Information Management as Part of a State’s Effective Implementation of International Safeguards

Under its International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards Agreements, a Member State has an obligation to provide reports to the IAEA that are correct, complete, and timely. To fulfill this obligation, a State must have a process in place to identify, collect, interpret, prepare, report, and manage safeguards-relevant data. That process, collectively speaking, is referred to as information management (IM). This paper outlines a five-step approach for a State to establish an IM process for safeguards implementation. The first step is for a State to define the scope of safeguards to be considered in the IM system, which may include a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (INFCIRC/153), the Additional Protocol (INFCIRC/540), a Small Quantities Protocol (if applicable), and domestic nuclear material controls and accountancy. Second, a State should establish a baseline understanding of IM and the factors affecting the quality of an IM system. Such factors might include data flows, data ownership, timelines, administrative reviews, information transmission, inter- and intra-agency agreements (Operator-Regulator, State-State, and State-IAEA), quality assurance and quality control, data consolidation, and issue resolution. The third step is to develop a graphical model of where, when, and how data is collected by the State and the process flow used to manage it. The graphical model is then evaluated against the quality factors to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. Finally, the State categorizes gaps by priority, resource requirements, and potential participants. Having a good IM process in place assists States in promoting correctness and completeness, assisting in meeting reporting deadlines efficiently and consistently, maintaining continuity of information, achieving accountability and responsibility, facilitating special information requests, and reducing dependency on individual knowledge and experience. This approach to establishing an IM process for safeguards implementation is being used as part of the US Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) International Nuclear Safeguards Engagement Program (INSEP) outreach to partner countries. Recently, DOE/NNSA collaborated with the IAEA Safeguards Training Section to develop an IM training module based on this process. In December 2016, the module was piloted with a partner country and was well received.