The management of nuclear knowledge and expertise for sustainable development

Full text: Knowledge has become the key resource of most organizations in the world's globalised economy. This resource is principally people-centered and mostly requires new ways of management in an age where the mobility of knowledge workers has become very high, with typically up to 7 job changes in a life time that is the norm in the US today. To manage knowledge effectively in such an environment, however, requires a wider organizational view and the concept of organizational knowledge, rather than simply knowledge that is centered in individuals, needs to be addressed. Organizational knowledge is firstly made up from experience within individuals but also embodies organizational concepts, values, beliefs and 'ways of working'. True organizational knowledge is, therefore, shared and distributed widely within the organization. Managing organizational knowledge effectively through the concept of Prahalad and Hamel of an 'organizational core competency' has proven itself within many large and small organizations throughout the world as it introduces a dedicated focus within the organization. This allows the long-term investment in organizational knowledge that supports the core competency but also allows the redirection or termination of those capabilities that do not. During large-scale changes in the work environment of an organization, hard knowledge or data can be captured relatively easily but not the more nebulous 'tacit learning' that is deeply embodied in the life-long experience of employees. Some of the more recent methods of attempting to capture the tacit learning within organizations are explored. The organizational loss of knowledge in the front end nuclear fuel cycle experienced by South Africa in the early 1990s has been estimated to be about 22000 person-years of the technologically skilled nature of which 10% were considered to be in the 'highly skilled' area and another 6% in the category of 'core experts'. Problems in preserving this pool of knowledge at that time are highlighted in the paper. Since the middle 1990s, the Agency has redirected its technical co-operation (TC) programme towards a focused 'needs driven' approach away from the former largely 'technologically driven' approach. From a 'before' and 'after' comparison of the strategic drivers that impact on the preservation of nuclear knowledge for these TC projects, it is concluded that the new strategy of ensuring measurable socio-economic benefits from every TC project, is far better placed to manage the preservation of the necessary nuclear knowledge and to ensure the sustainability of these projects within the developing world. The paper concludes with some areas that the Agency may wish to consider further in strengthening the preservation of knowledge within these TC projects to ensure their long term sustainability and maintain the flow of socio-economic benefits to the broader society within the recipient Member State. (author)