ISO 56002 Maturity · Innovation Management
Your innovation capability measured against ISO 56002, translated into a roadmap.
10 themes, a 5-level scale. And the action that moves each level to the next.
The framework’s 10 themes, already written from L1 to L5. One company, one business unit, or 300 at once.
ISO 56002 Maturity · Innovation Management
10 themes, 5-level scale.
Nordhavn Industries
53 / 100
They measure their maturity with Datamensio
An example
This could be your situation.
Take one company as an example: three sites, three spreadsheets, no shared answer.
Nobody can consolidate.
Nordhavn Industries, 2,400 people in Hamburg, Lyon and Porto. A client asks where the group stands. Each site answers in its own spreadsheet, with its own scales.
Three weeks, a single base.
One ISO 56002:2019, superseded by ISO 56001:2024 for certifiable requirements assessment launched across all three sites at once, from the managers’ interview notes. The framework was already written, its 10 themes and levels L1 to L5 too.
Two costs avoided before being committed.
A score of 53 out of 100, with the gap concentrated on three themes. The AI companion spotted that two actions duplicated those of another audit. The committee report took one sentence to request.
What it saved them
- 3sites measured on the same base, instead of three questionnaires to reconcile
- 2duplicate actions caught before the spend
- 1committee report, with no manual rework
These figures are an example. They could be yours.
The standard imposes processes. Datamensio says where you stand.
01
The framework is already written
Themes, questions and levels L1 to L5, all written. You do not start from an empty spreadsheet.
02
The score lands the same day
Online, by self-assessment link or in interview. Theme by theme, comparable over time.
03
The gap becomes a costed plan
Every step up carries its action. The AI prioritises on expected effect, not on the order of the standard.
04
Progress can be demonstrated
Campaign after campaign, against your target and against your own past. That is what your board asks for.
The maturity scale
One level, the next, and the action that links the two.
This mechanism, a level, the level above, and the action that connects the two, is what turns a finding into a trajectory.
Are decisions to continue or stop innovation initiatives made against explicit criteria?
- N1
No decision milestones. Initiatives continue for as long as a sponsor backs them, and fade out without a formal decision.
- N2
Reviews take place on some initiatives, on the teams’ own initiative. Criteria vary from one project to the next and stop decisions are rare.
- N3
Decision milestones are defined for the whole portfolio, with written criteria. Decisions are taken in committee and recorded.
- N4
Decisions to continue, redirect or stop are systematic, backed by evidence from experimentation, and freed-up resources are reallocated.
- N5
Decision criteria are revised in light of observed results and lessons learned, with documented tracking of revisions and their effects on the portfolio.
Action to move from L2 to L3
Draft the grid of continue and stop criteria (expected value, evidence required, resources needed), apply it to all initiatives in the portfolio, and add the review to the agenda of the quarterly innovation committee, with a recorded decision log.
« With Datamensio, we meet our objectives far more efficiently. The ERDF inspection services and our supervising ministry particularly appreciated an approach that gives them reliable data. »
Director, CCI 94CCI Île-de-France
« We believe this is the most suitable solution to scale our transformation project and measure impact according to our needs. »
Maja SucekChief Operating Officer, Interreg Danube
Rarely on its own
Frameworks combine. Put several together to cover your business, or have the AI write yours.
Take your first measurementon ISO 56002.
What this framework covers
ISO 56002 provides guidelines for establishing, deploying and improving an innovation management system. It follows the common structure of management system standards: organisational context, leadership, planning, support, operation of innovation activities, performance evaluation, improvement. It also sets out eight principles, including value realisation, future-focused leaders, managing uncertainty and a systems approach. It sets no binding requirements: these are recommendations, applicable regardless of sector, size or type of innovation pursued.
The difficulty lies in the nature of the subject itself. An organisation can display all the trappings of innovation, a lab, a budget, and still be unable to say what those initiatives actually produce. The same practical questions keep coming back: is the initiative portfolio arbitrated against explicit criteria, or by the conviction of its sponsors? What happens to an idea after the ideation workshop, who owns it, who kills it? Are the resources allocated to exploration protected when exploitation demands resources of its own? Without a documented trail, innovation remains a set of isolated actions.
One point of context not to miss: the ISO 56000 family has evolved. ISO 56002 remains the reference guide, but ISO 56001, published in 2024, now carries the requirements for an innovation management system. Many organisations have worked from 56002 without identifying the gaps that 56001 will bring to light. Another common confusion: ISO 56002 is not a creativity method or a project management framework. It addresses the system that makes innovation repeatable, not the running of a workshop.
The maturity assessment answers a different question from the audit. An audit concludes with compliant or non-compliant. The assessment places each practice on a progressive scale, from a one-off action to a steered and reviewed mechanism, and points to the action that moves it up a level. On a subject like innovation, where little is binary, this level-based reading is the only one that produces a trajectory a senior management team can actually use.
Within Datamensio, the framework is ready to use and remains yours. You adjust the themes, the questions and the wording of the levels: the AI refines these levels using the CMMI method, or builds a variant from your own documents, innovation charter, governance bodies, portfolio arbitration criteria.
Reference standard: ISO 56002:2019, superseded by ISO 56001:2024 for certifiable requirements
The themes assessed
Context and strategic intent
Understanding of external and internal issues, a formalised innovation ambition, system scope, expectations of interested parties, alignment with corporate strategy.
Leadership and commitment
Management involvement, innovation policy, definition of roles and responsibilities, arbitration between exploitation and exploration, tolerance of failure demonstrated by leadership.
Culture and skills
Behaviours encouraged, recognition of contributions, development of innovation skills, mobility between business functions and project teams, awareness among middle management.
Planning and objectives
Innovation objectives and associated indicators, portfolios and organisational structures, consideration of risks and opportunities, planning of change.
Resources and means
Budgets dedicated to exploration, time allocated to teams, experimentation infrastructure and environments, access to data, intellectual property, captured knowledge.
Innovation processes
Identifying opportunities, creating and validating concepts, developing solutions, deployment and rollout, go or no go milestones.
Collaboration and ecosystem
External partnerships, relationships with start-ups, laboratories and universities, open innovation, customer and supplier contribution, contractual framework for collaboration.
Portfolio management
Balance between innovation horizons, selection and prioritisation criteria, periodic review, resource reallocation, documented stop decisions.
Performance evaluation
Activity and outcome indicators, measurement of value created, internal audits, management review, comparison over time and across entities.
System improvement
Formalised lessons learned, handling of gaps, updating of processes, maturation of the system itself.
A short version of the framework is available for the online self-assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Is ISO 56002 certifiable?
No. ISO 56002 provides guidelines, with no binding requirements. Since 2024, ISO 56001 carries the requirements for an innovation management system and opens the way to certification. The Datamensio assessment measures maturity and prepares for this, it issues no certificate.
What is the difference between this assessment and an audit?
An audit checks for the presence of requirements and concludes with a gap or a compliance finding. The assessment places each practice on a maturity scale and points to the action that moves it up a level. One validates, the other builds a trajectory.
How long does the assessment take?
The short version can be completed in a single working session. The full version, run collaboratively with several contributors, typically takes one to two weeks, most of the time spent gathering input from initiative owners and financial control.
Can the framework be adapted to our organisation?
Yes. The themes, questions and wording of the levels can all be changed, and you can add your own areas. The AI refines the levels using the CMMI method or builds a variant from your internal documents. The framework is yours.
How do you compare several business units?
Each entity completes the same assessment and gets its score per theme. The benchmark sets results side by side, including against previous assessments. A cross-entity roadmap then consolidates the action plans to avoid addressing the same gap ten times over.
What happens after the assessment?
The gap between the score and the target generates the action plan. The AI groups actions into a prioritised roadmap. The service catalogue offers a solution for each item, with its cost, timeframe and expected impact on the score.
Do you need normative expertise to answer?
No. The questions cover observable practices: how initiatives are selected, funded, tracked, stopped. An innovation manager or a financial controller can answer them. The collaborative mode allows specific questions to be assigned to the right contributor.
Where is the data hosted?
In France, with OVH, backed up with Scaleway. No transfer outside the European Union. The AI models used can be selected, including from among European solutions.