ISO 56001 Certification – Innovation Management System

ISO 56001 is a benchmark for promoting, managing and improving innovation activities.

It provides requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an innovation management system.

This standard is applicable to any organisation, regardless of type or size, the products and services provided, or the types and approaches to innovation used.

Benefits of ISO 56001

Increased realisation of value from new products, services, processes, models, methods, etc., for the organisation and its stakeholders.
Improved innovation performance through systematic management of innovation activities under uncertainty.
Sustained development of innovation capabilities.
Improved reputation for attracting users, customers, employees and partners.
Improved ability to collaborate
Improved ability to attract funding.
Increased resilience and capacity to evolve in a dynamic and uncertain environment.

ISO 56001 Certification with EQA

The ISO 56001 certification process with EQA has the following steps:

1- Application for certification

2- Planning of the initial audit

3- Carrying out the initial audit, which consists of two phases:

Objectives of Phase I:

To check that the innovation management system is defined and implemented, and has sufficient records to face Phase II with guarantees of success.
To confirm the innovative nature of the projects carried out.
Check the typology of R&D&I projects to confirm the validity of the proposed scope.

Objectives of Phase II:

To gather all the necessary evidence to verify the conformity and effectiveness of the Innovation Management System in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 56001 standard.

4.- If during the development of the audit, the audit team detects any non-conformity, the organisation shall draw up a corrective action plan to avoid its repetition, together with the evidence of its implementation.

5.- Review of the dossier in the Certification Committee.

6.- Issuance of the certificate for a validity of 3 years.

The maintenance of the certificate is conditional on the following process:

Annual follow-up audit.
Recertification audit after 3 years.

Innovation Management System Principles

Value realisation: value, financial or non-financial, is realised from the deployment, adoption and impact of new or modified solutions for stakeholders.
Future-focused leaders: leaders at all levels, driven by curiosity and courage, challenge the status quo by building an inspiring vision and purpose and continuously engaging people to achieve those goals.
Strategic direction: the direction of innovation activities is based on aligned and shared objectives and a relevant level of ambition, supported by people and other necessary resources.
Culture: shared values, beliefs and behaviours, support for openness to change, risk-taking and collaboration enable creativity and effective execution to co-exist.
Purposeful ideas: a wide range of internal and external sources are used to systematically build deep insights, to tap into stated and unstated needs.
Uncertainty management: uncertainties and risks are assessed, harnessed and then managed, learning from systematic experimentation and iterative processes, within a portfolio of opportunities.
Adaptability: changes in the organisational context are addressed by timely adaptation of structures, processes, competencies and value realisation models to maximise innovation capabilities.
Systems approach: innovation management is based on a systems approach with interrelated and interacting elements, periodic performance assessments and system improvements.

Guarantees of ISO 56001

The ability of an organisation to innovate is recognised as a key factor for sustained growth, economic viability, increasing well-being and societal development.

An organisation’s capacity to innovate includes the ability to understand and respond to changing conditions in its context, to seek new opportunities, to generate and complement knowledge through the creativity of staff in the organisation and in collaboration with external stakeholders.

The organisation can innovate more efficiently if all innovation activities and other interrelated elements are managed under the system.

An innovation management system guides the organisation in determining its innovation purpose, strategy, policy and objectives, as well as in establishing the support and processes needed to achieve the intended results.

Frequently Asked Questions

Content of ISO 56001

Chapter 4: Organisational context: includes the analysis of internal and external issues affecting the organisation; the identification of stakeholder needs and expectations; and the definition of the activities and methods comprising the innovation management system.

Chapter 5: Leadership: includes management commitment; the tools to be implemented to promote the innovation culture within the organisation; the formalisation of the innovation purpose, strategy and policy.

Chapter 6: Planning: includes the risks and opportunities and the planning of innovation objectives.

Chapter 7: Supporting innovation: the resources necessary for the development of the innovation management system, including human resources, infrastructure, equipment and materials, financial, knowledge management and intellectual property, must be determined, provided and methods established.

Chapter 8: Operational processes of innovation: the operational process starts with the management of the portfolio of initiatives, from where innovation opportunities originate, which after applying the relevant selection criteria evolve into concepts, and subsequently into the development of the solution. The last stage in the process is the deployment of the solutions in the form of internal implementation, market introduction, technology transfer, dissemination of results, etc.

Chapter 9: Performance evaluation: