Needs Assessment Comes First

Some of the key features of the IAEA’s approach to addressing countries’ requests for assistance — such as targeted efforts, the efficient use of human and financial resources, and monitoring of progress and accountability —  contribute to ensuring robust national nuclear security regimes.

“The IAEA places the assessment of national needs at the core of its nuclear security programme,” says Elena Buglova, Director of the IAEA’s Division of Nuclear Security.

One of the primary IAEA mechanisms that supports the needs assessment approach is the Integrated Nuclear Security Sustainability Plan (INSSP). This comprehensive and systematic framework supports countries in identifying and prioritizing nuclear security needs, drawing on the guidance provided in the Nuclear Security Series of publications. These provide international consensus guidance on various aspects of nuclear security to support States as they work to fulfil their nuclear security responsibilities.

“The recently revised INSSP strengthens its focus on sustainability and countries’ ownership, and incorporates key performance indicators within the results based management approach, ensuring maximum transparency and continuous improvement,” adds Buglova, highlighting that the INSSP also helps to align the IAEA’s fundraising efforts through the Nuclear Security Fund.

With 111 INSSPs under implementation, and an average of 20 missions conducted annually, the INSSP is making significant progress towards the further enhancement of global nuclear security. A closer look at the details of the active INSSPs shows their broad acceptance across different regions: there are 48 in the Africa region, 26 in the Asia and the Pacific region, 19 in the Europe region and 18 in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.

The development of an INSSP starts with a country conducting a self-assessment exercise that makes use of specific IAEA questionnaires closely aligned to the Nuclear Security Series guidance. Reflecting on this effort in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Gloria Carvalho, Vice-Minister at the Ministry of Science and Technology says: “Applying the INSSP methodology in Venezuela facilitated substantive dialogues with key national stakeholders, leading to consensus on pivotal priorities in nuclear security. We have now established a comprehensive three-year implementation plan to enhance our nuclear security infrastructure”.

In addition to identifying, consolidating and prioritizing needs, the INSSP process facilitates identification of the responsibilities of national entities or organizations and establishes implementation strategies and timeframes for specific actions. This inclusive approach fosters coordination and ownership at the national level, maximizing the effectiveness of nuclear security measures.

Over the past five years, in the period 2019–2024, the top three areas of needs identified by countries within the framework of the INSSP are: physical protection regimes, in particular the security of radioactive material other than nuclear, and the transport security of both nuclear and other radioactive material; information and computer security; education and training; nuclear security culture; and legislative and regulatory frameworks.

The INSSP is an integral part of the activities conducted by the IAEA to assist countries in establishing, maintaining and strengthening their national nuclear security regimes. The IAEA offers a wide range of nuclear security peer review and advisory services — such as the International Nuclear Security Advisory Service (INSServ), the International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) and the Advisory Mission on Regulatory Infrastructure for Radiation Safety and Nuclear Security (RISS) — which are a fundamental part of global efforts to strengthen nuclear security.  Findings and recommendations from these services and missions are reflected in the INSSP in order to inform and refine national needs assessments and the implementation of relevant actions.

As an example, Viet Nam hosted its first INSServ mission in March 2023. Based on the findings,  Viet Nam is  developing a plan to address identified gaps in its nuclear security regime. In her assessment of the INSSP mechanism related to the INSServ mission, Thuy Anh Bui Thi, Director of the International Cooperation Division at Viet Nam’s Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, acknowledges that it is a robust foundation: “Our confidence in the INSSP as a beneficial tool stems from its basis in the IAEA’s Nuclear Security Series guidance, as well as the fact that it takes into account international expert advice”.

IPPAS assists countries in assessing the effectiveness of their national physical protection regimes; INSServ helps countries to thoroughly assess the effectiveness of their nuclear security regime for nuclear and other radioactive material outside of regulatory control. Complementarily, RISS identifies gaps in a country’s regulatory infrastructure for the safety of radiation sources and the security of radioactive material, with reference to the IAEA Safety Standards Series and nuclear security guidance, together with the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources and its supplementary Guidance on the Import and Export of Radioactive Sources and Guidance on the Management of Disused Radioactive Sources.