Project Overview
The International Nuclear Security Forum (INSF) and Nuclear Threat Initiative’s Nuclear Security Policy Menu series aims to get ahead of the next nuclear or radiological security incident. The series solicits nuclear security policy proposals that might appear politically risky or unrealistic today but could gain traction in the aftermath of a nuclear or radiological event. By compiling a wide range of international, regional, and local policy proposals, this menu will provide policymakers with forward-leaning nuclear security regulation options to work towards. The focus is not on steps required to manage consequences in the immediate aftermath of an incident, but to help those tasked with thinking ahead in their efforts to prevent the next such event.
Nuclear Security Policy Menu submissions will be evaluated and published on a rolling basis on the INSF’s page on the Stimson Center website. Contributors whose work is selected for publication will be credited as authors of their submission and compensated $500 USD for the publication of their piece.
Call For Submissions
The call for submissions for the Nuclear Security Policy Menu series is currently closed. We are interested in a broad range of geographic areas and a diverse slate of topics, including but not limited to: reactor/facility security, material minimization, security for nuclear weapons and military materials, emerging technologies, insider threats, security governance, nuclear forensics, smuggling and transport security, security culture, and many more. The full list of issue areas can be found in the application.
How It Works
The process for submitting proposals is as follows:
- Submit an application for the Nuclear Security Policy Menu with a topic outline and other details. Include a short abstract (200 words) and general details about authorship, issue area, and regional scope.
- Successful applicants will receive an email from the INSF team informing them of their selection and detailing how to submit the full-length proposal and receive payment for the work.
- Authors will have one month to submit their full-length proposal and payment forms to the INSF team.
- Final submissions should be 1000-1500 words long in the style of a policy memo. The final policy memo should, at a minimum, answer the following questions:
- What is the policy goal (short-term and long-term, where applicable)?
- What policy or political changes would be necessary to achieve this goal?
- What support would be necessary to achieve this goal?
- Who are the stakeholders?
- What are potential hurdles if this proposal were to move forward?
- How could these hurdles be addressed?
What should be the first step in moving forward with this proposal?
- The INSF team will review and copyedit the piece in line with Stimson editorial standards.
- The INSF team will publish the proposal on its webpage as part of the Nuclear Security Policy Menu series. Authors will be fully credited for their work.
- After publication, applicants will receive payment from the Stimson Center and INSF for their contribution to the project.
- Candidates may submit multiple topics for consideration, but will only be eligible to receive one participation fee payment, even if more than one topic is approved for publication.
- Pending sufficient interest, the INSF team may also publish a hard copy compilation of the Policy Menu series to share with relevant stakeholders and decision makers.
Any questions should be directed to INSF Project Coordinator, Sneha Nair ([email protected]).
