6.1 Actions to address opportunities and risks

6.1.1 When planning for the innovation management system, the organization should consider the issues referred to in 4.1, the needs, expectations and the requirements referred to in 4.2, and determine the opportunities and risks that need to be addressed to:

a) give assurance that the innovation management system can achieve its intended outcomes;

b) enhance desired effects;

c) prevent, or reduce, undesired effects;

d) compare the effects of acceptance of risk against those of prevention;

e) achieve continual improvement.

6.1.2 The organization should plan:

a) actions to address these opportunities and risks, considering the:

1) uncertainties associated with the opportunities;

2) degree and type of risk that may or may not be accepted;

b) how to:

1) integrate and implement the actions into its innovation management system processes;

2) evaluate the effectiveness of these actions.

Besides the opportunities and risks affecting the management system, there are opportunities that can lead to innovation initiatives.

6.2 Innovation objectives and planning to achieve them

The organization should establish innovation objectives at relevant functions and levels.

The innovation objectives should:

a) be consistent with the innovation policy and aim for the innovation vision;

b) be consistent across functions and levels of the organization;

c) be measurable (if practicable) or verifiable;

d) take into account applicable requirements;

e) be monitored;

f) be communicated and understood;

g) be updated as appropriate.

The organization should retain documented information on the innovation objectives.

When planning how to achieve its innovation objectives, the organization should determine:

a) what will be done, considering the identified areas of opportunity, and types of innovations to be focused on;

b) who will be involved, in terms of internal and external interested parties;

c) what will be required, e.g. organizational structures, support, including resources, and processes;

d) who will be responsible;

e) when it will be completed, in terms of planning horizons and relevant milestones;

f) what strategic and portfolio criteria will be used to assess innovation initiatives;

g) how the results will be evaluated, including the use of innovation performance indicators;

h) how the results will be protected, if applicable, and exploited;

i) how it will be communicated;

j) what documented information will be retained or maintained.

6.3 Organizational structures

Top management should:

a) ensure that relevant and adaptable organizational structures are in place to achieve the intended outcomes of the innovation management system;

b) consider how creativity and exploration on the one hand and deployment and efficiency on the other hand, can co-exist or be integrated within the organization;

c) consider establishing dedicated organizational structures appropriate to the size of the organization, when any of the following applies:

1) innovations are expected to be disruptive or radical, with respect to, or competing with, existing offerings;

2) different leadership styles, incentives, indicators, or cultures are needed;

3) specific support, including resources, needs to be exclusively available for innovation activities;

4) specific operations, including processes, that need to be adapted to a higher degree of uncertainty and variation compared to established processes.

6.4 Innovation portfolios

The organization should establish, manage, regularly evaluate, and prioritize the portfolio, or several portfolios, if appropriate, of innovation initiatives and ensure:

a) alignment of the innovation portfolio with, and contribution to, the innovation strategy and objectives;

b) consistency between initiatives within, as well as outside of, the innovation portfolios;

c) realization of synergies, including possibilities for re-use and optimization regarding, e.g. resources, technologies, platforms, and processes;

d) appropriate balance of risk versus return, degrees of novelty, types of innovations, as well as different horizons in terms of time and scope;

e) communication of the overall progress and achievements to top management and relevant interested parties;

f) improvement and adjustment of innovation portfolios, strategy, and objectives.

When managing the innovation portfolios, the organization can consider a combination of innovation initiatives related to the optimization or adjacent extension of current offerings as well as new solutions for new users, customers and other interested parties, e.g. new markets.