Audit & Certification of an IMS

ISO is currently developing ISO 17021, Part 16 for the audit and certification of an Innovation Management System. This standard, which builds on top of ISO 17021, Part 1 Requirements will provide the basis for certification bodies (CBs) to become authorized to perform ISO 56001 certifications and issue ISO certificates to their audit clients.

The standard development process is currently in the Working Draft (WD) stage, and is targeted for a mid-2027 release; however, there are several indicators that it may be officially published before the end of 2026.

NOTE: Dallas N. Bishoff, the President of PROCESS 360 is the U.S. expert assigned to help TC 279 fast track this standard. Dallas has a substantial amount of audit and certification experience across several ISO standards, which will help accelerate this initiative.