Governance and Management of the
NUCLEAR SECURITY ENTERPRISE
Panel to Track and Assess Governance and Management Reform
in the Nuclear Security Enterprise
Laboratory Assessments Board
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
A Consensus Study Report of
and
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
This activity was supported by Contract No. DOE DE-NA0003381 with the Department of Energy. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-68300-5
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-68300-9
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25933
Cover: Photo by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The preamplifiers of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) are the first step in increasing the energy of laser beams as they make their way toward the target chamber. NIF is the world’s most precise and reproducible laser system. It precisely guides, amplifies, reflects, and focuses 192 powerful laser beams into a target about the size of a pencil eraser in a few billionths of a second, delivering more than 2 million joules of ultraviolet energy and 500 trillion watts of peak power.
Additional copies of this publication are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu.
Copyright 2020 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and National Academy of Public Administration. 2020. Governance and Management of the Nuclear Security Enterprise. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/25933.
The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. John L. Anderson is president.
The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.
The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.
Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.
Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.
Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opinions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies.
For information about other products and activities of the National Academies, please visit www.nationalacademies.org/about/whatwedo.
The National Academy of Public Administration is an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan organization established in 1967 and chartered by Congress in 1984. It provides expert advice to government leaders in building more effective, efficient, accountable, and transparent organizations. To carry out this mission, the Academy draws on the knowledge and experience of its over 900 Fellows—including former cabinet officers, Members of Congress, governors, mayors, and state legislators, as well as prominent scholars, business executives, and public administrators. The Academy helps public institutions address their most critical governance and management challenges through in-depth studies and analyses, advisory services and technical assistance, congressional testimony, forums and conferences, and online stakeholder engagement. Teresa W. Gerton is president and CEO. Learn more about the Academy and its work at www.NAPAwash.org.
This page intentionally left blank.
PANEL TO TRACK AND ASSESS GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT REFORM IN THE NUCLEAR SECURITY ENTERPRISE
JONATHAN D. BREUL, NAPA,1 Independent Consultant, Co-Chair
DONALD LEVY, NAS,2 University of Chicago, Co-Chair
ALLAN V. BURMAN, NAPA, Jefferson Solutions
KEITH A. COLEMAN, Boeing Phantom Works
DONA L. CRAWFORD, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (retired)
MARTIN C. FAGA, NAPA, MITRE Corporation (retired)
PAUL A. FLEURY, NAS/NAE,3 Yale University (retired)
T.J. GLAUTHIER, TJG Energy Associates, LLC
DAVID GRAHAM, Institute for Defense Analyses
WILLIAM C. GREENWALT, NAPA, American Enterprise Institute
ROBERT HALE, NAPA, Booz Allen Hamilton
BARBARA ROMZEK, NAPA, American University
JOAN B. WOODARD, Sandia National Laboratories (retired)
MERRI WOOD-SCHULTZ, Los Alamos National Laboratory (retired)
Staff
SARAH (SALLY) JAGGAR, NAPA, National Academy of Public Administration, Staff Co-Lead
SCOTT WEIDMAN, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Staff Co-Lead
SHENAE BRADLEY, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
ADAM DARR, National Academy of Public Administration
LAWRENCE B. NOVEY, National Academy of Public Administration
MARIA RAPUANO, National Academy of Public Administration
MICHELLE SCHWALBE, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
SEAN SMOOKE, National Academy of Public Administration
___________________
1 Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration.
2 Member, National Academy of Sciences.
3 Member, National Academy of Engineering.
LABORATORY ASSESSMENTS BOARD
ROSS B. COROTIS, NAE,1 University of Colorado, Boulder, Chair
WESLEY L. HARRIS, NAE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JENNIE S. HWANG, NAE, H-Technologies Group
W. CARL LINEBERGER, NAS,2 University of Colorado, Boulder
C. KUMAR N. PATEL, NAS/NAE, Pranalytica, Inc.
ELSA REICHMANIS, NAE, Georgia Institute of Technology
LYLE H. SCHWARTZ, NAE, University of South Florida
Staff
JAMES P. McGEE, Board Director
ARUL MOZHI, Senior Program Officer
MARTIN OFFUTT, Senior Program Officer
EVA LABRE, Administrative Coordinator
AZEB GETACHEW, Senior Program Assistant
___________________
1 Member, National Academy of Engineering.
2 Member, National Academy of Sciences.
Preface
The Panel to Track and Assess Governance and Management Reform in the Nuclear Security Enterprise was jointly established by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the National Academy of Public Administration to carry out a 4.5-year assessment of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) responses to long-standing governance and management problems affecting the nuclear security enterprise. This is the panel’s final report.
We are pleased to report that progress has been made and are grateful for all the hard work that staff members across the enterprise have devoted to improving governance and management. We are also very aware of the burden that a lengthy external evaluation imposes on such an enterprise. We wish to thank the many individuals in NNSA and the laboratories, sites, and plants that comprise the nuclear security enterprise for their cooperation and assistance in carrying out the panel’s charge. Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, Administrator Frank Klotz, and numerous senior officials from all elements of the enterprise generously met multiple times with the whole panel and/or participated in individual interviews. NNSA leadership provided the panel with access to many employees for useful information-gathering and general discussions. And the panel was hosted by most of the laboratories, production plants, and other sites for interesting and fruitful visits that featured discussions with large numbers of staff members. We appreciate that so many individuals spoke candidly to us and view that as a testament to their dedication to the mission of the enterprise and their commitment to its long-term excellence. We wish to extend special thanks to NNSA’s Office of Policy and Strategic Planning, our point of coordination, for working with us on this endeavor.
We thank NNSA and the Department of Energy for their generous assistance and openness in helping the panel conduct its study. The value of this study results from the work of our fellow panel members, who devoted an extraordinary amount of personal time and energy to this task, and we are very grateful. We also thank the panel staff for all of their contributions to this study.
Jonathan Breul and Donald Levy, Co-Chairs
Panel to Track and Assess Governance and
Management Reform in the Nuclear
Security Enterprise
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
David S.C. Chu, NAPA,1 Institute for Defense Analyses (retired)
Jared L. Cohon, NAE,2 Carnegie Mellon University
Miriam E. John, Sandia National Laboratories—California (retired)
Richard W. Mies, The Mies Group, Ltd.
Cherry A. Murray, NAS3/NAE, University of Arizona
Julia M. Phillips, NAE, Sandia National Laboratories (retired)
Elizabeth M. Robinson, NAPA, Air Line Pilots Association
Charles V. Shank, NAS/NAE, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (retired)
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Robert F. Sproull, NAE, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies and National Academy of Public Administration.
___________________
1 Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration.
2 Member, National Academy of Engineering.
3 Member, National Academy of Sciences.
This page intentionally left blank.
Contents
Organization of the Nuclear Security Enterprise
Management and Governance Concerns and Their Underlying Factors
NNSA’s Response to the Augustine-Mies Report
The Panel’s Work Leading to This Report
2 NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENTAL LEADERSHIP AND COORDINATION
Importance of National Leadership
The Department of Energy’s Role with Regard to the Nuclear Security Enterprise
Strengthening DoD-NNSA Relationships and Collaboration
Terms of Office for NNSA Senior Leaders
3 MANAGEMENT PRACTICES WITHIN NNSA
Integration of Functional Support with Mission Execution
Managing the Federal Workforce
Budget, Cost, and Schedule Control
Budget and Reporting Classification Codes
Major Program Management, as Exemplified in the Pit Production Program
4 MAXIMIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF NNSA’S M&O PARTNERS
Working Relationships Between NNSA and Its M&O Partners
Principles Underpinning the Use of M&O Entities
Enabling the FFRDC Laboratories to Be Objective, Honest Brokers
Sustainment of Core S&E Capabilities
Attributes of the Desired Culture
Steps for Consideration by Congress
B Study Methodology and Data Collection
C Pit Production Program Management Structures and Practices
D Summaries of the Study’s Four Interim Reports