ISO/IEC TS 17021-16

• Abstract:

  The document specifies additional competence requirements for personnel involved in the audit and certification process for innovation management systems (IMS) and complements the existing requirements of ISO/IEC 17021-1.

• Status: Not Published
• ICS: 03.100.30 - Management of human resources
• ICS: 03.100.70 - Management systems
• ICS: 03.120.20 - Product and company certification. Conformity assessment
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 279 - Innovation management
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 279 - Innovation management
• Current Stage: 6000 - International Standard under publication
• Start Date: 03-Sep-2026
• Completion Date: 05-Sep-2026

Overview

ISO/IEC TS 17021-16: Conformity Assessment Requirements for Bodies Providing Audit and Certification of Management Systems - Part 16: Competence Requirements for Auditing and Certification of Innovation Management Systems is a technical specification from ISO and IEC. This document establishes additional competence requirements for certification bodies and personnel involved in auditing and certifying innovation management systems (IMS), complementing the general provisions of ISO/IEC 17021-1.

The aim of ISO/IEC TS 17021-16 is to ensure that auditors and decision-makers within certification bodies possess the specialized knowledge needed to evaluate organizations against established innovation management standards, especially ISO 56001. Ensuring competence is critical for credible conformity assessment and drives continual improvement and confidence in innovation management systems worldwide.

Key Topics

ISO/IEC TS 17021-16 focuses on several core areas relevant for auditors and certification personnel:

• Generic Competence Requirements: Certification bodies are required to define and document competence criteria for all roles involved in the IMS audit and certification process, as specified in ISO/IEC 17021-1.
• IMS Auditor Competence: Auditors must demonstrate knowledge in key innovation management principles, such as:
  • Value realization
  • Future-focused leadership
  • Strategic direction and adaptability
  • Managing uncertainty and exploiting insights
  • Cultivating a supportive innovation culture
• Knowledge Areas for IMS Auditors: These include:
  • Innovation terminology (as per ISO 56001)
  • Supporting standards from the ISO 56000 series
  • Uncertainty, risk, and opportunity management
  • Strategic intelligence, foresight, and innovation portfolio management
  • Value proposition, value realization, and intellectual property management
  • Alignment of innovation strategy with organizational objectives
• Other Certification Personnel: Individuals who review applications, audit reports, and make certification decisions must also understand ISO 56001 requirements, relevant innovation management terminology, and supporting standards.

Applications

Certification bodies use ISO/IEC TS 17021-16 to:

• Enhance Conformity Assessment: Ensure their personnel have the comprehensive skills and insights to assess complex, evolving innovation management activities.
• Support Certification to ISO 56001: Provide credible, consistent audit and certification services for organizations adopting innovation management systems based on ISO 56001.
• Strengthen Global Innovation Practices: Promote reliable conformity assessments, enabling organizations to foster a culture of innovation, manage uncertainty, and realize value.
• Sector Versatility: Apply consistent audit and certification processes across industries, regardless of organizational size or innovation approach.
• Stakeholder Confidence: Build trust among clients, regulators, and end-users that certified organizations have effective innovation management systems.

Related Standards

Organizations applying ISO/IEC TS 17021-16 for IMS audits and certification should also be familiar with:

• ISO/IEC 17021-1: General requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems.
• ISO 56001: Innovation management system requirements.
• ISO 56000 Series: Additional standards and guidelines supporting the management of innovation, including terminology and frameworks.
• ISO 19011: Guidelines for auditing management systems, providing general principles and audit methodology applicable to IMS.

These standards collectively support robust, internationally recognized approaches to management system certification and foster ongoing innovation capability within organizations.

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Keywords: ISO/IEC TS 17021-16, innovation management systems, conformity assessment, IMS auditor competence, ISO 56001 certification, ISO 56000 standards, management system audit, certification body requirements, innovation audit, ISO standards for innovation.

FINAL DRAFT
Technical
Specification
ISO/IEC DTS
17021-16
ISO/CASCO
Conformity assessment
Secretariat: ISO
requirements for bodies providing
Voting begins on:
audit and certification of
2026-07-08
management systems —
Voting terminates on:
2026-09-02
Part 16:
Competence requirements for
auditing and certification of
innovation management systems
Competence requirements for auditing and certification of
innovation management systems —
Partie 16: Exigences de compétence pour l'audit et la certification
des systèmes de management de l’innovation
Member bodies are requested to consult relevant national interests in ISO/TC
279 before casting their ballot to the e-Balloting application.
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED TO SUBMIT,
WITH THEIR COMMENTS, NOTIFICATION OF ANY
RELEVANT PATENT RIGHTS OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE
AND TO PROVIDE SUPPOR TING DOCUMENTATION.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL, TECHNO-
LOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND USER PURPOSES, DRAFT
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE
TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR POTENTIAL
TO BECOME STAN DARDS TO WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE
MADE IN NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
Reference number
ISO/IEC DTS 17021-16:2026(en) © ISO/IEC 2026

FINAL DRAFT
ISO/IEC DTS 17021-16:2026(en)
Technical
Specification
ISO/IEC DTS
17021-16
ISO/CASCO
Conformity assessment
Secretariat: ISO
requirements for bodies providing
Voting begins on:
audit and certification of
management systems —
Voting terminates on:
Part 16:
Competence requirements for
auditing and certification of
innovation management systems
Competence requirements for auditing and certification of
innovation management systems —
Partie 16: Exigences de compétence pour l'audit et la certification
des systèmes de management de l’innovation
Member bodies are requested to consult relevant national interests in ISO/TC
279 before casting their ballot to the e-Balloting application.
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED TO SUBMIT,
WITH THEIR COMMENTS, NOTIFICATION OF ANY
RELEVANT PATENT RIGHTS OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE
AND TO PROVIDE SUPPOR TING DOCUMENTATION.
© ISO/IEC 2026
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL, TECHNO-
LOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND USER PURPOSES, DRAFT
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR POTENTIAL
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
TO BECOME STAN DARDS TO WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE
MADE IN NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland Reference number
ISO/IEC DTS 17021-16:2026(en) © ISO/IEC 2026

© ISO/IEC 2026 – All rights reserved
ii
ISO/IEC DTS 17021-16:2026(en)
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Generic competence requirements . 1
5 Competence requirements for IMS auditors . 2
5.1 Innovation management principles .2
5.2 Terms and definitions .2
5.3 Supporting innovation management standards .2
5.4 Innovation management system specific areas of knowledge .2
5.4.1 Uncertainty, risk and opportunity management .2
5.4.2 Strategic intelligence and foresight .2
5.4.3 Value proposition and value realization .2
5.4.4 Innovation intent and innovation strategy .2
5.4.5 Intellectual property and intangible assets .3
5.4.6 Innovation portfolio management .3
5.4.7 Innovation culture .3
6 Competence requirements for personnel conducting the application review, those
reviewing audit reports and those making certification decisions (other personnel) . 3
6.1 General .3
6.2 Terms and definitions .3
6.3 Supporting innovation management standards .3
Annex A (informative) Knowledge for IMS auditing and certification. 4
Bibliography . 5

© ISO/IEC 2026 – All rights reserved
iii
ISO/IEC DTS 17021-16:2026(en)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity.
ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations,
governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types
of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/
IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives or www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs).
ISO and IEC draw attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the
use of (a) patent(s). ISO and IEC take no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any
claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO and IEC had not
received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers
are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent
database available at www.iso.org/patents and https://patents.iec.ch. ISO and IEC shall not be held
responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions
related to conformity assessment, as well as information ab
...

ISO/IEC DTS 17021-16:####(X)
ISO/CASCO
Secretariat: ISO
Date: 2026-03-1106-23
Conformity assessment requirements for bodies providing audit
and certification of management systems — Part 16: Competence
requirements for auditing and certification of innovation
management systems —
DTS stage
Warning for WDs and CDs
This document is not an ISO International Standard. It is distributed for review and comment. It is subject to
change without notice and may not be referred to as an International Standard.
Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of
which they are aware and to provide supporting documentation.

This draft is submitted to a parallel vote in ISO, IEC.

Member bodies are requested to consult relevant national interests in ISO/TC 279 before casting their
ballot to the e-Balloting application.
© ISO #### – All rights reserved

ISO #####-#:####(X)
Part 16:
Competence requirements for auditing and certification of
innovation management systems
Competence requirements for auditing and certification of innovation management systems —
Partie 16: Exigences de compétence pour l'audit et la certification des systèmes de management de l’innovation
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2 © ISO #### – All rights reserved

ISO/IEC DTS 17021-16:(en)
© ISO/IEC 2026
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication
may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
or posting on the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO
at the address below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: + 41 22 749 01 11
EmailE-mail: [e-mail]
Website: www.iso.orgwww.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
© ISO/IEC 2026 – All rights reserved
iii
ISO/IEC DTS 17021-16:(en)
Contents
Foreword . v
Introduction . vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Generic competence requirements . 1
5 Competence requirements for IMS auditors . 2
5.1 Innovation management principles . 2
5.2 Terms and definitions . 2
5.3 Supporting innovation management standards . 2
5.4 Innovation management system specific areas of knowledge . 2
6 Competence requirements for personnel conducting the application review, those
reviewing audit reports and those making certification decisions (other personnel) . 3
6.1 General. 3
6.2 Terms and definitions . 3
6.3 Supporting innovation management standards . 3
Annex A (informative) Knowledge for IMS auditing and certification . 4
Bibliography . 5

© ISO/IEC 2026 – All rights reserved
iv
ISO/IEC DTS 17021-16:(en)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide federation of national standardsstandardization.
National bodies (that are members of ISO member bodies). The workor IEC participate in the development of
preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member
body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be
represented on that committee. Internationalby the respective organization to deal with particular fields of
technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of
ISO documentsdocument should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules
of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives or www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs).
ISO drawsand IEC draw attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the
use of (a) patent(s). ISO takesand IEC take no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any
claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO [had/and IEC had
not] received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However,
implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from
the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents and https://patents.iec.ch. ISO and IEC shall not be held
responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions
related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT),) see
www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html. In the IEC, see www.iec.ch/understanding-standards.
This document was prepared by ISO Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO), in collaboration with ISO
Technical Committee ISO/TC 279, Innovation management.
A list of all parts in the ISO/IEC 17021-1 series can be found on the ISO websiteand IEC websites.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html and www.iec.ch/national-
committees.
© ISO/IEC 2026 – All rights reserved
v
ISO/IEC DTS 17021-16:(en)
Introduction
ISO 56001 sets out the innovation management requirements for management systems applicable to any
...