The Emergency Support Function Leadership Group—a group of coordinating federal agencies led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency—provides this collection of over 300 datasets and models for disaster planning and recovery. Information can be filtered by disaster type, ownership, Emergency Support Function, Recovery Support Function, or keyword. The inventory was built from a comprehensive analysis of the data and models used to support emergency management decision making for floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, biological scenarios, and nuclear detonation scenarios. The tool provides a comprehensive list of models and datasets for each hazard, with descriptions for use and access instructions included for each. The entire inventory is available for download from the website, and a network map and other inventory analyses are also provided.

Only those datasets or models currently used at the federal level are included in the inventory. While models and data analysis tools under development or not currently used to support emergency management activities were identified, they were not included in this inventory. The inclusion of only used and operational datasets and models enables an analysis of how information currently travels within the interagency group and results in a streamlined resource containing information immediately useful for emergency managers.

Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) describe a federal coordinating structure for the key functional areas that are most frequently needed in a national response. These ESFs bring together capabilities and national assets of various federal departments and agencies. All 15 identified ESFs are included in the inventory: Transportation; Communications; Public Works and Engineering; Firefighting; Information and Planning; Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human Services; Logistics Management and Resource Support; Public Health and Medical Services; Search and Rescue; Oil and Hazardous Materials Response; Agriculture and Natural Resources; Energy; Public Safety and Security; and External Affairs. 

Within the National Disaster Recovery Framework, Recovery Support Functions (RSFs) describe the federal coordinating structure for key functional areas of assistance related to recovery. RSFs are organized into six components, and bring together core recovery capabilities of federal departments, agencies, and supporting organizations to focus on community recovery needs. These include Community Planning and Capacity Building, Economic Recovery, Health and Social Services, Housing, Infrastructure Systems, and Natural and Cultural Resources.