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A program specifications document is required for communities participating in HUD’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. The document provides a framework for materials and construction methods that addresses common needs encountered by the program, from inception to closeout.

Below, IBTS Build it Back Recovery Team Project Leader Josh Cummings provides tips for localities beginning the process of developing a program specifications document.

Identify the scope of work that will be performed with the CDBG funds.

• Ask questions like: Are the homes in this location historic, wood-framed, single-story, affected by a hurricane or an earthquake? Are they subject to environmental hazards, such as asbestos?
• HUD requires that CDBG programs provide, “decent, safe, and sanitary” conditions, but definition of those variables is fairly open.

Focus your document on three key areas: materials, performance and processes. 

• The document itself will be broken down into chapters each addressing a different need, but three areas will need to be integrated and applied to each area of a dwelling.

Define what the program does not intend to address, such as non-compliant cellar spaces.

• This will focus the document and prevent time lost on less relevant issues.

Consider hiring a local subject matter expert to help create the program specifications document.

• They are familiar with local, state and federal regulations, and can help identify appropriate materials and suppliers and local building standards that should be applied to the program. In large, urban area, such as New York City, multiple SMEs may be required.

Don’t reinvent the wheel; use resources on material specifications for the built environment that are already available. 

• Cummings suggests using ARCAT, SWEETS or The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) to find a wealth of relevant resources.
• Local material suppliers, such as a concrete plant, can also be helpful during document preparation.