i

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission

Open Government Plan 

Status Update

2016–2017

September 15, 2016
ii

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Open Government Plan 

Status Update 2016–2017

CONTENTS

Introduction and Status .............................................................................................................. 1

A. Open Government Program Highlights ................................................................................ 2

B. Approach to Building the Open Government Program 2016–2017........................................ 3

C. Transparency, Participation, and Collaboration .................................................................... 3

D. Highlights of Initiatives.......................................................................................................... 4

E. Prior Open Government Milestone Commitment Status........................................................ 8
1

Introduction and Status

In December 2009, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued the Open Government 

Directive (M-10-06), instructing executive departments and agencies to incorporate the 

principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration set forth in the President’s 

January 21, 2009, Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government. Since its creation in 

1975, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has viewed openness, public 

participation, and collaboration as critical to achieving the agency’s mission to protect public 

health, safety, and the environment through regulation of the Nation’s civilian use of radioactive 

materials.

One of the actions identified by OMB was the development and publication of open government 

plans describing how each agency will “improve transparency and integrate public participation 

and collaboration into its activities.”1

 In response, the NRC developed its first Open 

Government Plan, which was published on the agency’s Open Government Web page. 

Because of its long history of openness, the NRC welcomed this opportunity to reexamine work 

processes and regulations created during an era of primarily paper-based processes. The NRC 

initiated activities to better use technology and internet capabilities to improve transparency, and 

to better integrate public participation and collaboration. In 2010, the NRC’s Open Government 

program focused on enhancing stakeholder engagement, publishing high-value datasets, and 

building a foundation for additional work. In 2011, the NRC introduced social media technology 

and redesigned its Web site. From 2012 to 2013, the agency focused on improving these 

activities, enhanced the processing of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and began 

digitalizing permanent records. 

From 2014 to the present, the NRC has continued to look for new opportunities to incorporate 

the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration. The agency has increased the 

visibility of rulemaking and other NRC documents open for discussion. It developed policies, 

procedures, and guidance and implemented tools to digitize and allow staff and the public to 

access NRC information repositories under the Records and Information Management (RIM) 

program. The NRC has also improved its Public Meeting Notification and Feedback Systems. 

The NRC has made significant improvements to business processes to encourage wider and 

earlier means of reaching out to stakeholders that may have been too costly or impractical in the 

past. The NRC’s use of digital technology has enabled the agency to transform the way 

business is conducted to be a more open, participatory, and transparent organization.

Since 2009, the NRC has participated fully in the President’s Open Government Directive. This 

status update highlights agency progress on ongoing and new initiatives to better integrate a 

“presumption of openness” into the NRC’s core mission. It is to be used along with prior NRC 

Open Government Plans (available on the agency’s Open Government Web page), and those

planned activities are now part of the day-to-day NRC operations.

The NRC executive leadership is committed to participation and collaborative practices that 

promote transparency and encourages participation as early in the planning processes as 

possible. This participation is vital in providing valuable insights to help focus agency efforts to 

ensure safety and security, while appropriately balancing the interests of NRC stakeholders. 

The NRC holds more than 1,000 public meetings every year to engage, solicit input, and inform 

 1 See OMB, “Open Government Directive,” December 8, 2009, Section 3a, p. 4.
2

the public about the agency’s regulatory activities. The following are examples of the NRC’s 

commitment to proactively engage the public.

On July 26, 2016, the Commission held an all-day meeting with NRC stakeholders to gain their 

perspectives on the NRC’s regulatory programs. The meeting participants included State and 

Tribal representatives, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the medical community, 

as well as a former NRC Commissioner and a former NRC Chairman. 

As another example, the NRC began holding meetings with the public, interested stakeholders,

and international, Tribal, State, and local governments in the development of the Fiscal Year 

(FY) 2018–2022 NRC Strategic Plan. Previously, the NRC only solicited involvement from 

government staff, interested stakeholders, and the public after publication of a near-final draft. 

The NRC now has an engagement process with these stakeholders before the development of 

a strategic framework. The agency documents this new strategic planning process in Exhibit 2, 

“Example Schedule for Completion of FY 2018–2022 Strategic Plan,” in NRC Management 

Directive (MD) 6.10, “Strategic Planning,” dated August 15, 2016. Management Directive (MD) 

6.10 can be accessed at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/managementdirectives/volumes/vol-6.html.

A third example is Project Aim, a major agency planning initiative to determine activities and 

resources needed over the next decade. As described on the NRC’s Project Aim Web page, 

the “Project Aim initiative is meant to carry out changes in an open, collaborative, and 

transparent manner.” The NRC initiated Project Aim in 2014 in response to projected changes 

in the agency’s workload and budget. As part of Project AIM, the NRC conducted meetings with 

employees, union representatives, the public, interested stakeholders, and international, Tribal, 

State, and local governments to obtain input for forecasting workload and changes to the 

operating environment. In addition, the NRC contracted with the National Academy of Public 

Administration (NAPA) to conduct a review of the NRC Project Aim recommendations. The 

NAPA review resulted in the publication of two reports. Based on the NAPA report, stakeholder 

input, and staff evaluations, the NRC Project Aim team made a number of recommendations to 

the Commission, most of which were approved and are already underway.

Prior NRC Open Government Plan activities continue to move forward as funding and resources 

become available. The NRC is committed to the principles of transparency, collaboration, and 

participation, and continues to expand on the open government principles with interested 

stakeholders, the public, Tribes, States, local governments, and employees. Regulations

governing how the agency carries out its mission reflect an environment of openness, 

transparency, and participation. 

This status update follows the guidance of OMB Memorandum M-16-16, “2016 Agency Open 

Government Plans,” dated July 14, 2016, and highlights past initiatives from prior NRC Open 

Government Plans.

A. Open Government Program Highlights

The NRC’s initial Open Government Plan of April 7, 2010, along with subsequent updates, has

served the agency well as a roadmap guiding its Open Government program. The NRC has 

made significant progress incorporating technology to enhance and incorporate early 

stakeholder engagement into its decisionmaking processes. Increased use of social media 
3

platforms and the publication of high-value datasets are just a few of the changes the agency 

has made. The NRC has embraced digital government through implementation of Mobile NRC,

a mobile-based public meeting feedback utility. The NRC has also placed an increased focus 

on sharing information with Canadian and Mexican counterparts and the International Atomic 

Energy Agency in light of the Fukushima accident.

B. The NRC’s Approach to the Open Government Program 

The NRC’s updated internal directives and decisionmaking processes incorporate digital

technologies to enhance and incorporate stakeholder engagement into decisionmaking. The 

agency not only is soliciting stakeholder input earlier than before, but it is reaching more 

stakeholders than in the past. Although the NRC has now incorporated the principles of open 

government into its day-to-day operations, the effort is not static and ongoing initiatives continue 

to evolve. Existing programs and internal directives continue to be enhanced, and new 

approaches to engage the public are introduced and tried. Examples include the expanded

capabilities the NRC is continually introducing to engage the public in meetings, its continued 

use of Facebook and other social media tools, and the expanded use of videoconferencing. For 

example, stakeholders can now view both the text and video capture from past proceedings of 

the NRC’s Regulatory Information Conferences. The NRC has posted information for

Regulatory Information Conferences since 2000, including the conference program, 

presentations and speeches, organizational charts, and action items.

C. Transparency, Participation, and Collaboration 

Since the NRC’s creation in 1975, the agency has viewed openness, public participation, and 

collaboration as critical for achieving its mission. The NRC’s mission is to regulate the Nation’s 

civilian use of radioactive materials and thereby protect people and the environment. After the 

original Open Government Directive was issued in 2009, the NRC initiated activities to better 

use technology and Internet capabilities to improve transparency, and better integrate public, 

local, State, Tribal, and international government participation and collaboration. Stakeholder 

participation is encouraged and provided for through public meetings, hearings, conferences,

symposia, and workshops. Through the NRC Web site, the public can learn about public 

meetings; comment on proposed rules and draft documents; learn the process to petition the 

agency to take an enforcement action; participate in hearings; and understand how to petition 

the agency to issue, amend, or rescind any regulation. The NRC encourages public and 

interested stakeholder participation, and the NRC Public Meeting Web site provides details on 

participation in public meetings. In all aspects of its work, the agency is committed to making 

public participation as expansive and meaningful as possible. 

The NRC believes that transparency promotes 

accountability by providing the public with 

information about the NRC’s activities. The 

agency encourages its program staff to provide

public stakeholders with timely access to clear 

and understandable information about the NRC’s 

role, processes, activities, and decisionmaking. 

“Transparency promotes 

accountability by providing the 

public with information about what 

the Government is doing.”

(Open Government Directive)
4

Participation allows members of the public to 

contribute ideas and expertise so the NRC can 

make regulatory decisions with the benefit of 

information from a wide range of stakeholders. 

These stakeholders must have a reasonable 

opportunity to participate meaningfully in the 

NRC’s regulatory processes.

The NRC is responsible for developing, implementing, and enforcing policies that are well

informed and effective. To do so, the agency recognizes that the public must be informed 

about, and have a reasonable opportunity to participate meaningfully in, its regulatory processes 

and (where appropriate) its decisionmaking. 

Collaboration improves Government effectiveness 

by encouraging partnerships and cooperation 

across Federal, State, local, and Tribal 

governments and with international regulatory 

authorities.

The NRC continues to confront a variety of 

challenges to ensuring the safety and security of 

existing and proposed nuclear power plants and 

other licensed facilities and materials, preparing 

for emergencies, and storing and disposing of 

high-level radioactive waste. The NRC recognizes that meeting these challenges will call for the 

highest levels of collaboration among its own employees, cooperation and partnership with 

other Federal and non-Federal government agencies, and collaboration with nonprofit and other 

private entities. 

D. Highlights of Initiatives

This section highlights the NRC’s new, expanded, and ongoing initiatives. 

Open Data

The NRC is in compliance with OMB Memorandum M-13-13, “Open Data Policy—Managing 

Information as an Asset,” dated May 9, 2013, and supplemental requirements related to Project 

Open Data. The agency has developed a Master Data Management (MDM) program to ensure 

that the NRC mission-critical systems and staff have timely access to specific sets of data 

collected, stored, and processed across the enterprise. The MDM program will guarantee that

covered agencywide data are accurate and will reduce or eliminate the storage of duplicate 

information. The program also provides controls to improve the quality of the data and provide 

an enterprisewide foundation for information sharing and exchange. The NRC leverages the 

Enterprise Data Inventory and facilitate the release of publicly releasable datasets. The 

Enterprise Data Inventory is published in a human- and machine-readable public data listing

and includes the agency’s inventory schedule and customer feedback process. The NRC’s 

customer feedback process remains intuitive while leveraging social media platforms to 

effectively engage the public. 

“Participation allows members of 

the public to contribute ideas and 

expertise so that their government 

can make policies with the benefit 

of information that is widely 

dispersed in society.” (Open 

Government Directive) 

“Collaboration improves the 

effectiveness of Government by 

encouraging partnerships and 

cooperation within the Federal 

Government, across levels of 

government, and between the 

Government and private 

institutions.” (Open Government 

Directive)
5

New datasets and changes to existing datasets are obtained through use of the NRC’s Dataset 

Quality Assessment Criteria listed in the agency’s Open Government Dataset Identification and 

Submission Process document. NRC program offices use the Dataset Quality Assessment to 

determine the dataset security level. Datasets are continuously added to the Enterprise Data 

Inventory, and releasable datasets are added to the public data listing. The staff updates the 

human- and machine-readable public data listing on the NRC’s Web site quarterly to ensure that 

public data on the agency’s Web site reflect the public data within the Enterprise Data Inventory. 

All agency datasets in the public data listing are downloadable from hyperlinks on the NRC 

public web site www.nrc.gov/data and the data.gov web site www.data.gov.

Proactive Disclosures

The NRC routinely examines material for proactive disclosure and has an established procedure 

for reviewing records for proactive disclosure as set forth in Title 10 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (10 CFR) 9.15, “Availability of Records,” and 10 CFR 9.21, “Publicly Available 

Records.” The agency reports on its use of proactive disclosure within the Chief Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) Officer Report. The agency routinely analyzes information for eligibility 

to proactively disclose and examines each FOIA release for eligibility for proactive disclosure 

under the regulations and separately for publication in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents

Access and Management System (ADAMS) at the following location: 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/foia-privacy.html.

On June 30, 2016, President Obama signed into law the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 

(Pub. L. 114-185) (the Act), which makes a number of changes to the Freedom of Information 

Act (5.S.C. § 552.1). Among other requirements, the Act codifies a new threshold requirement 

for withholding information under FOIA, allowing information to be withheld only if “disclosure is 

prohibited by law” or if the agency reasonably foresees that disclosure of the information would 

harm an interest protected by a FOIA exemption. 

The NRC’s MD 3.1 Handbook states that the “NRC has adopted a presumption in favor of 

disclosure” when responding to FOIA requests and appeals. Accordingly, this new threshold 

requirement should not require major changes to NRC policy. 

Privacy

In accordance with existing OMB guidance, the NRC routinely submits the Quarterly Federal 

Information Security Management Act Reporting and the Annual Senior Agency Official for 

Privacy reports to OMB through CyberScope. Additionally, the NRC Web site posts the 

following material for public access:

• Federal Register notices for System of Records notices

• Privacy Impact Assessments 

• Privacy Act Request Guide (guidance on how an individual can request access to or 

amend NRC Privacy Act Records) 
6

• NRC Privacy Policy and Security Notice

Whistleblower Protection

The NRC’s Whistleblower Protection Web page provides background and guidance on this 

program and includes a link to the “Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and 

Retaliation Act Report for FISCAL YEAR 2015.” The site informs employees and contractors of 

their rights and remedies under the Whistleblower Protection Act. 

Web Sites

The NRC Open Government and related Web pages can be accessed from the main NRC 

home page. 

Open Source Software

On August 8, 2016, the OMB issued Memorandum M-16-21, “Federal Source Code Policy: 

Achieving Efficiency, Transparency, and Innovation through Reusable and Open Source 

Software.” The policy establishes a governmentwide pilot program and framework to be used 

by agencies when commissioning new custom software. The NRC plans to evaluate the use of 

free open source software and collaborate with other agencies to share technology instead of 

buying or developing new software. The NRC also will review any new commissioning of 

custom code to determine applicability for participation in the pilot program.

Spending Information

The NRC reports obligation data for commercial contracts to 

www.USASpending.gov. 

Participation in Transparency Initiatives

Table 1 summarizes the NRC’s participation in governmentwide transparency initiatives.

Table 1 NRC Participation in Governmentwide Transparency Initiatives

Transparency Initiative Description of Participation

Data.gov New datasets, after security screening, are added to the dataset 

listing on NRC.gov and are available for download.

IT Dashboard All major information technology (IT) investments are reported on 

the IT Dashboard.

eRulemaking The eRulemaking Program has simplified the public’s participation 

in the NRC rulemaking process by making regulatory information 

more accessible on Regulations.gov. Executive Order 13563 calls 

on agencies to promote public participation and an open exchange 
7

Transparency Initiative Description of Participation

of information and perspectives among State, local, and Tribal 

officials; experts in relevant disciplines; affected stakeholders in the 

private sector; and the public as a whole. Regulations.gov 

improves the NRC public engagement process by supporting the 

notice and public comment process for rulemakings. Using the 

Federal Docket Management System, the NRC has created 

dockets on Regulations.gov for all documents it has published in 

the Federal Register since December 2007. In FY 2013, the NRC 

posted 72 rules and proposed rules, 605 Federal Register notices, 

and 1,750 public submissions on Regulations.gov. The NRC also 

posts to Regulations.gov stakeholder comments on guidance and 

other nonrulemaking documents, as well as supplemental 

background information and supporting documents for significant 

agency actions.

Grants.gov All competitive funding opportunities are posted on Grants.gov.

CFDA.gov The NRC publishes its annual Federal financial assistance program 

in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA).

SAM.gov The NRC is a voting member of the Integrated Acquisition 

Environment and System of Award Management (SAM) Change 

Control Boards. SAM is used as the definitive source for vendor 

payment information, and all vendors doing business with the NRC 

must be registered in SAM.

FSRS.gov The NRC uses the data in the Federal Funding Accountability and 

Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) in concert 

with the data in the electronic Subcontracting Reporting System

(eSRS) to monitor prime contractor performance with regard to 

subcontracting requirements. 

USAspending.gov The NRC reports obligation data for commercial contracts and 

grants to USASpending.gov.

Public Participation and Notice

The NRC uses a variety of approaches to notify the public about proposed actions, significant 

agency activities, and business. As previously mentioned, the NRC holds more than

1,000 public meetings every year to engage and inform the public about its regulatory activities. 

The agency also improved its Public Meeting Notification and Feedback Systems to provide 

easier means for the public to obtain and share information with the NRC. The NRC has made 

significant progress to improve business processes to encourage wider and earlier means for

reaching out to stakeholders.

The NRC also produces high-quality content for its social media platforms—the NRC Blog, 

Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Flickr. The NRC continues to review and assess the use of 

new technologies to enhance and expand its social media platforms. Since the 2014 update of 

its Open Government Plan, NRC activities such as the NRC Facebook platform, updated Crisis 

Communication Plan, and the use of additional social media tools have increased subscriber 

and viewer rates for agency social media platforms and allowed the agency to better

communicate event and incident information. The NRC also actively participates in the Federal 

Government Social Media Community of Practice.
8

Records Management

The NRC’s RIM program is focused on providing complete and accurate agency information by 

developing policies, procedures, guidance, and tools for the capture, use, storage, and 

disposition of information to allow staff and the public to access NRC information repositories, 

now and in the future. Current policies and procedures, as well as National Archives and 

Records Administration-approved retention schedules for NRC records, can be found on the 

NRC’s Records Management Web site.

Freedom of Information Act Requests 

The NRC has implemented a number of strategies for streamlining the FOIA process, which can 

be found in the “Chief FOIA Officer Report for March 1, 2015 through March 1, 2016.” The NRC 

held a public meeting on October 7, 2014, that provided an overview of FOIA processes and 

procedures as well as the proactive disclosure practices that the NRC uses in making 

disclosures to the public. In addition, the FOIA program continues to provide training to agency 

personnel on the FOIA process, as well as roles and responsibilities when responding to FOIA 

requests. The NRC has also invested in FOIA processing technology, which has contributed to 

an increase in the agency’s efficiency in processing FOIA requests and has aided the NRC in 

keeping pace with the increasing volume of FOIA requests. 

Information about the NRC FOIA program and its value as a tool for greater government 

transparency is available from FOIA.gov. Additional information on the NRC’s administration of 

FOIA is available from the NRC FOIA Web site.

Congressional Requests

The NRC’s Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA) Web site discusses the functions of that 

office. OCA is responsible for ensuring that the NRC meets its statutory responsibility to keep 

the appropriate Congressional oversight committees fully and currently informed about the 

NRC’s activities.

Declassification Program

The NRC’s Declassification Program Web site provides information about that program. The 

NRC administers its Declassification Program in accordance with Executive Order 13526, 

“Classified National Security Information,” dated December 29, 2009, as well as NRC MD 12.2, 

“NRC Classified Information Security Program.” This program promotes declassification of 

information that no longer requires protection (in accordance with established information 

security procedures) to promote the free flow of information. 

E. Prior Open Government Milestone Commitment Status
9

Table 2 summarizes the NRC’s key Open Government Plan milestones identified under 

previous plans.

Table 2 Key Open Government Program Milestones

Action Item Date Status

A Transparency

1 Release an annual report 

describing the NRC’s compliance 

with the Plain Writing Act of 2010.

April 2012

(annually thereafter) 

Complete

2 Publish the results of the Public 

Document Room survey.

May 2012

November 2012

(biannually 

thereafter)

Survey results not published due to low 

response rates.

3 Maintain high-value datasets and 

publish monthly usage statistics.

ongoing Maintaining datasets on www.data.gov

B Participation

1 Launch the Flickr photo-sharing 

site as a component of the social 

media initiative.

January 2012 Complete

2 Leverage best practices from the 

quick response (QR) code pilot to 

implement their use for the 

Regulatory Information 

Conference.

March 2012 Complete.

QR codes are now routinely used at 

Regulatory Information Conferences to 

facilitate information access for 

participants.

3 Deploy the redesigned 

“Documents for Comment” Web 

page.

June 2012 Complete. 

4 Standardize broad use of QR 

codes to support public outreach, 

meetings, and events based on 

lessons learned.

June 2012 Complete. 

QR Code Publication Style Guide and 

technical standards have been 

published. An additional use example 

for QR codes is their use with the 

Public Meeting Feedback System.

5 Implement a mobile-friendly Web 

form for the Public Meeting 

Feedback System.

December 2012 Complete.

6 Develop a unified mobile strategy 

to support mobile capabilities for 

NRC staff and public stakeholders.

February 2013 Complete. 

7 Identify select mobile-friendly Web 

pages of high public interest.

May 2013 Complete.

Implementation of improvements will 

depend on availability of resources.

8 Launch the Facebook site as a 

component of the social media 

initiative

August 2016 Complete
10

Action Item Date Status

C Collaboration

Complete deployment of 

Web-based licensing.

December 2013 Complete.