A Framework for a Robust, Coordinated & Sustainable Human Resource Development Strategy to Support Responsible Nuclear Energy Programs

The success of global nuclear energy expansion requires interested states to staff related programs with highly capable, deeply knowledgeable and qualified professionals. In addition, this success also requires an understanding of both the individual needs of responsible operation of nuclear energy programs (e.g., human health safety obligations and regulatory security requirements) and how their interactions can impact overall nuclear energy program performance. As a result, there is a need to help states create robust, coordinated and sustainable human resource development (HRD) strategies to support responsible nuclear energy operations. In response, invoking key tenets of systems theory and organization science provides the basis of framework to help guide national-level responsible nuclear energy program HRD strategies: interdependence, emergence and hierarchy. Together, these three tenets provide a lens through which to organize interactions between opportunities to meet responsible nuclear energy program operational needs into a robust, coordinated and sustainable national-level HRD strategy to support responsible nuclear energy operations. An associated framework is based on five key attributes: (1) requirements-centered (based operational needs); (2) dynamic (evolving to address changing needs); (3) flexible ( matching scope to needs); (4) scalable (matching size to needs); and, (5) balanced (leveraging the full suite of opportunities). This framework also helps organize the various International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) opportunities and explain their ability to support responsible nuclear energy operations. Additionally, this framework could help guide the evolution of national-level HRD strategies through different maturity milestones (e.g., basic awareness raising to collaborative R&D) as exemplified by the legacy of projects supported by the Center for Global Security and Cooperation at Sandia National Laboratories. Ultimately, this framework could help translate lessons learned into best practices to create robust, coordinated and sustainable national-level HRD strategies in support of responsible nuclear energy operations. (SAND2017-12882A). (author)