NNSA documents indicate that the  agency expects to spend about $7.7 billion over the next 5 years on  activities related to managing its strategic materials. NNSA agreed with our  recommendations and made changes to its cost estimating  procedures. NNSA Has Defined Strategic Materials Program Requirements, Including Roles and Responsibilities for Program Managers

NNSA’s Office of Defense Programs has set program requirements for  the strategic materials programs and has established the roles and  responsibilities of the programs’ managers. NNSA defined these program  requirements in two documents issued in 2016 and 2017. The “Enhanced Management B” programs are  required to have the following elements documented: a program plan,  a work breakdown structure that details the work elements necessary  to organize the total work scope with cost estimates, a decision  analysis, an integrated master schedule that includes the entire scope  of work required for the program’s successful execution, a  performance management approach, and a lessons learned/best  practices review. This policy  broadly outlines the managers’ authority and responsibilities for  managing the strategic materials; these responsibilities include  developing program documentation and managing risk. NNSA Officials Reported Progress in Meeting Strategic Materials Program Requirements but Challenges from Staffing Shortages

NNSA officials told us that they are making progress in implementing the  program requirements outlined for each of the strategic materials  programs, although some are further along than others. For the other programs, according to agency officials, NNSA is  still working to meet these requirements, though the tritium program met  all requirements during the course of this review. More specifically,  according to agency officials:
The plutonium sustainment program has met some of the Program  Execution Instruction requirements to date, including having in place a  program plan, work breakdown structure, and decision analysis, but  not an integrated master schedule (although one is being developed,  according to agency officials). NNSA has a lithium mission strategy, a mission  requirements matrix, and a technology development plan in place, as  required by the Program Management Policy for Weapons and  Strategic Materials, but the rest of the strategic materials program  management requirements are still in the process of being developed,  according to agency officials. Specifically, according to agency officials as of October 2017, in addition  to contractor support:  the uranium program had the program manager and two federal  staff assigned;  the domestic uranium enrichment program had the program  manager and one federal staff assigned;  the plutonium program had the program manager and one federal  staff member;  the tritium program had the program manager and no dedicated  staff, relying instead on staff in other programs such as a federal  program manager from a different program who acts as staff for this  program; and  the lithium program had the lead point of contact and no dedicated  staff, although a contracted senior technical advisor provides some  support. NNSA officials cited competing agency priorities and current perceived  staffing limits as the primary impediments to assigning more staff to these  programs. Our prior work on strategic human capital  management has identified certain activities or practices that can help an  agency strategically manage its human capital. These activities include  determining the critical skills and competencies that will be needed to  achieve the programs’ missions and developing strategies to address  gaps in the number, deployment, and alignment of staff needed. By determining the critical skills and  competencies needed to achieve each strategic material program’s  mission and using this determination to develop strategies to address any  gaps in the number, deployment, and alignment of staff needed, NNSA  may find it has better information to justify increased staffing levels for its  strategic materials programs. By determining the critical skills and  competencies needed to achieve each strategic materials programs’  missions and using that determination to develop strategies to address  any gaps in the number, deployment, and alignment of staff needed,  NNSA may find it has more information to justify increased staffing levels  for its strategic materials programs. Recommendation for Executive Action

The NNSA Administrator should determine the critical skills and  competencies that will be needed for the strategic materials programs  and use this determination to develop strategies for addressing  challenges, if any, related to the number, deployment, and alignment of  program staff (Recommendation 1). Appendix I: Strategic Nuclear Materials Managed by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Appendix I: Strategic Nuclear Materials  Managed by the National Nuclear Security  Administration (NNSA)
NNSA has established programs for ensuring the supply of each of the  following strategic materials as well as the capability to process them:
Uranium – National security needs for uranium are met using a large  existing inventory of previously enriched uranium.
Why GAO Did This Study

NNSA is responsible for ensuring a sustainable supply of strategic materials critical to the nation's nuclear security missions, as well as the capability to process these materials. NNSA estimates that strategic materials management activities will cost about $7.7 billion over the next 5 years.
The House Report accompanying H.R. 4909, a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, included a provision for GAO to review NNSA's management of its strategic materials programs. This report examines (1) the extent to which NNSA has, for these programs, defined requirements, including program manager roles and responsibilities, and (2) the progress of NNSA's implementation of those program requirements.
GAO reviewed NNSA program management policies and documents related to its strategic materials program manager positions and interviewed NNSA officials and program managers.

What GAO Found

The Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) manages strategic materials programs for uranium, plutonium, tritium, and lithium—materials that are critical to national security. NNSA has set program requirements that each of the programs must follow and has established the roles and responsibilities of the program managers. NNSA has defined these requirements in two documents:
Program Execution Instruction (2016). Outlines requirements for program management documents, such as a program plan, cost and schedule estimates, and an integrated master schedule that includes the entire scope of work for successful execution.
Program Management Policy (2017). Outlines the program managers' authority and requirements for managing the strategic materials programs, such as managing risk, and requires each program to develop documents, such as a mission strategy and technology development plan.
NNSA officials reported that the agency is making progress implementing the requirements outlined for each of the strategic materials programs, although some of the programs are farther along than others. For example:
The uranium and domestic uranium enrichment programs established in 2014 are the furthest along and have developed the documents needed to meet strategic program requirements.
The plutonium program has met some of the requirements, such as developing a program plan, work breakdown structure, and decision analysis, but does not yet have an integrated master schedule.
The tritium program met the requirements during the course of GAO's review.
The lithium program, which is the newest, has made the least amount of progress and to date has developed only a mission strategy, a mission requirements matrix, and a technology development plan.
According to NNSA officials, shortage of staff assigned to the strategic materials programs has been the primary reason hampering progress in implementing the program requirements. For example, a lithium program manager has not yet been assigned, and all the other programs have identified the need for additional staff beyond the one or two staff currently assigned to each. According to officials, competing agency priorities and perceived staffing limits are the primary impediments to assigning more staff to these programs. However, GAO also found that NNSA has not determined the critical skills and competencies needed for these programs. GAO's prior work has identified certain activities or practices that can help an agency strategically manage its human capital. These activities include determining the critical skills and competencies that will be needed to achieve the program's mission and developing strategies to address gaps in the number, deployment, and alignment of staff needed. By determining the critical skills and competencies needed for the strategic materials programs and using this determination to develop strategies to address any gaps in the number, deployment, and alignment of program staff, NNSA may have the information it needs to better justify increased staffing levels for the programs.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that NNSA determine the critical skills and competencies that will be needed for the strategic materials programs and use this determination to develop strategies for addressing any gaps related to the number, deployment, and alignment of program staff. NNSA agreed with GAO's recommendation.