NEA Mandates and Structures

Working Group on Leadership and Safety Culture (WGLSC)

Mandate (Document reference):

• Summary record of the 36^th Meeting of the Committee of Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) held on 5-6 December 2016 [NEA/SEN/NRA(2016)4]
• Summary record of the 37^th Meeting of the Committee of Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) held on 29-30 May 2017 [NEA/SEN/NRA(2017)3]
• 2017-2022 CNRA Operating Plan and Guidelines [NEA/CNRA/R(2017)5/REV2]
• Participant Status of India in the CNRA and its subsidiary bodies: 2018 Update of the NEA Participation Plan [NEA/NE(2018)8] and official letter received from India on 15 October 2018 confirming its acceptance of Participant Status in the CNRA and its subsidiary bodies
• Summary record of the 44^th Meeting on the CNRA held on 30 November - 1 December 2020 [NEA/SEN/NRA(2020)2]
• Summary record of the 47^th Meeting of the of the Committee of Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) held on 2-3 June 2022 [NEA/SEN/NRA(2022)1]
• Mandate of the Working Group on Leadership and Safety Culture (WGLSC) [NEA/SEN/NRA(2022)3]

Mandate (Document extract):

Extract of document NEA/SEN/NRA(2022)3

Background

Understanding and characterising a healthy nuclear safety culture is of on-going 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 of 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 working group is distinct from the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) Working Group on Human and Organisational Factors (WGHOF), which considers a broader range of human and organisational factors from an operational and regulatory perspective.

Mandate

The WGLSC is responsible for supporting and advising the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) in carrying out its programme of work areas related to leadership and safety culture.

Scope

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.

Objectives

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.

Working methods

The WGLSC will:

• be led by a Bureau (consisting of a Chair and at least one Vice Chair) designated and acting according to the OECD guidelines;
• constitute a forum of senior-level management representatives with policy-level responsibilities and experts for leadership and safety culture, in order to enrich exchanges between the regulatory bodies and to include various perspectives, in particular the views of different hierarchy levels; 
• organise, on a regular basis, meetings, workshops, and conferences, and collect best practices from member countries;
• develop and regularly update a programme of work providing further descriptions of the development of strategic themes, practical tools and tasks that the WGLSC will complete; the WGLSC programme of work will be approved by the CNRA;
• report to the CNRA and assist the Committee with its work; and
• form subsidiary groups, as appropriate, such as task groups or expert groups, to carry out specific and time-limited tasks.

Membership

WGLSC has a targeted focus on leadership and safety culture, and consists of delegates exclusively from the regulatory body.

Interactions

The WGLSC will establish a framework for engagement with other NEA bodies to closely co-ordinate and discuss issues identified by the group that have crosscutting interests. It will work closely with the CSNI, especially with WGHOF, to collaborate on areas of mutual interest, and to prevent overlap and duplication as appropriate. WGLSC will also work closely with other CNRA working groups to address crosscutting challenges and to provide insights on safety culture and leadership that support regulatory bodies’ oversight practices, as appropriate.          

WGLSC will also co-ordinate, as appropriate, with other international organisations (e.g. the IAEA and the European Commission) and international non-governmental organisations (e.g. WANO).

Deliverables

The WGLSC will produce practical and innovative guidance documents for nuclear safety regulators and other stakeholders interested in the safety of the peaceful use of nuclear power.  Examples include, but are not limited to, proceedings of seminars and workshops, collections of commendable practices implemented by regulatory bodies, case studies, and summaries of operating experience.