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The Workshop on Building, Measuring and Improving Public Confidence in the Nuclear Regulator was organised from 18 to 20 May 2004 in Ottawa, Canada under the auspices of the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), in collaboration with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). The Workshop was chaired by Ms. Linda J. Keen (President and CEO of the CNSC).
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How much does a regulator have to communicate, how and when?
• Challenges in communications can be directly due to the structure and politics of government at different levels.
• A basic tenet is that journalists are different from the regulator and the industry, they may have a basic suspicion of technology and those who use it. -
Practices in communicating technical issues to the general public
• Basic goal for the regulator is to protect the public and communication is a must to fully achieve this goal.
• Regulator should become the prime source of information to the public and the media, regulator should base its actions upon values of competence, independence, transparency and stringency.
• Set up of a Information and Communication Policy will help for consistency and efficiency. Policy will include setting goals, strategies, organisational aspects, procedures, and tools. Practices should be developed in accordance with local culture. -
Dana Drabova and Peter Storey introduced the participant members whose interventions covered the first part of the panel facilitating the ensuing discussions. A summary of relevant issues addressed in the session is presented below: On the need for Integration
• Good collaboration between communicators and technical staff produces benefits for the nuclear regulator and the public. -
How do regulators measure public confidence?
• There are some important elements of confidence: visibility, satisfaction, credibility and reputation. The latter can consist of trust, positive image and knowledge of the role the organisation plays. A good reputation is hard to achieve but easy to lose.
• There is a need to define what public confidence is and what to measure. The difficulty is that confidence is a matter of perception of the public, so what we try to measure is the perception. -
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How does the regulator effectively involve the public in its activities? As a variety of viewpoints and subjects were given in the different representations. The following is a summary:
• Regulator’s commitments regarding public participation and experience gained in terms of effectiveness, visibility and credibility. The way the public hearings/meetings are organised and how they are used in the regulatory process. -
A summary for each session was presented by each panel member. A synopsis is offered as follows: SUMMARY OF SESSION 1: HOW MUCH DOES A REGULATOR HAVE TO COMMUNICATE, HOW AND WHEN?
• Challenges in communications can be directly due to the structure and politics of government at different levels.
• A basic tenet is that journalists are different from the regulator and the industry. They may have a basic suspicion of technology and those who use it. -