Generic Application

Request for Approval under the
“Generic Clearance for FEMA’s Collection of Feedback on Customer Satisfaction
and Disaster Recovery”
(OMB Control Number: 1660-0164)
(Please refer to the instructions starting on page 4.)
TITLE OF SUB-COLLECTION: Long-Term Recovery Surveys
FEMA Form FF-xxx-FY-xx-xxx (formerly xxx-x-xx), Name of Instrument(s)
FEMA Form FF-104-FY-21-101, For Long-Term Recovery Survey Restoration: 6 months
FEMA Form FF-104-FY-21-101-A, Long-Term Recovery Survey Restoration: 6 months [SPANISH]
FEMA Form FF-104-FY-21-103, Long-Term Recovery Survey Reconstruction I: 12 months
FEMA Form FF-104-FY-21-103-A, Long-Term Recovery Survey Reconstruction I: 12 months
[SPANISH]
FEMA Form FF-104-FY-21-105, Long-Term Recovery Survey Reconstruction I: 18 months
FEMA Form FF-104-FY-21-105-A, Long-Term Recovery Survey Reconstruction I: 18 months
[SPANISH]
FEMA Form FF-104-FY-21-107, Long-Term Recovery Survey Reconstruction II: 24 months
FEMA Form FF-104-FY-21-107-A, Long-Term Recovery Survey Reconstruction II: 24 months
[SPANISH]
PURPOSE:
The purpose of the Long-Term Recovery (LTR) Surveys are to provide a longitudinal view of how
individuals and households recover over time after registering for FEMA assistance. Although FEMA
financial assistance can be delivered in the first few weeks or months following a disaster, recovery is
typically a much longer process that can stretch on for years. Survey responses are used to understand
displacement periods, temporary housing needs, current recovery levels, community recovery
progression, and the helpfulness of FEMA services and financial assistance in the recovery process.
The LTR Surveys were first administered in October 2021 under IC 1660-0130. Survey responses are
collected from the same respondent at four time points following FEMA registration: 6 months, 12
months, 18 months, and 24 months. The data collected is used to examine trends in recovery over time
and highlight areas that may need further research. The survey collection is not designed to draw
statistical conclusions about all FEMA registrants.
Emergency Management research supports that recovery from a significant disaster is complex and
moves through different phases. The Long-Term Recovery Surveys were designed to capture feedback
from disaster survivors as they move through the different phases in the recovery process. The recovery
periods identified in the LTR Surveys are as follows:

•
•
•
•

Long-Term Recovery Survey Restoration: 6 months
o Begins as search and rescue ends, sheltering and feeding winds down, and cleaning of
debris from main areas is complete.
Long-Term Recovery Survey Reconstruction I: 12 months
o Begins as restoration ends and includes rebuilding and replacing as well as normal
activities returning to pre-disaster level.
Long Term Recovery Survey Reconstruction I: 18 months
o Still in the rebuilding and replacing phase depending on disaster size. Normal activities
returning to pre-disaster level.
Long-Term Recovery Survey Reconstruction II: 24 months
o This phase captures major construction and improvement projects initiated by
homeowners, businesses, community, and government. At the 24-month mark, many
projects will be completed or underway depending on scope of disaster.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS
Survey respondents are individuals and households who registered for FEMA assistance and have a
valid email address associated with their application. Survey invitations are only administered via
email. This is mainly due to the large volume of invitations required to conduct a longitudinal study. If
language preference during FEMA registration was recorded as Spanish, then respondents receive a
Spanish version of the survey (all questions identical). For disasters with less than 50,000 registrants, all
FEMA applicants receive a survey invitation for the first LTR Survey (6 months). For very large
disasters (over 50,000 applicants), a random sample may be used to reduce stress on the survey
software. Pilot data from the first 2-year LTR cycle indicates that 50,000 sample at LTR1 is large
enough to still have ~400 completions at LTR4.
TYPE OF RESPONDENTS: (Check one)
[ X] Individuals and Households
[ ] State, Local, or Tribal Governments

[ ] Private Sector
[ ] Federal Government

TYPE OF COLLECTION INSTRUMENT: (Check one)
[ ] Quantitative Customer Satisfaction Surveys
[ ] Focus Groups
[ ] Discussion Groups

[X] Qualitative Customer Satisfaction Surveys
[ ] Interviews
[ ] Other:

PRIVACY INFORMATION:
1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [ X ] No
2. Is there a Privacy Threshold Analysis (PTA) approved by DHS? [X] Yes [ ] No
a. Date of Approval: August 15, 2024
3. Is Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) coverage required? [X] Yes [ ] No
a. Applicable PIA(s): DHS/FEMA/PIA-035 Customer Satisfaction Analysis System (CSAS)
(with the understanding that an update to PIA-035 and associated name change is
forthcoming)
4. Is System of Records Notice (SORN) coverage required? [ ] Yes [ X ] No

a. Applicable SORN(s):
ELECTRONIC COLLECTION
1. What percentage of responses are collected by electronic means? 100%
2. What is the website URL or email address that collects the response? Each respondent receives a
unique emailed survey link. If a respondent registered for FEMA with a language preference of
Spanish, they receive the email invitation in Spanish. Respondents have the option to change to
English on page one of survey. All respondents receive an invitation from the following email
address:
• From: Federal Emergency Management Agency [email protected]
GIFTS OR PAYMENTS:
Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to
participants? [ ] Yes [ X] No
SUPPORTING STATEMENT B:
1. Does the instrument collect information expected to yield statistically reliable results or used as
though the results are generalizable to the population of study? [ ] Yes [X ] No
2. If so, is there a Supporting Statement B included? [ ] Yes [ X] No
USABILITY TESTING:
1. Has useability testing been conducted on this instrument? [X ] Yes [ ] No
Usability testing was conducted prior to survey administration in 2022. Longitudinal surveys
largely need to be kept the same in order to be able to study trends over time. No changes are
being made to the question content for this submission.
2. Please provide a short narrative answering the following questions about your usability testing.
•

•

•
•

What was the purpose of the usability testing?
o The purpose of the original testing was primarily for time trials, question clarity,
comprehensive response options, survey simplicity, 508 compliance, and navigating
the survey (how it’s displayed/functionality).
How was the useability testing conducted?
o Most of the testing was conducted in-house. We have a quality assurance and
platform management team that develops rigorous testing plans. We also have a team
of survey interviewers (who were unfamiliar with the survey) that were selected to
complete time trials and to give feedback on question clarity. The survey was also
put through a readability checker.
How many participants and what was their familiarity with the collection?
o Approximately 5 interviewers participated. They were FEMA employees but had not
seen the surveys prior to testing.
What were the results of the useability testing?
o Prior to launching in 2022, the survey went through several revisions based on
feedback provided by testers.

•
•

•

What did you find (burden, ease of use, etc.)?
o The survey was generally easy to use and navigate, although there were a lot of
questions.
What did the participants recommend?
o Shortening where possible, which we did. The survey is still long due to
requirements from stakeholders. That being said, response rates were higher than
expected for the survey.
What changes, if any, will be made to the collection?
o None at the moment. We do include a help link for respondents to report any issues
with the survey, whether it be technical or related to the questions themselves.

BURDEN: The estimated annual burden hours to respondents is 10,607 hours.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours and Costs

Type of
Respondent

Individuals
or
Households

Individuals
or
Households

Individuals
or
Households

Individuals
or
Households

Form Name /
Form No.

Long-Term
Recovery Survey
Restoration: 6
months (English
and Spanish)
Long-Term
Recovery Survey
Reconstruction I:
12 months
(English and
Spanish)
Long-Term
Recovery Survey
Reconstruction I:
18 months
(English and
Spanish)
Long-Term
Recovery Survey
Reconstruction II:
24 months
(English and
Spanish)

Totals

No. of
Respondents

No. of
Responses per
Respondent

Total No.
of
Responses

Avg.
Burden per
Response
(in hours)

Total
Annual
Burden
(in
Hours)

Avg.
Hourly
Wage
Rate with
1.45
Multiplier

Total
Annual
Respondent
Cost

30897

1

30897

0.2333

7208

$45.65

$329,056.57

13035

1

13035

0.1500

1955

$45.65

$89,260.18

7210

1

7210

0.1333

961

$45.65

$43,871.77

4829

1

4829

0.1000

483

$45.65

$22,042.24

55971

55971

10607

$484,230.75

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal Government is $ 312,254.
CERTIFICATION:
I certify the following to be true:
1. The information will only be collected from disaster survivors who have applied for one of FEMA’s
assistance programs.
2. The information collection will only be used internally for general service improvement and
program management purposes.
3. All instruments collecting information that is expected to yield statistically reliable results or used as
thought the results are generalizable to the population of study with be submitted with a Supporting
Statement B included in the sub-application.
4. All instruments have undergone usability testing to improve the customer experience for
respondents.
5. All instruments are designed and reviewed to impose as little burden as possible on the respondents.
6. All responses will be voluntary.
7. Any 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 near future.

8. The collection of information is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other
Federal Agencies.
9. PII is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained.
10. The Agency needs to collect necessary information to perform these activities.

Digital Signature:

CHAD E FABER

Digitally signed by CHAD E
FABER
Date: 2024.09.30 10:50:56 -05'00'

Please make sure that all instruments, privacy documents (PTA, PIA, and/or SORN), instructions,
and scripts are submitted with the request.

Instructions for Completing Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance
for FEMA's Collection of Feedback on Customer Satisfaction and Disaster
Recovery”
(OMB Control Number: 1660-0164)
TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the instrument being submitted
as a sub-collection and the FEMA Form Number.
(Format: “FEMA Form FF-xxx-FY-xx-xxx (formerly xxx-x-xx), Name of Instrument”)
PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this
is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.
LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY: Please list any Public Laws, statutes, Executive Orders, regulations,
Department policies, and/or Agency policies that authorize FEMA to collect and use this information.
Please use correct legal citation in a simple list.
TYPE OF RESPONDENTS: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following
categories: (1) Individuals or Households;(2) Private Sector; (3) State, Local, or Tribal Governments; or
(4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected.
TYPE OF COLLECTION INSTRUMENT: Select one of the provided options. If you are requesting
approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete an application for each instrument.
PRIVACY INFORMATION: Please select a provided option for each of the numbered questions. For
any questions that you select “Yes”, please provide the requested information in the second line. Please
contact FEMA’s Privacy Division at [email protected] for any questions regarding your
PTA, PIA, SORN or other privacy documents.
ELECTRONIC COLLECTION: Please provide answers to the questions.
GIFTS OR PAYMENTS: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide
a justification for the amount.
SUPPORTING STATEMENT B: If you answer yes to the first question, please respond to the
second. If you answer no to the first question, please skip the second question.
USABILITY TESTING: Please provide answers to the questions. Testing should be completed prior
to submitting this application to FEMA’s PRA Office.
BURDEN HOURS: If you have questions about how to calculate these numbers, please reach out to
the economists in the Office of Chief Counsel's Regulatory Affairs Division (Point of Contact: Michael
Conforti, Jr at [email protected]).

Type of Respondent: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following
categories: (1) Individuals or Households;(2) Private Sector; (3) State, Local, or Tribal Governments; or
(4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected.
Form Name / Form No.: Provide the name of the instrument and the FEMA Form Number.
No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the number of Respondents.
No. of Responses per Respondent: Provide an estimate of how many times a year that each
Respondent is expected to provide a response.
Total No. of Responses: Multiply the number of Respondents from the third column and the number of
responses per Respondent in the fourth column to determine the total number of responses.
Avg. Burden per Response (in hours): Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a
respondent to complete the instrument in hours (See DHS’s Burden Conversion Table for conversion of
minutes to decimal units of an hour).
Total Annual Burden (in hours): Multiply the total number of responses in the fifth column and the
average burden per response from the sixth column to determine the total annual burden for the
instrument.
Avg. Hourly Wage Rate: Enter the fully-loaded wage rate in this column. Determine the fully-loaded
wage rate by multiplying the non-loaded “Avg. Hourly Wage Rate” from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, Table 1 by either a wage rate multiplier of 1.61 for
State, Local, or Tribal Government or a wage rate multiplier of 1.45 for Federal Government.
Total Annual Respondent Cost: Multiply the total annual burden (in hours) in the seventh column and
the average hourly wage rate from the eighth column to determine the total annual respondent cost for
the instrument.
Totals: Add up the totals for number of Respondents for all instruments in this submission in the third
column, the total number of responses for all instruments in this submission in the fifth column, the total
annual burden hours in the seventh column, and the total annual respondent cost in the ninth column in
the bottom row.
FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal Government. This is the total
amount of contract costs, staff salaries, special facilities, computer equipment and other associated costs
that you would list in Question 14 of the Supporting Statement A. We just need the total.
CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection
will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.
DIGITAL SIGNATURE: Apply the digital signature of the appropriate official within the Program
Office; Branch Chief or higher.
Please make sure that all instruments, privacy documents (PTA, PIA, and/or SORN), instructions,
and scripts are submitted with the request.