Innovation Management Principles

Eight principles form the foundation for managing innovation activities in organizations. They are embedded in the innovation management system developed by ISO.

The innovation management principles were developed to capture the essence of effective management of innovation activities. They can be used as an introduction to understand the innovation management system or as a tool for assessing the innovation management capabilities of an organization.

1. Realization of value
Value, financial or non-financial, is realized from the deployment, adoption and impact of new or changed solutions for interested parties.

2. Future-focused leaders
Leaders at all levels, driven by curiosity and courage, challenge the status quo by building an inspiring vision and purpose and by continuously engaging people to achieve those aims.

3. Strategic direction
The direction for innovation activities is based on aligned and shared objectives and a relevant ambition level, supported by the necessary people and other resources.

4. Culture
Shared values, beliefs and behaviours, supporting openness to change, risk taking and collaboration enable the coexistence of creativity and effective execution.

5. Exploiting insights
A diverse range of internal and external sources are used to systematically build insightful knowledge, to exploit stated and unstated needs.

6. Managing uncertainty
Uncertainties and risks are evaluated, leveraged and then managed, by learning from systematic experimentation and iterative processes, within a portfolio of opportunities.

7. Adaptability
Changes in the context of the organization are addressed by timely adaptation of structures, processes, competences and value realization models to maximize innovation capabilities.

8. Systems approach
Innovation management is based on a systems approach with interrelated and interacting elements and regular performance evaluation and improvements of the system.

The innovation management principles are published in ISO 56000:2020 Innovation management – Fundamentals and vocabulary, that also includes the terms and definitions, and on the ISO/TC 279 site.

See the presentation about innovation management principles.

Updated 2020-07-01