The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has released a new report predicting that the organisation could be 10% smaller in 2020.
The report, Project Aim 2020, suggests that by 2020 the workforce will fall from 3677 employees to 3400. At the height of its expansion in 2010, NRC employed close to 4000 staff.
It says that the NRC needs to function more efficiently by: right-sizing itself to retain appropriate skill sets needed to accomplish its mission; streamlining agency processes to use resources more wisely; improving timeliness in regulatory decision making and responding quickly to changing conditions; and promoting unity of purpose with clearer agency-wide priorities
The new report recommends 17 strategies under the themes of people, planning, and process to prepare NRC for the future. In the coming weeks NRC said it would consider the recommendations of Project Aim 2020 and give direction to its staff for implementation.
Further evaluation of the report by National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) is expected in March. The NRC will provide a report to Congress in May.