Technical Meeting of the Integrated Regulatory Review Service ...

1. INTRODUCTIONThe Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) has been offered to Member States since 2006.Since then, more than 41 missions and follow-up missions have taken place. Continuous improvementof the service, building on the experience gained during missions, has always been a priority for theIAEA. IRRS ‘lessons learned’ workshops organized in 2007, 2008 and 2011 were of great value incollecting feedback and proposals for improvement. In the most recent workshop, held in Washington,D. C., USA, in October 2011, it was suggested that the IAEA host a seminar for past and potentialIRRS team leaders to share experiences and improve consistency in mission implementation.The draft IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety was approved by the Board of Governors at itsSeptember 2011 meeting and was endorsed by all 151 Member States at the 55th regular session ofthe General Conference later that month. The ultimate goal of the Action Plan is to strengthen nuclearsafety worldwide.One specific aim of the Action Plan is to strengthen the IAEA peer reviews in order to maximize thebenefit to Member States. The IAEA Secretariat is requested to, inter alia:• Incorporate the lessons learned and ensure that these peer reviews appropriately addressregulatory effectiveness, operational safety, design safety, and emergency preparedness andresponse; and• Assess, and enhance as necessary, the effectiveness of the IAEA peer reviews.Other initiatives are also taking place to assess, and enhance as necessary, the effectiveness of theIRRS programme. A series of consultancy meetings is currently being organized to look at specificmodules and elements of the IRRS in order to elaborate additional guidance for the variousstakeholders involved (team leaders, team coordinators, host organizations, etc.).2. OBJECTIVE OF THE MEETINGThe main purpose of this meeting is to provide a platform for the exchange of information, experienceand lessons learned from the IRRS missions conducted since 2006, as well as of expectations for theIRRS programme for the near future, and to explore further improvements in the planning andimplementation of the IRRS in the longer term, including the establishment of a network of experts(team leaders and deputy team leaders) from regulatory bodies.The objectives of the meeting are as follows:a) To use the experience gained by the team leaders and the deputy team leaders of IRRSmissions conducted in the past to provide guidance for the leaders of future IRRS missions,with a view to sharing practical experience and improving consistency.b) To share with the team leaders and deputy team leaders of IRRS missions, information on theongoing work to improve the effectiveness of the service.c) To provide input for the revision of the IRRS methodology and guidelines and production ofadditional guidance.3. OUTPUT OF THE MEETINGThe main output of the meeting will be a meeting report containing a set of recommendations for theIAEA to revise the IRRS guidelines and/or develop additional guidance documents concerning theactivities of the team leaders, IAEA team coordinators, team members, liaison officers and otherstakeholders involved in the IRRS.2