Lessons in Building Professional Networks During Times of Crisis and their Impact on Nuclear Security Culture: The Case of the Black Sea Women in Nuclear Network

This paper describes the establishment of a new professional network for women in nuclear that represents the interests of professionals in the Black Sea region. The paper examines the benefits of creating and sustaining professional networks for women, and it underlines the role of such networks in strengthening regional security culture during times of crisis using the Black Sea Women in Nuclear Network (BSWN) as a case study. In general, the network provides an interdisciplinary platform for professionals to promote gender equity and increase women’s leadership roles, as well as professional exchanges, mentoring, and training opportunities. More specifically, since its inception, the network has spearheaded several unique programs and initiatives. Many BSWN members currently work in challenging environments, which means they are especially adept at rapidly transforming problems into solutions. The network has provided concrete support to its community during the war in Ukraine and the earthquake in Türkiye and facilitated information-sharing on available resources and reliable news. With its own programs, the network provides a particular regional platform that complements other organizations’ efforts

Managing at the Speed of Light: Improving Mission-Support Performance

The House and Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittees requested this study to help DOE's three major mission-support organizations improve their operations to better meet the current and future needs of the department. The passage of the Recovery Act only increased the importance of having DOE's mission-support offices working in the most effective, efficient, and timely manner as possible. While following rules and regulations is essential, the foremost task of the mission-support offices is to support the department's mission, i.e., the programs that DOE is implementing, whether in Washington D.C. or in the field. As a result, the Panel offered specific recommendations to strengthen the mission-focus and improve the management of each of the following support functions based on five "management mandates":- Strategic Vision- Leadership- Mission and Customer Service Orientation- Tactical Implementation- Agility/AdaptabilityKey FindingsThe Panel made several recommendations in each of the functional areas examined and some overarching recommendations for the corporate management of the mission-support offices that they believed would result in significant improvements to DOE's mission-support operations. The Panel believed that adopting these recommendations will not only make DOE a better functioning organization, but that most of them are essential if DOE is to put its very large allocation of Recovery Act funding to its intended uses as quickly as possible

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY: Additional Opportunities Exist to Streamline Support Functions at NNSA and Office of Science Sites

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Support function costs at NNSA and Science sites for fiscal years 2007 through 2011 are not fully known because DOE changed its data collection approach beginning in 2010 to improve its data and, as a result, does not have complete and comparable cost data for all years. In fiscal years 2007 through 2009, total support costs for NNSA and Science sites grew from $5 billion to about$5.5 billion (nominal dollars). Costs for fiscal year 2010 are unknown because DOE was pilot-testing its new reporting system and only collected data from some sites. For fiscal year 2011, the data are more complete, but changes to DOEs definitions for support functions make it difficult to compare costs across all years. DOE has taken some steps to ensure the quality of the data in its new system and plans to fully implement a quality control process, such as peer reviews, to ensure data can be compared across sites, but has not yet done so.

DOD's High Risk Areas: Actions Needed to Reduce Vulnerabilities and Improve Business Outcomes

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) spends billions of dollars to sustain key business operations intended to support the warfighter. In January, GAO released its 2009 high-risk series update report for the 111th Congress. This series emphasizes federal programs and operations that are at high risk because of vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement and has also evolved to draw attention to areas associated with broad-based transformation needed to achieve greater efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability. Of the 30 high-risk areas identified by GAO across government, DOD bears sole responsibility for eight defense specific high-risk areas and shares responsibility for seven other high-risk areas--all of which are related to its major business operations. The Committee asked GAO to provide its views on (1) actions needed to achieve measurable outcomes in DOD's high-risk areas and (2) DOD's progress in strengthening its management approach for business transformation, including establishing the Chief Management Officer (CMO) position. GAO was additionally asked to highlight information regarding the high-risk area related to contract management at the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration.

Information Security: Actions Needed to Better Protect Los Alamos National Laboratory's Unclassified Computer Network

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), which is operated by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), has experienced security lapses protecting information on its unclassified computer network. The unclassified network contains sensitive information. GAO (1) assessed the effectiveness of the security controls LANL has in place to protect information transmitted over its unclassified computer network, (2) assessed whether LANL had implemented an information security program for its unclassified network, and (3) examined expenditures to protect LANL's unclassified network from fiscal years 2001 through 2007. To carry out its work, GAO examined security policies and procedures and reviewed the laboratory's access controls for protecting information on the unclassified network.

Energy and Water Development: FY2011 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies. Funding for FY2010 Energy and Water Development programs is contained in H.R. 3183, which the House passed July 17, 2009. The Senate passed its version of H.R. 3183 July 29. The Conference Committee issued its report (H.Rept. 111-278) September 30, and the House passed the conference bill October 1, and the Senate October 15. The President signed the bill October 28 (P.L. 111-85). President Obama’s proposed FY2011 budget for Energy and Water Development programs was released in February 2010. On July 15, 2010, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development approved a bill to fund these programs. In the Senate, the Energy and Water Development subcommittee approved a bill on July 20, and the full Appropriations Committee reported out S. 3635 (S.Rept. 111-228) on July 22. On September 30, the Senate and the House passed H.R. 3081, a continuing resolution that funds government programs at the FY2010 level through December 3