Government's Sustainability Moment - CGI Initiative for Collaborative ...

cial networking tool on its intranet to enable employeesto collaborate and share information. It supportsblogs, video posting, collaboration on documentsand networking. It can transform online discussionsinto written documents for storage and search. NRCalso has shot video interviews with workers who areleaving the agency and with subject matter expertsto capture their knowledge and experience. The NRCstaff uses the social networking tool to gain accessto expertise, conduct and receive mentoring and engagewith other employees.Open and TransparentThe NRC strives to communicate openly with boththe industry it oversees and the citizens it answersto, according to Jaczko and other NRC officials. Theysay open dialogue is a safety protocol. So NRC putsreams of information, “good, bad and ugly,” on itspublic Web site, says Eliot Brenner, the director of theOffice of Public Affairs, including safety reviews andother data, excluding proprietary information, aboutevery operating and proposed nuclear reactor in theUnited States. The new licensing process providesopportunities for public participation throughout ratherthan only at the end as in the past.Strong public involvement strengthens public policy,Jaczko says. On his watch, the agency has developeda blog for disseminating technical information to thepublic in a form that lay readers can digest. Jaczkosays the NRC embraced the administration’s opengovernment initiative.“Given the controversies over nuclear power, it’sreally incumbent upon us to be an open and transparentagency,” Jaczko says. “That’s a legacy thatthis agency has had for a long time, and it’s certainlybeen something that’s been important to mepersonally.”He has bucked tradition by suggesting that thefive-member commission might operate moretransparently. At present, members vote on policyissues and other matters by paper ballot. Resultsof those votes are revealed only after a majority ofcommissioners has prevailed.“It would be more transparent if we were makingour decisions in actual real-time voting sessions. Itwould be a change for the agency, but it’s somethingI certainly think would enhance opennessand transparency,” Jaczko says. “It’s something Iwill continue to discuss with my colleagues.”‘No. 1 Priority’The agency’s proposed fiscal 2012 budget seeks$1.04 billion, a decrease of $28.7 million below fiscal2010. The decline reflects a projected decline inlicensing applications, according to a NRC news release.Most of the requested funds—$800.8 million—would be designated for nuclear reactor safety. “Thenew challenges in front of us are happening in thecontext of an expectation that we will do it more efficientlyand effectively than we’ve ever done it,” Jaczkosays. “I’m pleased to say that the agency is in agood position to do that. We have very good peoplehere who are constantly looking to do things betterand finding ways to improve.”Jaczko holds that federal agencies can be modelsof efficiency and effectiveness. Regulators, such asNRC, have to be, he says. One need look no furtherthan the Gulf oil spill, the financial debacle on WallStreet or the recent mine disaster in West Virginia to28 Leadership | CGI INITIATIVE FOR COLLABORATIVE GOVERNMENT | S P R I N G 2 0 11