Exploring the Social Construction of Emergent Change in a Complex Adaptive System: A Study of Complex Change in the Nuclear Power Industry

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This study proposes to explore the ways in which language and patterns of discourse shape innovation and change in complex adaptive human systems, here focused on changes in communication interaction among representatives of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and nuclear industry stakeholders. The context for change is an industry-wide change initiative in which the NRC engaged industry stakeholders in a dialogue to develop and implement a revised reactor oversight process (RROP). The RROP initiative is considered by industry experts to be a significant innovation in the way that NRC interacts with its regulated clients.Using a grounded theory methodology, the study will compare and contrast two patterns of communication interaction, one that occurred during the development of the RROP change initiative, and the other reflecting the traditional form of communication interaction among representatives of the NRC and the nuclear industry. As a consultant in the industry the researcher is a participant observer and has an unusually high degree of access to project data and participants in the study. The study has the support of the NRC, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and nuclear power plant management.