Effective knowledge transfer between researchers and practitioners within the hazards and disaster domain has long been a challenging task. The diversity of hazard researchers and practitioners, as well as the high stakes of applying research outcomes, have contributed to the issue. This research aims to explore potential discrepancies between researchers and practitioners’ perspectives regarding post-disaster recovery needs. To achieve the objective of this research, a survey was developed and conducted during the 2019 Natural Hazards Workshop in Broomfield, Colorado, which is host to individuals from various career backgrounds, including researchers, practitioners, policymakers, students, etc. Exploratory factor analysis and elastic net regression were used to provide a link between individuals’ awareness of these challenges and their personal attributes. Results highlighted the discrepancies between researchers and practitioners in how they perceive and prioritize recovery needs. Results from this research can be used to bridge the existing perception gap with the goal of devising policies that can improve recovery by addressing the needs more realistically.