Understanding and characterising a healthy nuclear safety culture is of ongoing importance, and human aspects, including leadership at all levels and organisational factors, are essential to every aspect of effective regulatory activities. In addition, the relationships and interactions of the regulator with licensees, political/governmental entities and other stakeholders have a mutual impact on the safety culture of the regulatory body and others, as they are all part of a wider interconnected system.

The Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) first established a Working Group on Safety Culture (WGSC) on 6 July 2017 to provide a targeted focus on safety culture from the regulatory perspective, with members drawn especially from the managerial level. Due to the importance of leadership influencing safety culture and vice versa to the effectiveness of a regulatory body, this group was subsequently restructured as the Working Group on Leadership and Safety Culture (WGLSC) with the aim to provide a forum for member countries to collaboratively address complex issues regarding leadership and safety culture to improve regulatory effectiveness and ensure that licensees meet the ultimate responsibility for ensuring safety. The priorities to be addressed are safety culture and leadership related to regulatory bodies and the wider interconnected system, with the specific areas of focus to be discussed and decided by the working group members.

The aim of the WGLSC is to exchange information and experiences at the senior regulatory level and provide practical, innovative products to support the leadership and safety culture of the regulatory body and wider interconnected system. The WGLSC fosters discussion and the exchange of information, and considers various practical approaches to developing and sustaining effective leadership and a healthy safety culture within the wider interconnected system to ensure safety. The WGLSC is focused on leadership and safety culture related to regulatory activities, whilst appreciating the mutual impact of the operator and other stakeholders within the wider interconnected system.

The WGLSC will:

• Identify and capture best practices on how the leadership, human aspects and safety culture of the regulator affects the regulated entity’s safety culture, and vice versa;
• Propose regulatory oversight approaches or methods that enhance leadership and safety culture within the regulated organisations;
• Assist in the development and maintenance of effective leadership and a healthy safety culture within regulatory bodies and in the wider interconnected system;
• Develop practical implementation tools for developing a healthy safety culture;
• Promote the use of regulator safety culture programmes and approaches that positively influence safety within regulatory bodies and in the wider interconnected system; and
• Compile the experiences and lessons learnt associated with the implementation of policies and strategies to support effective leadership and a healthy safety culture and make recommendations, as appropriate.