IAEAInternational Atomic Energy Agency

BASIC IRRS TRAININGLecture 4

Responsibilities and Roles of the IRRS Mission Participants

IAEA 2

Outline

• LEARNING OBJECTIVES• REVIEW TEAM AMD

COUNTERPARTS• Team Composition• Qualification

• PREPARATORY PHASE• Organization of the

Mission • Individual preparation

• REVIEW PHASE• Teamwork and Meetings• Communication with the

host country

• POST MISSION ACTIVITIES• Communication of the

mission results• Report finalization• Feedback

• SUCESSFUL MISSIONS• Attributes of successful IRRS

missions• SUMMARY

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 3

Learning objectives

After finishing this lecture the trainee will:

• Know the various roles of the IRRS team members and of their counterparts from the host country

• Understand the responsibilities of each role in the different phases of an IRRS mission

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 4

The Team

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 5

The IRRS Review Team

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

• The IRRS is performed by an international team of senior regulatory experts with broad knowledge of the regulation of nuclear and radiation safety and extensive related experience, often in specialized areas.

• The team comprises both designated IAEA staff and experienced international experts recruited from Member States and selected by the IAEA in consultation with the host country.

• International experts are usually experienced regulators, sometimes independent consultants or experts from TSOs

• As a general rule, IRRS missions typically include teams comprising 10-25 international experts.

IAEA 6

Team composition

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

• An IRRS Team, as appropriate, will include:• Team Leader and Deputy Team Leader• Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator• Review Area Facilitators (for large missions)• Reviewers• Observers with the agreement of the host country • Administrative Support

• Host countries counterparts:• Liaison Officer• Reviewer Counterparts

IAEA 7

Team Leader / Deputy Team Leader

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 8

• The Team Leader and his/her Deputy should be senior regulators from a Member State, experienced in the regulatory aspects of nuclear and/or radiation safety. They should have:• a good knowledge of the relevant technical issues and

an understanding of the wider peer-review process;• the experience to reconcile varying points of view;• experience as the chair of multi-disciplinary meetings;• good team building and management skills.

• In addition the Team Leader should have:• known leadership qualities;• effective communication skills in English.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

Team Leader / Deputy Team Leader

IAEA 9

IAEA Supporting Staff

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 10

IAEA Supporting Staff

• The IAEA Coordinator and where required, the IAEA Deputy Coordinator are both drawn from IAEA staff. They should have:• experience in the regulatory aspects of nuclear or

radiation safety; • experience in conducting international regulatory

infrastructure reviews.

• IAEA Review Area Facilitators (for large or complex missions). They should have:• good technical knowledge in their field;• experience in the application of the IAEA safety

standards and in the conduct of the review process.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 11

Reviewer / Observer

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 12

Reviewer

• IRRS Reviewers are recruited from Member States and should be experienced regulators and experts in specific topics. No one from the host country may be included in the IRRS Review Team.

• The Reviewers should have:• good technical knowledge together with an appreciation

of the ‘bigger picture’;• good report-writing skills;• a sense of responsibility for the mission as a whole;• the ability and willingness to work in a team;• good communication skills;• good verbal and written English.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 13

Observer

• The main purpose of an Observer taking part in an IRRS mission is to provide another Member State’s regulatory body with first-hand insight into the IRRS process.

• The scope of the Observer’s involvement is agreed prior to the start of the mission. Typically he:• participates/attends the IRRS team activities;• prepares notes concentrating on aspects of benefit to the

observer’s own country.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 14

Host Country Counterparts

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 15

Liaison Officer

• The Liaison Officer is the most important link with the team and the host country. She/he should have:• the characteristics of a team leader in order to access

resources, and have credibility with host country officials, staff and IRRS reviewers;

• good overview of the national regulatory infrastructure;

• knowledge on all matters relating to the IRRS;• a good understanding of what the host country has

provided for the mission.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 16

Review Area Counterpart

• A Counterpart is a senior staff member of the host regulatory body who is the primary contact with the reviewer(s) for a particular area of review throughout the mission.

• She/he should have: • responsibility in the host regulatory body that

corresponds to the area(s) of review.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 17

The Mission

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 18

The Mission

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

Preparatory Phase

Review Phase

Post Mission Activities

IAEA 19

Preparatory Phase

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 20

Preparatory Phase: Coordinator• The IAEA Coordinator organizes the mission and

the selection of the team members. He is responsible for:• serving as official IAEA liaison with the host country;• organizing a briefing for the host country on the IRRS

process and determining the scope of the mission;• developing the detailed work plan for the mission;• identifying appropriate team members, in conjunction

with the Team Leader;• managing resources, such as financial arrangements,

travel coordination, special equipment and logistics;• providing team members with appropriate pre-mission

information.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 21

Preparatory Phase: Team

• The Team Leader is involved in important decisions that have to be taken during the preparatory phase. In conjunction with the IAEA Coordinator he is responsible for:• identifying appropriate team members based on the

established work plan;• communicating with team members in order to ensure

adequate preparation and information.• Each IRRS Review Team Member will:

• review and familiarize themselves with the ARM;• Provide a written advance feedback on the assigned

review area(s).

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 22

Preparatory Phase: Host Country• The Liaison Officer is the main contact and focal

point with the Team Leader and IAEA Coordinator in the preparatory phase. She/he is responsible for:• Arranging logistics, administration, scheduling and

documentation;• being the conduit between the IRRS team and the

regulatory body.

• The review area Counterparts are responsible for:• leading the preparation of the written responses to the

IRRS questionnaire in their specific subject area(s);• ensuring that the relevant documentation is provided as

part of the Advance Reference Material.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 23

Review Phase

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 24

Review Phase: Team Leader

• The Team Leader leads the IRRS mission. During the mission she/he is responsible for: • assigning tasks and responsibilities to the team

members;• ensuring that the team works in a consistent and

cohesive manner;• developing an overall picture of the effectiveness of the

regulatory system of the host country;• ensuring that the objectives of the IRRS are met;• leading the main meetings during the mission;• participating in any press conference; • serving as IRRS liaison with the government/regulatory

body and external stakeholders.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 25

Review Phase: Deputy Team Leader• The Deputy Team Leader shares leadership

responsibilities with the Team Leader. She/he is responsible for: • conducting daily team coordination meetings;• assisting the Team Leader with the initial team meeting,

entrance meeting and exit meeting;• assisting the IAEA Coordinator with preparation of the

preliminary IRRS report;• participating in any press conference; • undertaking roles as assigned by the IRRS Team Leader

(e.g. he can support the review of an area in smaller missions).

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 26

Review Phase: IAEA Staff Members• The IAEA Staff Members provide guidance and

support to the IRRS Team. The IAEA Coordinator is responsible for:• supporting consistency with other missions;• ensuring policy issues are adequately addressed;• collating the preliminary report and preparing the

executive summary with the assistance of the DTL.• The IAEA Deputy Coordinator /Review Area

Facilitators are responsible for:• providing expertise and support to team members with

regard to application of IAEA safety standards;• serving as a reviewer as assigned by the Team Leader;• Supporting the preparation of the preliminary report.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 27

Review Phase: Reviewers

• The Reviewers conduct the peer review as directed by the Team Leader. They are responsible for: • reviewing the assigned review areas against IAEA

safety standards;• taking the lead during the interviews with their review

area counterparts;• participating in the IRRS team meetings;• evaluating their observations and jointly reviewing

with the team all findings;• providing input to the preliminary report daily;• reviewing the completed preliminary report.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 28

Review Phase: Host Country

• The Liaison Officer has a key role in the effective coordination of the mission. The role includes:• being the main contact and conduit with the IRRS Team

and the regulatory body;• assisting in regulatory staff appreciation of what the

mission entails;• attending team meetings throughout the mission.

• The review area Counterparts are responsible for:• participating in the review related to their area(s); • providing complete and correct information and

facilitating understanding;• providing a coordination function and calling in

specialist staff as required.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 29

Post Mission Phase

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 30

Post Mission Phase

• The Post Mission Phase is mainly conducted by the Team Leader and the Coordinator. The IAEA Coordinator is responsible for: • preparing the draft report based on the preliminary

report and comments received;• submitting the draft report to the host country for

comments.• finalizing the report based on the comments received

• The Team Leader is responsible for: • coordinating with the regulatory body and the IAEA

Coordinator to prepare public information;• conferring on appropriate changes to the draft report in

consultation with the team members.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 31

Successful Missions

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 32

Successful Missions

• An IRRS Mission is successful when:• It is a peer review and not an inspection;• The Reviewers work as a team; • The Review Team is well trained and well prepared;• The Report reflects an overall picture of the status of

the host country's regulatory system in relation to the IAEA safety standards;

• The recommendations and suggestions are useful to improve the regulatory system;

• The Review team observes different approaches to regulatory oversight and broadens its knowledge.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 33

Summary

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 34

Summary

• The Team Leader / Deputy Team Leader lead the mission and ensure that the objectives of the IRRS are met;

• The IAEA Coordinator supports consistency with other missions and leads activities before and after the mission ;

• The IAEA Staff Members provide guidance and support to the Review Team;

• The Reviewers conduct the peer review;• The Host Country provides the necessary

information to the team.

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

IAEA 35

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles

Photo: V. Friedrich

This activity is conducted by the IAEA, with funding by the European Union. The views expressed in this presentation do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission

IAEA 36

Discussion

• A peer review is not an inspection – What does that mean in practice?

• As a reviewer, what will be your main responsibilities and activities during a mission?

Basic IRRS Training - Responsibilities and Roles