovernmental organizations; and other individuals and groups interested in understanding hurricane effects, readiness, recovery, and resilience in agriculture, forestry, and rural communities and factors that affect their vulnerabilities and resilience across a broad range of sectors and scales of operation in the U.S. Caribbean.

Information gleaned from this renewed collection will be used to describe the state of agriculture, forest, and rural community hurricane readiness and resilience in the region. Results and related findings are used by private landowners and managers seeking effective risk reduction and conservation practices and strategies. Public land managers and program officials also use this information in the development, design, implementation and promotion of hurricane risk reduction and other conservation practices and programs, as do extension agents and other advisors and educators. Federal and commonwealth/territorial officials can use this information to produce periodic reports to meet national and international obligations related to disaster preparedness and response. Green infrastructure engineers interested in developing multi-functional sustainable landscapes that mitigate risks and enhance resilience in hurricane prone areas and in the broader context of changing climate and other conditions also will find this information useful. University and other academics also use the information from this collection for multiple purposes, particularly those interested in advancing scholarly work in the field of hurricane risk reduction, preparedness, and adaptation.

Results and related findings from this renewed collection will be published in academic and professional literature to reach a broad range of stakeholders and interested audiences and shared with research participants and other key stakeholders as requested or otherwise deemed appropriate. Results and findings also will be presented to government, private sector, and civil society organizations and actors through public meetings, academic conferences, and other venues.

4. How will the information be collected (e.g., forms, non-forms, electronically, face-to-face, over the phone, over the Internet)? Does the respondent have multiple options for providing the information? If so, what are they?

A researcher-administered questionnaire will be the primary data collection method. Given relatively low response and success rates with self-administered surveys in agriculture, forest, and rural communities in much of the study region (see for example Alvarez-Berrios et al. 2021; Rodriguez-Cruz and Niles 2021), this data collection method is deemed most appropriate for collecting the types of information sought through this request. Well-established methods will be used to contact individuals and maximize response rates (see for ex. Dillman et al. 2014; Krueger and Casey 2009; Patton 2002). Participants will have the option to participate in an in-person or video conference to complete the researcher-administered questionnaire at an agreed date, time, and location. Given the timing of this collection and the ongoing COVID pandemic, social distancing and all other public health measures will be taken to protect the safety of participants and research team members.

A member of the research team will record participant responses to the questionnaire, using pen and paper or on an electronic tablet during the researcher-administered questionnaire. The implementation of the questionnaire will be audio recorded with participant permission to accurately capture participant responses, facilitate subsequent data analysis, and reduce response burden on participants. Recordings will only be accessible to and used by the research team to ensure the accuracy of questionnaire responses noted by the researcher who administers the questionnaire. No personal identifiable information will be collected, and research participants will be provided a statement of confidentiality protecting their anonymity in any reported results.

5. How frequently will the information be collected?

The information will be collected one time from each research participant unless follow-up contacts are needed for clarification or requested by the participant.

6. Will the information be shared with any other organizations inside or outside USDA or the government?

Record-level (raw) data will not be available outside the research team and no statistical summaries will be released that could potentially be used to identify individual respondents. Quantitative and qualitative summaries will be widely distributed through publications, on-line information sources, academic conferences, and other fora. These products will be available to public agencies, private organizations, and individuals.

7. If this is an ongoing collection, how have the collection requirements changed over time?

This is a renewal of an existing collection (0596-0246) with revisions to the data collection methods from focus groups and in-depth interviews to a researcher-administered questionnaire. This new collection method builds from the previously approved instruments, gathering similar information but in a more quantitative approach through mostly multiple choice and closed questions developed from results and findings generated through the previously approved information collection. Implementation of this researcher-administered questionnaire reduces the response burden on individual participants while also permitting an increase in the number of participants and data to be collected.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of auto­mat­ed, elec­tronic, mechani­cal, or other techno­log­ical collection techniques or other forms of information technol­o­gy, e.g. permit­ting elec­tronic sub­mission of respons­es, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also describe any con­sideration of using in­fo­r­m­a­t­ion technolo­gy to re­duce bur­den.

The primary data collection instrument is a researcher-administered questionnaire. All respondents will be given the option to complete the questionnaire in-person, over the phone, or via video conference. This multi-modal approach will reduce individual level burden by allowing participants to select the method that is most convenient for them.

Researcher recorded responses and audio recordings of the administered questionnaire reduce burden by eliminating the need for participants to write down their responses. Electronic respondent-reporting is not considered to be the most effective for this research and its objectives, given relatively low response and successful contact rates in these sectors in this region (see for ex. Alvarez-Berrios et al. 2021), the potentially limited familiarity with the technology required for on-line response submissions by some groups within the populations of interest, and inconsistent or lack of internet access in some parts of the study area.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplica­tion. Show specifically why any sim­ilar in­for­mation already avail­able cannot be used or modified for use for the purpos­es de­scri­bed in Item 2 above.

The research team works closely with other Federal, commonwealth, and territory agencies as well as universities and civil society organizations to monitor research related to agriculture, forestry, and rural communities in the U.S. Caribbean, and more specifically related to hurricane vulnerabilities, readiness, and resilience among these communities. Some studies have been done on specific sectors, subsectors, or sites, but no other studies of similar extent or content are known to be in progress or planned for the U.S. Caribbean. The research team will continue to collaborate with key partners on this research and keep them informed about its progress and outcomes.

4. If the collection of information im­pacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to mini­mize burden.

The research population of interest encompasses all individuals and entities who own, lease, and/or otherwise manage farm and forest land in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which includes some small businesses. No small business will be asked to participate more than once in this information collection. We have limited the number of responses to the minimum deemed necessary for the study objectives and information needs and provided multiple participation options (i.e., in person, telephone, or videoconference questionnaire administration) to minimize the response burden on small businesses and other participants. Participation is voluntary and respondents will be informed that they can limit the time given to researchers and may discontinue participation at any time during the questionnaire.

4. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is con­ducted less fre­quent­ly, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

The data to be gathered through this information collection are not available from any other known sources. Results and findings will inform ongoing agriculture, forest, and rural community recovery and restoration efforts by USDA, its partners, and others in the region and contribute important information for their efficiency and effectiveness. These data also are important to longer-term efforts focused on agriculture, forestry, and rural community hurricane preparedness and resilience and may provide new knowledge and prompt further research that could result in changes to, or enhancements of, the delivery of related programs, products, services, and information. Without the information from this collection, USDA and other Federal agencies may not meet legislative requirements under the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978, among other requirements, priorities, and goals noted above. Lack of this type of information would affect farm and forest owners’ and managers’ ability to better mitigate, adapt to, prepare for, and recover from hurricanes in the future. Moreover, if this information is not collected, progress on agriculture, forestry, and rural community resilience, sustainability, and disaster risk and vulnerability reduction throughout the region could be diminished.

4. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an Information Collection to be con­ducted in a manner:

• Requiring respondents to report informa­tion to the agency more often than quarterly;

• Requiring respondents to prepare a writ­ten response to a collection of infor­ma­tion in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

• Requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any docu­ment;

• Requiring respondents to retain re­cords, other than health, medical, governm­ent contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;

• In connection with a statisti­cal sur­vey, that is not de­signed to produce valid and reli­able results that can be general­ized to the uni­verse of study;

• Requiring the use of a statis­tical data classi­fication that has not been re­vie­wed and approved by OMB;

• That includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by au­thority estab­lished in statute or regu­la­tion, that is not sup­ported by dis­closure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unneces­sarily impedes shar­ing of data with other agencies for com­patible confiden­tial use; or

• Requiring respondents to submit propri­etary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demon­strate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentiality to the extent permit­ted by law.

The collection of information is conducted in a manner consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5. There are no special circumstances associated with this information collection. Although there is no requirement to respond within 30 days because participation is voluntary, due to the nature of the proposed research, respondents will typically respond in fewer than 30 days of receipt of the request to participate.

4. If applicable, provide a copy and iden­tify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8 (d), soliciting com­ments on the Information Collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public com­ments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address com­ments received on cost and hour burden.

Describe efforts to consult with persons out­side the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and record keeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

The 60-day request for public comment was published in the Federal Register on November 12, 2021 Vol. 86, No. 216, pages 62775-62776. No comments were received in response to the notice.

Individuals from the following organizations have reviewed the information collection and related materials and provided useful feedback on the research approach as well as the availability of data, clarity of instructions and record keeping, disclosure, and proposed reporting format and elements to be recorded, disclosed and reported. All feedback is reflected in the final versions of the collection materials and plans submitted for OMB approval.

USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Caribbean Area Director, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, (o) 787-281-4836, (c) 787-405-7368

USDA, Agriculture Research Service (ARS), Tropical Crops and Germplasm Research Leader, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, 787-831-3435 ext. 226

USDA Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry, Research Fellow, 787-764-7172

Professor, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, NC State University, 919-630-8928

USDA Forest Service, National Program Leader for Social Science Research, 202-841-8819

Mathematical Statistician, USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 202- 692-0310

Consultation with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained or those who must compile records should occur at least once every 3 years even if the col­lection of information activity is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may preclude consultation in a specific situation. These circumstances should be explained.

Efforts to consult with potential respondents (less than 10 per year) to obtain their views on the availability of data, clarity of instructions, simplifying data collection processes, etc., may be undertaken as part of further pilot testing conducted under this approval.

4. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than re-enumeration of contractors or grantees.

Responses are voluntary, and no payments or gifts will be provided to any respondents.

4. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

Identification of any person who supplied information for this collection will be kept confidential. Respondent confidentiality and anonymity will be assured by keeping any personally identifying information separate from research administered questionnaires. A confidentiality statement will be provided to each respondent indicating: “Participation in this research is voluntary. Your statements and answers to questions will be kept confidential and will be combined with those of others. The results will only be used to determine patterns and trends. No personally identifiable information will be included in the reporting of research results.”

In case of FOIA requests for specific information, we will disclose what is required by law. Personal or financial information would be kept confidential under FOIA exemptions 4 (“information that concerns business trade secrets or other confidential commercial or financial information”) and 6 (“information that, if disclosed, would invade another individual's personal privacy”).

4. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior or attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

No information of a sensitive nature will be collected or asked. Furthermore, research participants will be informed that they need not provide answers to any questions which they choose not to answer for any reason, that their participation is completely voluntary, and that there is no penalty for non-participation.

4. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated.

• Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form.

a) Description of the collection activity

b) Corresponding form number (if applicable)

c) Number of respondents

d) Number of responses annually per respondent,

e) Total annual responses (columns c x d)

f) Estimated hours per response

g) Total annual burden hours (columns e x f)

Burden was estimated based on data acquisition experience, pretesting of the information collection instrument, and general survey response rates for the region. An estimated 220 individuals will participate in this information collection on an annual basis for the approved period of three years. The estimated burden for each respondent is 35 minutes including time to respond to the researcher-administered questionnaire and read the questionnaire invitation and follow up materials. The estimated total annual burden for respondents is 128 hours. It is estimated that an additional 180 individuals will be asked to participate in this information collection on an annual basis but will decline to participate. The estimated average burden for each non respondent is 2 to 10 minutes with a total nonrespondent annual burden of 2.64 hours. The total annual burden estimate for respondents and nonrespondents is 131 hours. (See supplemental document 0596-0246 Table 12.1)

We estimate the total dollar value of the annual burden hours for this collection for respondents and non-respondents is $3,738.74. We arrived at this figure by multiplying the estimated annual burden hours by $28.54, the wage rate (including benefits) based on the Independent Sector national valuation of volunteer time for 2021. https://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time. We used this rate because this research is expected to draw people from a wide range of employments, cultural backgrounds, ages, locations, and life circumstances in the U.S. Caribbean.

Record keeping burden should be addressed separately and should include columns for:

a) Description of record keeping activity:

b) Number of record keepers:

c) Annual hours per record keeper:

d) Total annual record keeping hours (columns b x c):

No record keeping is required by respondents for this information collection.

Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories.

See above

4. Provide estimates of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information, (do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in items 12 and 14). The cost estimates should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start-up cost component annualized over its expected useful life; and (b) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of services component.

No capital operation or maintenance costs are needed for this information collection.

4. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government. Provide a description of the method used to estimate cost and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.

The response to this question covers the actual costs the agency will incur as a result of implementing the Information Collection. The estimate should cover the entire life cycle of the collection and include costs, if applicable, for:

• Employee labor and materials for developing, printing, storing forms

• Employee labor and materials for developing computer systems, screens, or reports to support the collection

• Employee travel costs

• Cost of contractor services or other reimbursements to individuals or organizations assisting in the collection of information

• Employee labor and materials for collecting the information

• Employee labor and materials for analyzing, evaluating, summarizing, and/or reporting on the collected information

The total cost to the Federal government for implementing this information request will be approximately $72,173 (Table 14.1). Labor costs are based on the estimated number of hours to complete each task, the grade level of the people required to complete the task, and the salaries as reported in the Office of Personnel Management – 2021 Salary Tables. Other expenses are based on the proposed sample size and the prevailing costs for procuring the necessary materials, as follows:

Table 14.1 Budget Summary

ACTION ITEM	Personnel	GS Level	Hourly Rate	Annual Cost
Project coordination Labor	1	13	$65.92	$13,711
Questionnaire implementation
Labor	3	12	$59.08	$18,906
Materials				$5,500
Travel				$8,000
Data management and processing	1	11	$51.44	$12,345
Data analysis and write-up Labor	1	13	$65.92	$13,711
TOTAL				$72,173

4. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in items 13 or 14 of OMB form 83-I.

This information collection is a renewal of a previously approved information collection OMB 0596-0246. The previous information collection was approved for an annual burden of 226 hours. The annual burden for this approval is 131 hours. Annual burden was decreased primarily through the development of a researcher-administered questionnaire requiring less burden hours to complete per respondent that the previously approved focus group and in-depth interview methods.

4. For collections of information whose results are planned to be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication.

Results from the analysis will be presented in narrative, tabular, graphic, and other formats and presented directly to decision-makers, practitioners, landowners, community members, and other key stakeholders, in public and scientific fora, as part of scientific peer-reviewed published papers, and in various other forms (e.g., Forest Service General Technical Report) and media (e.g., agency webpages). The presentation and dissemination of research results will aim to maximize the usage and accessibility of the research and its findings. Where requested and appropriate, presentations that summarize the data and findings will be shared with research participants and other community stakeholders.

4. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the Information Collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

The OMB control number and expiration date will be displayed on all Information Collection instruments and relayed to respondents in all communications related to the research. No exemption is requested.

4. Explain each exception to the certification statement, "Certification Requirement for Paperwork Reduction Act."

The agency is able to certify compliance with 5 CFR 1320.

References:

Doocy, S., Dick, A., Daniels, A., Kirsch, T.D., 2013. The Human Impact of Tropical Cyclones: A Historical Review. PLoS Curr. Disasters 1–38.

Emanuel, K., 2020. Evidence that hurricanes are getting stronger. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2007742117

Emanuel, K., 2005. Increasing destructiveness of tropical cyclones over the past 30 years. Nature 436, 686–688. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03906

Gould, W.A., Díaz, E.L., Álvarez-Berríos, N., Aponte-Gonzalez, F., Archibald, W., Bowden, J.H., Carrubba, L., Crespo, W., Fain, S.J., González, G., Goulbourne, A., Harmsen, E., Holupchinski, E., Khalyani, A.H., Kossin, J.P., Leinberger, A.J., Marrero-Santiago, V.I., Martinez-Sanchez, O., McGinley, K., Oyola, M.M., Méndez-Lázaro, P., Mercado-Irizarry, A., Morell, J., Parés-Ramos, I. k., Pulwarty, R.S., Terando, A., Torres-Gonzalez, S., 2018. Chapter 20 : US Caribbean. Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: The Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II II. https://doi.org/10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH20

Hallegatte, S., Rentschler, J., Rozenberg, J., 2020. The Adaptation Principles: A Guide for Designing Strategies for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience, World Bank Group.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2012. Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation, Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. Cambridge University Press, New York. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139177245

Pascaline, W., House, R., McClean, D., Below, R., 2018. UNISDR and CRED report: Economic Losses, Poverty & Disasters (1998 - 2017). Unisdr - Cred 6.

Pielke, R.A., Rubiera, J., Landsea, C., Fernández, M.L., Klein, R., 2003. Hurricane Vulnerability in Latin America and The Caribbean: Normalized Damage and Loss Potentials. Nat. Hazards Rev. 4. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)1527-6988(2003)4:3(101)

Scandurra, G., Romano, A.A., Ronghi, M., Carfora, A., 2018. On the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States: A dynamic analysis. Ecol. Indic. 84, 382–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.09.016

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