| Chair(s): |
Rumina VELSHI, Canada |
Secretary: |
Taehee KIM (taehee.kim@oecd-nea.org) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Member(s): | All NEA member countries* | ||
| Russia (Suspended*) | |||
| *Russian Federation suspended pursuant to a decision of the OECD Council. | |||
| Full participant(s): |
European Commission Under the NEA Statute | ||
| Observer(s)(International Organisation): |
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) By agreement | ||
| Date of creation: | 01 May 2023 | ||
| End of mandate: | 30 November 2025 |
Mandate (Document reference):
Mandate (Document extract):
Extract of document NEA/NE(2022)13/REV2
Mandate
The mandate of the NEA High-level Group on Stakeholder Engagement, Trust, Transparency and Social Sciences (hereafter referred as HLG-SET) is to engage at the senior policy-level to cultivate a deeper understanding of the relations between the nuclear sector and society and to develop appropriate mechanisms to foster communication, public engagement and trust building between the public and the nuclear sector, in coordination with existing NEA bodies.
Background
The continued use of nuclear technology across the NEA member countries will depend upon the ability of the sector to adjust to the evolving mores of society. When the nuclear age started in the 1950s, government authorities and decision-makers tended to take actions and make decisions related to the nuclear industry unilaterally, often with information hidden behind the cloak of the Cold War. In contrast to those early days, the public that the nuclear sector will engage in this new era of nuclear energy has far higher expectations for openness, involvement of citizens in decision-making and due consideration of wider societal goals by the nuclear sector. There is a growing understanding in the nuclear sector that it must evolve with these changing societal norms in order to successfully implement programmes and policies in areas ranging from nuclear waste management and decommissioning to the consideration of new reactors and the production of isotopes for industrial or medical purposes.
While the sector’s thinking in this domain is currently focused on areas such as public communications and stakeholder involvement in decision-making processes, specifically those related to regulatory decisions, these considerations may go much deeper in the future as governments consider their energy policies and approaches to the management of nuclear materials and the application of nuclear technologies in the longer-term future. Doing so will require a policy-level review of how nuclear technology connects with and reflects the overall society. Engagement with experts in the social sciences will be a vital aspect of these examinations.
A strong interest in engaging social sciences researchers with nuclear engineering practitioners and policymakers was demonstrated at the NEA Committee for Technical and Economic Studies on Nuclear Energy Development and the Fuel Cycle (NDC)’s workshop on “Nuclear and Social Science Nexus: Challenges and Opportunities for Speaking Across the Disciplinary Divide” [1] which was held in December 2019. The first‑of‑its‑kind event brought together over 100 participants, including social science and humanities researchers, academics, nuclear engineers, practitioners and policymakers in an effort to build intellectual bridges across the nuclear and social sciences divides. The exercise showed this “nexus” to be ripe for exploration, both at the academic level and in the implementation of practical policies and programmes. NEA member countries reinforced this view in their responses to the questionnaire preceding the development of the NEA Strategic Plan 2023-2028 in which they highlighted the importance of further examining aspects of social sciences as they relate to ensuring effective stakeholder engagement. Further, strong direction was provided by the Bureau of the NEA Steering Committee that the NEA Secretariat should explore the possibility of forming a high-level group that could advance the collective thinking in this critical area of stakeholder engagement/involvement and trust building.
Currently, the NEA hosts long established “practitioner-level” groups that focus on certain aspects of stakeholder engagement. The Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA)’s Working Group on Public Communication of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (WGPC) – now known as the Expert Group on Public Communications of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (EGPC) – has been active for many years as a platform for exchange between communications officials at member country nuclear safety regulatory agencies. Similarly, the Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC), established in 2000, under the Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC) and the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management (CDLM) has been a very effective group with a focus on public engagement related to activities associated with the back-end of the fuel cycle.
However, beyond the activities and topics developed by those groups, interest in addressing broader stakeholder and societal issues have been expressed by members serving on committees and working groups across the Agency. In order to assure a consistent, co‑ordinated, and efficient approach to serve these needs, a policy-level group is needed to recommend priorities and additional areas of focus for the NEA’s efforts in this very broad area. The HLG-SET will discuss the identified priority areas with a range of experts, including the existing NEA practitioner-level groups. Existing NEA bodies such as the FSC and the EGPC will continue to define and submit for approval their programme of work according to the rules of procedure in place. The HLG-SET will draw upon the experience of the existing groups, and expertise external to the NEA (e.g., from the social sciences community, and stakeholder groups) to formulate advice to the Steering Committee, NEA Standing Technical Committees, and the Secretariat as to the how governments and implementers could evolve their relationships with stakeholders to establish and/or improve decision-making processes in areas across the broad array of work in which the NEA is involved. The HLG-SET will examine these issues from a wider and cross-cutting perspective and advance the thinking on the type of relationship the nuclear sector should have with civil society as well as suggest how it could move forward to achieve such a vision. A group of senior-level policymakers will be best equipped to craft and put forward such policy-level advice, including a programme of work to be considered by NEA member countries.
Scope
The HLG-SET will support and advance current NEA member countries’ efforts to improve the understanding and development of effective policy-level initiatives aimed at advancing the relationship between nuclear sector and civil society. The nuclear sector includes the nuclear industry, policy makers, regulators, technical institutes and other relevant stakeholders. Due to the differences in NEA member countries, effective policy-level initiatives shall reflect the diversity of approaches.
The HLG-SET will cultivate a deeper understanding of how the nuclear sector interfaces with society and how to develop effective mechanisms for advancing the prerequisite of public involvement and trust. To do so, the HLG-SET will engage with political and social scientists, scholars in the field of humanities, non‑governmental organizations (NGO) representatives and practitioners of the nuclear sector as necessary. This engagement with stakeholders shall be based on a balanced approach and stakeholders reflecting different views shall be involved. Further, the HLG-SET will engage with the relevant existing NEA bodies to benefit from the practical experience they gained on operational issues, will take into account their experiences and practices, and may review efforts across the NEA and provide general guidance to support inclusive, strategic and efficient results. The NEA will take great care to assure that this group does not duplicate the efforts of existing activities in the NEA or in other international bodies, including by assessing existing work.
The HLG-SET reports to the Steering Committee for Nuclear Energy.
Membership
The HLG-SET shall be comprised of senior policy-level officials – those at or who recently served in roles at the ministerial level, ambassadors, elected officials, and other such representatives – with energy or environmental experience who have a strong interest in stakeholder engagement, transparency and trust building in the nuclear sector. Their collective knowledge and level of experience will allow them as a first task to assess what the priorities should be and how they should be addressed.
It is expected the HLG-SET will comprise at most nine senior-level representatives, with at least three of them rotating at least every three years. Members will be invited to nominate candidates and the Secretariat will propose to the Steering Committee nine delegates selected to ensure balanced and diverse representation of backgrounds/experience, geographical zones, perspectives/vision and seniority. The Steering Committee will confirm the composition of the group.
Objectives
The main objective of the HLG-SET is to support NEA member countries’ efforts in advancing the understanding and application of the best available approaches to foster stakeholder engagement, and trust building to enhance the relationship between the nuclear sector and society. In order to accomplish this, the HLG-SET will:
i) develop advice and recommendations to the Steering Committee for Nuclear Energy in relevant policy areas;
ii) analyse prerequisites to establish and further develop public trust and engagement with a special focus on openness and transparency;
iii) advance concepts and policies to help member countries facilitate effective engagement with stakeholders and improve public communication across a range of nuclear sector activities;
iv) propose principles, methods and examples of best practice;
v) foster exchanges between the nuclear sector, social sciences community, civil society, and other experts to analyse and consider ways to support the broader society in gaining a better understanding of the challenges that the nuclear industry faces, on the one hand, and allow the nuclear industry to better understand society’s expectations on the other hand;
vi) engage with existing groups within the NEA with deep experience in stakeholder involvement and social sciences – specifically the Expert Group on Public Communication of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (EGPC) and the Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC), to learn from their successful work and from their challenges and promote dialogue and exchange;[2]
vii) provide advice and support to other NEA bodies as they engage on topics related to public participation, and contribute to their programmes of work.
Working methods
The HLG-SET will conduct its activities through periodic plenary meetings. Further, meetings may be organised if needed as well as seminars and workshops as agreed by the members of the HLG-SET. The HLG-SET may commission subgroups (e.g., social sciences academia) to assist its efforts and to address specific topic areas as required. These meetings and activities will be financed to the largest extent possible by in-kind and voluntary contributions.
The HLG-SET will elect a Chair for a three-year period to co-ordinate and facilitate the work of the group. As determined by the HLG-SET members, a Bureau may also be formed to support the Chair.
The HLG-SET shall establish: (i) a programme of work to identify priorities, resources and schedules for the issues at hand; (ii) expert groups and/or task groups as appropriate; (iii) means to review the programme of work and the effectiveness of the HLG-SET on an agreed-upon schedule and frequency.
Interactions
The HLG-SET will share information and collaborate, as appropriate, with other organisations engaged on the topics of stakeholder engagement and trust building, both within and outside the NEA, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in fulfilment of its mission.
Deliverables
The HLG-SET, with the support of the Secretariat and other experts as needed, will produce reports and policy recommendations for the consideration of the Steering Committee. The first deliverable of the HLG-SET is a draft strategic report including the proposed Programme of Work.
[2] Note: The HLG-SET will establish a productive relationship with both groups in order to learn from them and to provide advice for their future considerations. The FSC and EGPC will continue to report to their current committees and conduct its current programme of work.
