Formative Evaluation of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC)'s Contribution to Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Training of First Responders

Introduction

The Audit and Ethics Group (AEG) completed a formative evaluation of the CNSC’s contribution to the CBRN training of first responders in response to the requirement for each participating federal agency to carry out a mid-term evaluation.

Background

With its share of the PSAT funding for CBRN training, the CNSC’s role is to contribute specific radiological and nuclear expertise to the design, development and delivery of CBRN training for first responders.

Evaluation Objectives and Scope

The starting point for this formative evaluation was a plan for the evaluation of the CNSC’s contribution to CBRN first responder training, developed by CNSC in December 2003. The objectives of this formative evaluation were to:

• Demonstrate progress towards the achievement of objectives.
• Assess the effectiveness of the organizational design and management processes to deliver the initiative.
• Determine whether any adjustments are necessary to the program.

Recommendations

Overall, the evaluation shows that despite a slow start, a training program of national scope has been developed and is being delivered to a growing number of first responders from across the country by a solid interdepartmental and interdisciplinary team.

Implementing the following key recommendations will assist those who are engaged in developing and implementing the program:

• CNSC should develop the means to ensure its continuing effective support of the CBRN training initiative
• CSNC should actively promote the need for and encourage CBRN training.
• CNSC should assess carefully whether its current PSAT allocation will allow it to effectively deliver its anticipated components of CBRN training at the levels required in future years.

The evaluation was approved by the Audit and Evaluation Committee on June 21, 2005.