Year
1989
Abstract
Over the past several years, concerns have been expressed regarding the existing method of preparing and implementing the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA), Safeguards Department's Research and Development (R & D) Programme. As a result, an internal initiative is underway to review and revise the process, and to develop an overall strategy for defining and prioritizing the short and long-term R & D needs of the Department. As a part of this initiative, a reference basis or framework is being developed against which the R & D programme is being established and organized. A systematic review of the technical problems identified by the Department as being of either current or future concern is being used as the basis for the programme. The basic premise underlying the framework is that the R & D programme is to be responsive to a clearly defined and documented set of technical problems. The method for developing the framework has been used in similar R & D situations to organize and structure the decision making processes. It provides the decision maker with a more objective tool for making decisions, and improves the consistency of the judgements. The method utilizes expert opinion to develop ranking criteria, identify problems, and establish their relative priorities. The results of testing the methodology, and applying it to a complete set of problems are described in the paper.