Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to identify the sectors or aspects of community life and economy that will require the support of long-term recovery planning and operations while separating recovery needs, people, resources, and activities into logical functioning groups, coordination, and clarity of purpose.
Why?
Disasters come with varying levels of impact throughout multiple sectors of the community. There is no telling how one disaster will impact a community versus another. More information on the State EOC Public Information Status Report. Coordinating disaster recovery support is an “all hands on deck” endeavor that involves support from both government and non-governmental organizations and entities.
Many states and communities align recovery assistance with sectors using a Recovery Support Function (RSF) construct. The RSFs address both sectoral and functional recovery support needs. It can be inefficient and even counterproductive to group all activities and issues under a single coordination structure because the scope and nature of these can differ markedly between sectors. The use of RSFs:
- Helps ensure that recovery planning is scalable and flexible.
- Allows for a high degree of activity and resources only where they are needed.
- Creates chains of command wherein leaders or coordinators have the knowledge, skills, and backgrounds relevant to the needs that will be addressed.
When?
Your community recovery planners begin to identify recovery sectors during the disaster assessment process. These sectors are reflected in the activation of Emergency Support Functions (ESF) within the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). RSFs are identified and activated by the recovery leader at (or before) the deactivation of the EOC and transition from response to recovery. (Days 31-60)
Tips
- Your community’s disaster assessment methodologies should structure data collection to support a sectoring process.
- If disaster recovery plans or frameworks are in place before a disaster, and RSFs have been established, then assessment checklists or guidelines should structure information accordingly.
- Build off the sectors identified in your community emergency operations or recovery plans.
- Even if your community does not have an existing RSF construct in place (such as in a pre-disaster recovery plan), recovery activity can be coordinated according to the functions outlined in the State Emergency Operations Plan.
- Consider your community’s own needs, preferences, capabilities, and resources and determine what structuring makes the most sense to you.
How does my community do this?
- Identify which societal and economic sectors will require recovery support. Be sure to obtain input from sector partners, stakeholders, and subject matter experts. Ensure that recovery sector representatives, or RSF stakeholders if RSFs have been previously established, are actively engaged in the disaster damage and needs assessment efforts (ultimately determining RSFs activation). Consider prioritizing by the following factors:
- The nature of losses and damages, including their long-term implications to your community.
- The vulnerability drivers that enabled or contributed to the damage and/or destruction, and how those vulnerabilities differ between different community groups or geographic areas.
- The options and opportunities exist to address vulnerabilities, risk, and resilience.
- The associated short- and long-term recovery timelines.
- Determine which RSFs, if any, require activation, and inform RSF lead and support agencies. The Colorado State Emergency Operations Plan (SEOP) (Pages 23-24) has incorporated a system of sectoring that is aligned with the National Disaster Response Framework (NDRF) (Pages 24-32). The NDRF utilizes 6 RSFs, and Colorado SEOP further segments these into 13 State RSFs. Upon deciding that one or more RSFs require activation, RSF lead, and support agencies are notified and mobilized. The recovery manager, in consultation with the recovery organization, will determine the meeting frequency of activated RSFs and outline expectations. Establish sector-specific coordination mechanisms as a component of post-disaster recovery planning.
- Activate appropriate and needed RSFs. The RSFs (or their equivalent) will be activated or established at the discretion of the recovery manager. Depending on the size and scope of the disaster, the RSF stakeholders may report directly to the recovery manager, the recovery committee, or an Operations Section Chief, if one has been designated for recovery efforts. Certain RSFs have subcategories that may also be activated as needed.
Community Call Out: Douglas County
Douglas County’s pre-disaster recovery plan organizes recovery efforts according to seven RSFs. One of those RSFs is the Economic RSF and illustrates how sectoring through an RSF construct helps to better group stakeholders, resources, and activities around a defined mission. In the case of the Economic RSF, its mission is to sustain and/or rebuild businesses and employment and develop economic opportunities that result in a sustainable and economically resilient county after large-scale and catastrophic incidents. The RSF provides structure to the specific recovery functions that may be needed should this sector be impacted. They include Supply Chain Recovery, Employment Recovery, and Business Restoration Recovery.
This RSF is led by several agencies (Douglas County Economic Development, City and Town Managers, and County Admin & Finance), indicative of the activities that would be addressed by those agencies. RSF support agencies, which are indicative of the ‘whole community’ nature of recovery, include:
- Douglas County Governments
- Douglas County Treasurer Support Organizations
- Local large businesses Support Organizations
- Local Chambers of Commerce
- Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA)
- Colorado Department of Agriculture Support Agencies
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)