NEA’s Activities on Stakeholder Trust andEngagement
Greg Lamarre
Head of the Division of Radiological Protection and Human Aspects of Nuclear Safety
Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) - OECD

Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA)
March 9th, 2022
© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Overview• 34 member countries +strategic• partners
About(e.g.
the NEA
China, Brazil, India, UAE)

• Introduction– NEA’s Countries Shared Vision• 8 high-levelstanding
technical committees andover 80 working parties andNEA’s Work on Stakeholder Trust and Engagement
expert•groups• 24 international
jointrd NEA•
3Stakeholder Involvement Workshop on Optimisation in Decision-Making
projects• In 2021,NEA PublicSecretariat• theNEASurvey – Characteristics of a Trusted Regulator
is composed of 104 staff
members from 19countries.

© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

About the NEA• 34 member countries +strategic partners (e.g.
China, Brazil, India, UAE)

• 8 high-level standing
technical committees andover 80 working parties andexpert groups• 24 international jointprojects••The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is an intergovernmental agency
that facilitates co-operation among countries with advanced nuclear
technology infrastructures to seek excellence in nuclear safety, technology,science, environment and law.

It provides authoritative assessments and forges common
understandings on key issues as input to government decisions on nuclear
energy policy and to broader OECD analyses in areas such as energy and thesustainable development of low-carbon economies.

• In 2021, the NEA Secretariat
is composed of 104 staff
members from 19countries.

© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Introduction – NEA’s Countries Shared Vision•Stakeholder: anyone who has relevant
information, experience or concerns in a given
issue or decision.

Trust: conventionally defined as “a person’sbelief that another person or institution will act
consistently with their expectations of positivebehavior” (OECD, 2017).

•••

Nuclear issues are embedded with broader societal issues(environment, risk management, energy, health policies) generate considerable interest and concern from stakeholders.

Increasing demand for stakeholder involvement andparticipation in nuclear projects across NEA member-countries.
It is an integral part of the decision making process, necessary to
any successful and meaningful nuclear policy.

Trust has been highlighted by NEA member-countries as an
essential component for conducting stakeholder dialogue, andplays a critical role in risk communication.
International cooperation is key to understand the attributes ofa trusted relationship with stakeholders. The NEA is developing
practical guidance on how to build and maintain trust.

© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

NEA’s work on stakeholder trust and engagement (I)NEA StakeholderInvolvement Workshops•••

Workshop on Stakeholder
Involvement in Nuclear
Decision Making, January
2017, Paris
NEA Workshop on
Stakeholder Involvement:Risk Communication,“Towards a Sharedunderstanding ofRadiological Risk”,
September 2019, Paris

Upcoming: 3rd NEA
Stakeholder Involvement
Workshop, 2022/23

Key Messages
•
•

•
•
•
•

Effective stakeholder involvement requires asignificant investment in personnel, training,financial resources and time.
Trust takes a long time to build, but can be lostvery fast. Trust and credibility in times ofemergencies and/or accidents depend on thelevel of trust earned during “normal” times.
Dialogue with stakeholders should be an
institutional requirement for nuclearregulators.
Local and long-term engagement is key toobtaining and maintaining trust.
Trust is an essential and demonstrated value for
effective communication.
Trust involves reciprocal action and benefit. It
is about multi-directional knowledge exchange,
not knowledge transfer.

© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

NEA’s work on stakeholder trust and engagement (II)Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC)•••Established in 2000
Facilitates an open dialogue where member countries
analyze, document and develop recommendations fordeveloping radioactive waste management programs
Includes government policy and regulatory officials, R&D
specialists and industry representatives who discuss waste
management programs in a socio-political decision-making
context
 Task Group on Youth Involvement
 Task Group on “Stakeholder Involvement andDecommissioning/Legacy Management”

Working Group on Public Communication of Nuclear
Regulatory Organisations (WGPC)• Established in 2001
• Provides a forum for NROs communicators and outreachofficers to exchange information, experience, and practices• Reflects on cultural and regional differences in communication
approaches through country-specific case-study workshops• Develops practical tools to enhance the international collaborationin the area of public communication of NROs
 Task Group on “The Characteristics of a Trusted Regulator”
 Task Group on the “Nuclear Risk Communication TrainingCourse”© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

NEA’s work on stakeholder trust and engagement (III)“The Evolving Use of Social Media as aCommunication Tool by NuclearRegulatory Organisations”“A Public Communication Case Study:
Switzerland”, Working Group on Public
Communication of Nuclear Regulatory
Organisations“The Forum on Stakeholder Confidence
Report on Dialogue in the Long-Term
Management of Radioactive Waste”

Published in December 2019

Published in May 2020

Published in February 2021

© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

3rd NEA Stakeholder Involvement Workshop on Optimisation in Decision-Making (I)Background:••••

Optimisation in decision-making has a broad applicability to the whole spectrum of nuclear andradiation-related policy, regulation and practice;
The way decisions are taken has changed in recent years to promote more inclusive and holistic
decision-making processes;
There is a growing need for better, deliberative risk-informed decision making process accounting
for national/cultural contexts and interactions between economic, environmental, health andsocietal aspects;
The goal is to reach a sustainable, transparent and widely accepted decision-making framework
to identify the optimal solution or solutions for all stakeholders and society as a whole; The 3rd Stakeholder Involvement Workshop will be an important step towards a genericapproach to decision making across the nuclear sector in the various countries.
© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

3rd NEA Stakeholder Involvement Workshop on Optimisation in Decision-Making (II)Workshop objectives:
1. Improve the common, practical understanding of what optimisation in decision-making means forpolicy-makers and regulators across the nuclear sector and compare with non-nuclear sectors;
2. Increase the consideration of inclusive stakeholder involvement to optimise decision-making in
the nuclear sector;
3. Identify the foundation of a generic multidimensional framework to support the optimisation
process for policy and regulatory decision-makers, considering both, qualitative elements andquantitative elements of optimisation.

© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

rd NEA
3rd3NEA
Stakeholder
Stakeholder
Involvement
Involvement
WorkshopWorkshoponon
Optimisation
Optimisation
inin
Decision-Making(III)
Decision-Making

Workshop timeline:
Phase I: Series of (2 or 3) preparatory webinars to improve thecommon, practical understanding of what optimisation indecision-making means across the nuclear sector. The findings ofthese webinars will be the basis for discussion for the mainworkshop.

2022

Phase III: Follow-up activities?

2023

Overarching objective of more inclusive
stakeholder involvement as link andguiding thread throughout both phases.

Phase II: Main workshop in 2023 to identify the foundation of ageneric multidimensional framework to support the optimisationof decision-making across the nuclear sector.

© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

2024

NEA Public Survey – Characteristics of a Trusted Regulator (I)- Conducted in Feb-March 2021
- 787 responses from 35
countries•••Objectivegather views from the public
and stakeholders on thecharacteristics and attributesof a trusted nuclear regulator
Use the results to inform apractical guide for regulators on
how to build and maintain
trust with stakeholders
NEA Green Booklet on “TheCharacteristics of a TrustedRegulator” to be published in
2022/2023

KEY FINDINGS• 47% of the respondents reported trusting their regulator very much.
125% hardly trust or do not trust their regulator.

• 3 attributes identified as the most important for a trusted nuclear safety2
regulator:
independent,
impartial/objective.

•3

knowledgeable

competent,

and56% have more trust in their nuclear regulator than in the news media.
51% have more trust in their regulator than in elected officials at any level.

• Responses indicate that:
4-andtheoretical knowledge and experience gained over time are reasons to trust
access to information / transparency is crucial to build trust
Communication and stakeholder involvement should be a priority for all
nuclear safety regulators© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

NEA Public Survey – Characteristics of a Trusted Regulator (II)What does a trusted nuclear
regulator look like to you?

To what extent do you trust/have confidence inyour country’s nuclear safety regulator?

• 3 attributes identified as the most important for atrusted nuclear safety regulator: independent,
knowledgeable and competent, andimpartial/objective.
• DISPARITIES:o No consensus on the link between theregulator and the government.
o Some responses called for an inclusion of thesocial context in the regulatory decisions,whereas some others would leave social
considerations out of the process.
o In some responses, trust is linked toconsistency and stability (regulator should
not change the regulations), whereas in others
trust goes with adaptation.

Not at all
18%
Hardly
7%

Very
47%

© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Somewhat
14%
Fairly14%

NEA Public Survey – Characteristics of a Trusted Regulator (III)Do you trust your nuclear safety regulator more or less than...
More
ACADEMIA

25.06%NUCLEAR INDUSTRY

ELECTED OFFICIALS AT ANY LEVELGOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AT NATIONAL, REGIONAL OR LOCAL LEVELS

Less

47.38%
56.36%

NEWS MEDIAOTHER INTERESTED PARTIES SUCH AS NGOS, ENGOS, CIVIL SOCIETY

Same

49.20%
35.70%
51.36%
44.57%© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

27.56%
18.64%
20.23%
51.03%
27.50%
33.71%

25.00%
30.57%
13.27%
21.14%
21.72%

NEA Public Survey – Characteristics of a Trusted Regulator (IV)
What are the key attributes that would earn greater trust in your nuclear safety regulator?
Independent

Demonstrating
understanding andempathy for the…
Showing mutual
respect

350
300
250200150100500Open/transparent

Knowledgeableand competent

QualifiedAccountableInvesting time andeffort in theirrelationship with…

Impartial/objective

Responsive
Efficient andeffective© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Thank you for your attention!

Visit our website for more information:
https://www.oecd-nea.org/jcms/pl_26325/stakeholder-engagement© 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development