Top management should demonstrate leadership and commitment with respect to the innovation management system by:

a) being accountable for the effectiveness and efficiency of the innovation management system;

b) ensuring that the innovation vision, strategy, policy, and objectives are established, are consistent and are compatible with the context and the strategic direction of the organization;

c) fostering a culture supporting innovation activities;

d) ensuring the adoption and integration of the organization's innovation management system requirements into the organization's existing structures and business processes, as appropriate;

e) supporting leaders at all levels and other relevant management roles to demonstrate their leadership and commitment to develop their leadership regarding innovation, as it applies to their areas of responsibility;

f) ensuring that structures, support, including resources and processes, needed for the innovation management system are available;

g) creating awareness and communicating the importance of effective innovation management and of adopting the innovation management system guidance;

h) ensuring that the innovation management system achieves its intended outcomes;

i) engaging, directing, and supporting persons to contribute to the effectiveness of the innovation management system;

j) encouraging and recognizing innovators to demonstrate good practices, ensure engagement, and facilitate learning from both successes and failures;

k) promoting performance evaluation at planned intervals and continual improvement of the innovation management system;

NOTE Reference to "business" in this document can be interpreted broadly to mean those activities that are core to the purpose of the organization's existence.

Top management should demonstrate leadership and commitment with respect to value realization, by:

a) identifying opportunities, through exploitable insights, based on current or future, stated or unstated needs and expectations;

b) considering the balance between opportunities and risks, including the consequences of lost opportunities;

c) considering risk-appetite and tolerance for failure;

d) allowing for conceptualization, experimentation, and prototyping, involving users, customers, and other interested parties to test hypotheses and validate assumptions;

e) promoting perseverance and ensuring the timely deployment of innovations.

Top management should establish, implement, and maintain an innovation vision that:

a) is a description of a future state that the organization is aspiring for, in terms of innovation activities, including the future role of the organization and the desired impact of its innovations;

b) is consciously ambitious, challenges the status quo, and is not constrained by the organization's current capabilities;

c) serves as a guide for strategic choices and provides a framework for setting the innovation strategy, policy, and objectives;

d) can be communicated and understood internally to inspire people to commit and work towards;

e) can be communicated externally to enhance the reputation of the organization and to attract relevant interested parties;

f) is available as documented information.

5.1.4.1 Top management should establish, implement, and maintain an innovation strategy, or several innovation strategies, if appropriate, and ensure that it:

a) describes why innovation activities are important for the organization;

b) is flexible and adaptable, and allowed to change or emerge as a result of feedback and performance of innovation activities;

c) is communicated to, and understood by. relevant interested parties;

d) maintained as documented information.

5.1.4.2 An innovation strategy can include descriptions of the:

a) context of the organization;

b) innovation vision and policy;

c) roles, responsibilities, and authorities;

d) innovation objectives and the plans to achieve them;

e) organizational structures;

f) support and processes, including allocation of resources.

The rationale for a strategy dedicated to innovation activities can be to focus on value realization under conditions of uncertainty. This requires a balance of assumption-based and evidence-based decision-making, possibly new or modified practices, leadership, structures, and processes.

An innovation strategy can help the people in the organization and its interested parties to understand the decisions made to achieve the innovation objectives, while contributing to engaging and inspiring them.

Top management should establish, implement, and maintain an innovation policy, ensuring that it:

a) is describing the commitment to innovation activities;

b) is appropriate to the purpose and context of the organization and supports its strategic direction, in alignment with the innovation vision;

c) provides a framework for setting innovation strategy and objectives;

d) takes into consideration the innovation management principles;

e) includes a commitment to satisfy applicable requirements and to consider ethical and sustainability aspects;

f) includes a commitment to continual improvement of the innovation management system.

The innovation policy should be:

a) available as documented information;

b) communicated, understood, and applied, within the organization;

c) available to relevant interested parties, as appropriate.

Top management should ensure that the responsibilities and authorities for relevant roles are assigned, communicated, and understood within the organization.

5.3.1 Top management should specifically assign the responsibility and authority for:

a) ensuring that the innovation management system meets the guidance of this document;

b) reporting to top management on the performance of the innovation management system and on opportunities for improvement in a timely manner;

c) ensuring that the integrity of the innovation management system is maintained.

5.3.2 Responsibilities and authorities can be assigned to:

a) existing roles, e.g. all leaders in the organization or roles related to specific functions, units, or offerings;

b) dedicated roles with a focus on general innovation management or specific innovation initiatives and activities.