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ILAC Meetings
The IAF/ILAC Mid-term meetings were held virtually during April 2024.
The IAF/ILAC annual meetings were held as an in-person event in Berlin, Germany from 1 to 10 October 2024. The ILAC General Assembly Adopted Resolutions are available here.
In addition to the in-person meetings noted above all ILAC Committees, Working Groups and Task Forces continue to progress the items on their work plans, via a combination of email and remote meetings.
Information on future meetings and events, including major regional meetings, can also be found in the ILAC Calendar.
Decision to Establish a Single International Organisation for Accreditation
In 2019, the members of IAF and ILAC made the decision to establish a single international organisation for accreditation, to replace IAF and ILAC.
Following extensive work and discussions within IAF and ILAC in 2024 the IAF and ILAC membership agreed the Constitution and General Rules for a new organization, the Global Accreditation Cooperation to take over the existing roles of both IAF and ILAC. Following the annual meetings of IAF and ILAC in October 2024, they commenced the formal process to incorporate the Global Accreditation Cooperation in New Zealand.
The target date (known as the Transition Date) for the Global Accreditation Cooperation to become operational and to take over the roles of IAF and ILAC, is provisionally January 2026. Further information on the transition and exact date will be issued by the end of April 2025.
The ILAC MRA
The scope of recognition of the recognised regions to the ILAC MRA is available from Recognised Regional Cooperation Bodies International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ilac.org)
Information on the acceptance of calibration, testing and inspection results programs provided by PTPs and reference materials produced by RMPs via the ILAC MRA is available from ILAC MRA and Signatories International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation.
There are currently 116 signatories to the ILAC MRA representing 118 economies. The ILAC MRA covers recognition for accreditation in the areas of calibration (ISO/IEC 17025), testing (ISO/IEC 17025), medical testing (ISO 15189), inspection (ISO/IEC 17020), proficiency testing providers (ISO/IEC 17043) and reference material producers (ISO 17034). The list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available from the ILAC MRA Signatory Search.
The ILAC MRA Annual Report 2023 and associated infographic was published in June 2024 and is available from ILAC Promotional Brochures International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation.
Work to extend the ILAC MRA to include the accreditation of biobanks has now reached the stage where applications for recognition can be accepted. This follows the publication of the revised supporting documents as outlined in the resolution adopted during the 25th ILAC General Assembly in 2022: ILAC Resolution GA 25.09 The General Assembly endorses the recommendation of the ARC to extend the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) to include accreditation of biobanking as a Level 2 activity, to the criteria specified in the Level 3 normative document, ISO 20387. ILAC will therefore accept applications for recognition as soon as the documents within ILAC applicable to the MRA are updated to cover this new scope.
Case studies and research on the recognition of the ILAC MRA by governments and regulators are available from the Public Sector Assurance website. The website is a collaborative initiative of the INetQI members and there are over 330 case studies, 90 research papers and 60 supporting materials available to view.
The Business Benefits website is a reference website designed to demonstrate the monetary value of standards, conformity assessment and accreditation for businesses. The website represents another successful collaboration of the INetQI partners with over 95 case studies categorised into 6 areas of value. All of the case studies identify a clear financial benefit. The site also includes more than 75 research papers.
Both the Public Sector Assurance and the Business Benefits websites contain a dedicated search function for each of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The case studies on these sites are now all linked to applicable goals.
ILAC Membership
The ILAC membership as of 20 November 2024 is:
The ILAC membership consists of 158 organisations from 133 different economies worldwide. Over 93,279 laboratories, 14,549 inspection bodies, 746 PTP and 308 RMP are accredited by the ILAC Full Members (signatories to the ILAC MRA). The latest statistics and graphs on the number of accreditation bodies, accredited laboratories, inspection bodies, PTPs and RMPs are available from the ILAC Facts & Figures page.
ILAC Executive Committee
In 2024 the Executive met virtually and held in-person meetings.
Meetings of the IAF and ILAC Joint Executive Committees (JEC) were held in February, June, September and October 2024.
ILAC Liaisons and other International Activities
The current list of ILAC liaison activities includes:
ILAC Liaisons with ISO and ISO/CASCO Policy Committees
ILAC Liaisons with ISO/CASCO Working Groups/Task Forces
ILAC Liaisons with Other Organisations
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and ILAC have reviewed and re-signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in August this year. The re-signing of the ITU-IAF-ILAC MoU continues to support and strengthen the three organisations’ commitment to cooperation and collaboration and the ongoing development of ITU-T’s Conformity and Interoperability (C&I) programme.
On 8 February 2024 IAF, ILAC and OIML renewed the tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was first signed on 28 October 2007. The latest version marks over 16 years of formalised cooperation between the three organisations, and re-confirms the commitment to closely collaborate. Details of the MoU can be found here.
On 9 July 2024 ILAC and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities formalised their longstanding collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (Mou). Details of the MoU can be found here.
Information on ILAC’s partnerships, including copies of communiqués, joint procedures, press releases and MoUs, is available from the ILAC Partnerships Page.
ILAC Secretariat
Ms Nyaki Halimana will return to Secretariat duties on 2 December. Ms Stephanie Sun will finish her temporary engagement on that date. We welcome Nyaki back to the Secretariat, and thank Stephanie for her work in the interim.
Documents and Brochures
Publications finalised and released during 2023 and 2024 include:
ILAC Factsheet 05/2023 Specifying Accreditation in Regulation
ILAC-P5:11/2023 ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement: Scope and Obligations
ILAC-P8:11/2023 ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (Arrangement): Supplementary Requirements for the Use of Accreditation Symbols and for Claims of Accreditation Status by Accredited Conformity Assessment Bodies
ILAC-P9:01/2024 ILAC Policy for Proficiency Testing and/or Interlaboratory comparisons other than Proficiency Testing
ILAC-R6:11/2023 Structure of the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement and Procedure for Expansion of the Scope of the ILAC Arrangement
IAF/ILAC A1:06/2023 IAF/ILAC Multi-Lateral Mutual Recognition Arrangements
IAF/ILAC A2:06/2023 IAF/ILAC Multi-Lateral Mutual Recognition Arrangements (Arrangements): Requirements and Procedures for Evaluation of a Single Accreditation Body
IAF/ILAC A3:06/2023 IAF/ILAC Multi-Lateral Mutual Recognition Arrangements (Arrangements): Template report for the peer evaluation of an Accreditation Body based on ISO/IEC 17011:2017
IAF/ILAC B3:09/2023 Accreditation: Supporting safe food and clean drinking water
IAF/ILAC B5:09/2023 Accreditation: Facilitating world trade
IAF/ILAC B6:09/2023 Accreditation: Delivering confidence in the provision of energy
IAF/ILAC B8:09/2023 Accreditation: Delivering confidence in construction and the built environment
IAF/ILAC B9:09/2023 Accreditation: A global tool to support Public Policy
Follow @ILAC_Official on “X” (formerly Twitter) or https://www.linkedin.com/company/ilac-accreditation/ on LinkedIn to receive the latest ILAC news, including information on meetings, events, liaison activities and new publications.
The April 2024 edition of the ILAC Newsletter is available from News-and-Events/ILAC Newsletter (ilac.org). The next edition will be published before the end of November 2024.
Subscribe to the latest news to receive updates from ILAC members and liaisons.
Prepared by the ILAC Secretariat on 20 November 2024.
In response to requests from members and other interested parties, we are pleased to announce that the ILAC LinkedIn page is once again functioning.
The page will complement our existing ‘X’ account @ILAC_Official.
The increased text allowable in the LinkedIn platform will enable us to provide more information on news items that are currently covered in ‘X’. We also plan to provide new content that is not suitable to condense into a tweet.
You can find the page on LinkedIn here:
We hope that you will subscribe and follow us on both LinkedIn and ‘X’.
Kind regards
The ILAC Secretariat
The One Organisation Project Steering Committee (OOP SC) met on Friday 17 May 2024. The Steering Committee discussed the dispositions of comments received from IAF and ILAC members on the draft GLOBAC Constitution and General Rules. The Steering Committee also discussed the Transition Scenario to form GLOBAC and briefly discussed development of GLOBAC documentation.
The OOP SC will report to the IAF and ILAC Joint Executive Committees meeting to be held on Monday 3 June 2024. Following this meeting it is anticipated that the draft GLOBAC Constitution and General Rules and the Transition Scenario will be circulated to the IAF and ILAC members for ballot.
The ILAC MRA
The scope of recognition of the recognised regions to the ILAC MRA is available from Recognised Regional Cooperation Bodies International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ilac.org)
There are currently 114 ILAC MRA Signatories representing 118 economies. The ILAC MRA covers recognition for accreditation in the areas of calibration (ISO/IEC 17025), testing (ISO/IEC 17025), medical testing (ISO 15189), inspection (ISO/IEC 17020), proficiency testing providers (ISO/IEC 17043) and reference material producers (ISO 17034). The list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available from the ILAC MRA Signatory Search.
The ILAC MRA Annual Report 2023 and associated infographic will be published in May 2024 and available on the website shortly thereafter.
Work to extend the ILAC MRA to include the accreditation of biobanks has now been completed, however no applications have been received to date.
World Accreditation Day 2024 – Accreditation: Empowering Tomorrow and Shaping the Future
09 June 2024 marks World Accreditation Day (WAD), a global initiative established by IAF and ILAC to highlight the value of accreditation. As WAD falls on a Sunday this year, the majority of events will take place on Monday 10 June.
WAD 2024 Resources
The joint statement by the IAF and ILAC Chairs, the brochure and the poster are now available for downloading here along with editable versions of the poster to enable members to add their logos or translate the text. Editable versions of the Brochure are available upon request from the ILAC Secretariat.
WAD 2024 Video
The WAD 2024 video is now available from the IAF/ILAC YouTube channel or using the direct link
Case studies and research on the recognition of the ILAC MRA by governments and regulators are available from the Public Sector Assurance website. The website is a collaborative initiative of the INetQI members and there are over 330 case studies, 90 research papers and 60 supporting materials available to view.
The Business Benefits website is a reference website designed to demonstrate the monetary value of standards, conformity assessment and accreditation for businesses. The website represents another successful collaboration of the INetQI partners with over 95 case studies categorised into 6 areas of value. All of the case studies identify a clear financial benefit. The site also includes more than 75 research papers.
ILAC Membership
The ILAC membership as of 30 April 2024 is:
The ILAC membership consists of 155 organisations from 130 different economies worldwide. Signatories represent about 95% of Global GDP. Over 76,000 laboratories, 10,500 inspection bodies, 400 PTP and 30 RMP are accredited by the ILAC Full Members (signatories to the ILAC MRA).The latest statistics and graphs on the number of accreditation bodies, accredited laboratories, inspection bodies, PTPs and RMPs are available from the ILAC Facts & Figures page.
Establishment of a Single International Organisation for Accreditation
Work commenced on the IAF-ILAC Single Organization Project on 1 March 2021 to establish a Single International Organisation for Accreditation in accordance with the 2019 JGA Frankfurt Resolutions. The contractor managing this process is Dr.-Ing. Thomas Facklam.
The contractor is currently working closely with the Joint Steering Committee on various tasks associated with this project and in 2022 both the ILAC Extraordinary GA and the IAF/ILAC JGA focused on topics associated with this project.
ILAC Meetings
The Mid Term meetings were held virtually during April 2024 and were well attended. Minutes are currently being finalised and will be distributed to the various Committee members in due course. The virtual management of these meeting was once again provided by Say Something Communications
The IAF/ILAC annual meetings will be held in-person in Berlin, Germany from 1 – 10 October 2024. Further information on the meetings, and registration details, will be provided once the schedule
In addition to the meetings noted above all ILAC Committees, Working Groups and Task Forces continue to progress the items on their work plans via a combination of email and remote meetings.
ILAC Liaisons and other International Activities
The current list of ILAC liaison activities includes:
ILAC Liaisons with ISO and ISO/CASCO Policy Committees
ILAC Liaisons with ISO/CASCO Working Groups/Task Forces
ILAC Liaisons with Other Organisations
Information on ILAC’s partnerships, including copies of communiqués, joint procedures, press releases and MoUs, is available from the ILAC Partnerships page.
ILAC thanks all of the ILAC liaison officers, and their organisations, who volunteer their time to assist ILAC in carrying out these activities for the benefit of all ILAC members.
ILAC Secretariat
The new ILAC Secretariat staff commenced work on 1 January 2024.
The new staff wishes to acknowledge and thank the former Secretariat staff – Annette Dever, Sharon Kelly, Hannah Yeoh, Stephanie Sun, and Joelle Nicolas.
Documents and Brochures
The following publication has been finalised and released since October 2023:
Follow @ILAC_Official on “X”(formerly Twitter) to receive the latest ILAC news, including information on meetings, events, liaison activities and new publications.
Subscribe to the latest news to receive updates from ILAC members and liaisons.
Michael Fraser
ILAC Secretary
Michael is based in Australia and will be fulfilling the role of ILAC Secretary.
Johanna Acuña
ILAC Arrangement Program Manager
Johanna is based in Costa Rica and will be managing all aspects of the ILAC MRA and assisting with the ILAC Mark.
Belinda Mort
ILAC Marketing and Communications Manager
Finance Administrator
Belinda is based in Australia and will be managing the ILAC Marketing and Communications Team. Belinda will be assisting Paul with aspects of the financial accounts.
Wanji Yang
ILAC Technical Committees Program Manager
ILAC Administrator
Wanji is based in Chinese Taipei and will be managing the ILAC Technical Committees.
She will also be assisting Michael and Johanna.
Rose De Rota
ILAC Administrator
Rose is based in Australia and will be primarily involved with Member Services.
Nonlanhla (Nyaki) Halimana
IAF/ILAC Joint Development Support Program Manager
ILAC Administrator
Nyaki is based in South Africa and will oversee the Joint Development Support Program. She will also assist Rose with Member Services.
Paul Smith
ILAC Finance Officer
Paul is based in Australia and will be providing the financial oversight and management of the ILAC accounts.
Karla Sanchez
IAF/ILAC Social Media Coordinator
Karla is based in Mexico and will be working with the Marketing and Communications Team assisting with development of social media content.
Krista Eager
ILAC Marketing Coordinator
Krista is based in Canada and will be working with the Marketing and Communications Team.
Although each ILAC Secretariat Team member has a personal ilac.org email address we intend to use our primary email address for sending and receiving emails secretariat@ilac.org.
Several other email accounts have also been created and will be used for targeted communications.
ILAC members and colleagues, we are abandoning our traditional Secretariat update covering all things ILAC for this edition of ILAC News, as it is with mixed emotions that I confirm this is the last edition of ILAC News from the current Secretariat.
A significant chapter in the history of ILAC comes to an end on 31 December when the contract between NATA and ILAC for the provision of Secretariat services concludes. The ILAC Secretariat has been staffed via a Deed of Agreement (DoA) with NATA since 1996 when the formal cooperation to establish ILAC was signed and even prior to this period, NATA resourced the Secretariat from the inception of ILAC as a conference in 1977.
Many of you will recall the key staff that have managed the ILAC Secretariat under the NATA DoA, in particular, Ann Margaret Gilmour and Alan Squirrell, who each made a significant contribution in supporting and growing the organisation from its earliest foundation.
On behalf of the current staff, Sharon, Hannah, Joelle, Rose, Stephanie and myself, I would like to thank all our members, liaison partners and colleagues and the IAF Secretariat for their support in progressing the work, profile and role of ILAC to become the internationally recognised organisation it is today. It has been a pleasure and privilege to work with all of you, with so many wonderful learning experiences and friendships made along the way.
During my time as the ILAC Secretary (2007 – 2023) I have been very fortunate to have had an exceptional team of loyal, skilled and dedicated staff that made it possible for the Secretariat to deliver the range of services that have continued to grow and expand over this period. That is especially the case with the current team members working with me during these final months and I want to acknowledge their support, dedication and professionalism, without which it would not have been possible to maintain the required level of service.
We will be actively working to support a smooth and comprehensive transition process to the new Secretariat team for the remainder of 2023 and during the first quarter of 2024. Details of the new Secretariat will be announced by ILAC and IAF when finalised. The new Secretariat will be supporting and guiding you from 1 January 2024, and also working to prepare the foundations for a single international organisation for accreditation! We look forward to seeing the continued growth, development and acceptance of accreditation in the international arena.
The staff of the ILAC Secretariat send our very best wishes to all for a safe and exciting future.
Thank you!
The 2022 ILAC MRA Report and infographic is now available to download.
ILAC and its accreditation body members invest significant effort and resources to maintain the integrity and consistency of the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA), also known as the ILAC Arrangement, through a peer evaluation process.
This report provides information on the activities carried out as part of the global peer evaluation process in 2022 in order to ensure that both regulators and consumers of laboratory and inspection data, as well as users of proficiency testing programs and reference materials are able to maintain confidence in the services accredited by the signatories to the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA).
The ILAC MRA
As a result of the recent ILAC Arrangement Council ballot, The Southern African Development Community Cooperation in Accreditation (SADCA) has been granted recognition as a regional cooperation body of ILAC.
The scope of recognition of the recognised regions to the ILAC MRA is available from Recognised Regional Cooperation Bodies International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ilac.org)
Information on the acceptance of calibration, testing and inspection results, programs provided by PTPs and reference materials produced by RMPs via the ILAC MRA is available from ILAC MRA and Signatories International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation.
There are currently 109 signatories to the ILAC MRA representing 116 economies. The ILAC MRA covers recognition for accreditation in the areas of calibration (ISO/IEC 17025), testing (ISO/IEC 17025), medical testing (ISO 15189), inspection (ISO/IEC 17020), proficiency testing providers (ISO/IEC 17043) and reference material producers (ISO 17034). The list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available from the ILAC MRA Signatory Search.
The ILAC MRA Annual Report 2021 and associated infographic was published in June 2022 and is available from ILAC Promotional Brochures International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation.
The 2022 report will be published in May 2023.
Work to extend the ILAC MRA to include the accreditation of biobanks has now reached the stage where applications for recognition are being accepted. This follows the publication of the revised supporting documents as outlined in the resolution adopted during the 25th ILAC General Assembly in 2022: ILAC Resolution GA 25.09 The General Assembly endorses the recommendation of the ARC to extend the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) to include accreditation of biobanking as a Level 2 activity, to the criteria specified in the Level 3 normative document, ISO 20387. ILAC will therefore accept applications for recognition as soon as the documents within ILAC applicable to the MRA are updated to cover this new scope.
Case studies and research on the recognition of the ILAC MRA by governments and regulators are available from the Public Sector Assurance website. The website is a collaborative initiative of the INetQI members and there are over 330 case studies, 90 research papers and 60 supporting materials available to view.
The Business Benefits website a reference website designed to demonstrate the monetary value of standards, conformity assessment and accreditation for businesses. The website represents another successful collaboration of the INetQI partners with over 95 case studies categorised into 6 areas of value. All of the case studies identify a clear financial benefit. The site also includes more than 75 research papers.
ILAC Membership
The ILAC membership as of 12 April 2023 is:
The ILAC membership consists of 154 organisations from 129 different economies worldwide. Over 88,000 laboratories, 13,900 inspection bodies, 604 PTP and 260 RMP are accredited by the ILAC Full Members (signatories to the ILAC MRA).The latest statistics and graphs on the number of accreditation bodies, accredited laboratories, inspection bodies, PTPs and RMPs are available from the ILAC Facts & Figures page.
Decision to Establish a Single International Organisation for Accreditation
Work commenced on the IAF-ILAC Single Organization Project on 1 March 2021 to establish a Single International Organisation for Accreditation in accordance with the 2019 JGA Frankfurt Resolutions. The contractor managing this process is Dr.-Ing. Thomas Facklam.
The contractor is currently working closely with the Joint Steering Committee on various tasks associated with this project and in 2022 both the ILAC Extraordinary GA and the IAF/ILAC JGA focused on topics associated with this project.
ILAC Meetings
All ILAC meetings and joint ILAC-IAF meetings were again held virtually during 2022.
An extraordinary virtual meeting of the ILAC General Assembly (EGA) was held on 15 September to consider specific topics related to the establishment of the single international organisation for accreditation. The Joint IAF/ILAC General Assembly (JGA) was held virtually on 10 November 2022 and the 26th ILAC General Assembly was held virtually for the third year running on 15 November 2022. The Adopted Resolutions are available to download from the ILAC website.
The IAF/ILAC mid-term meetings are being held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1 – 8 May 2023. Delegates who wish to participate virtually are also able to purchase a virtual pass for these meetings. The on-site and virtual management of these meetings is being provided by Say Something Communications.
The IAF/ILAC annual meetings will be held in-person in Montréal, Canada from 6 – 15 November 2023.
In addition to the in-person meetings noted above all ILAC Committees, Working Groups and Task Forces continue to progress the items on their work plans via a combination of email and remote meetings.
Information on future meetings and events, including major regional meetings, can also be found in the ILAC Calendar.
ILAC Liaisons and other International Activities
The current list of ILAC liaison activities includes:
ILAC Liaisons with ISO and ISO/CASCO Policy Committees
ILAC Liaisons with ISO/CASCO Working Groups/Task Forces
ILAC Liaisons with Other Organisations
Information on ILAC’s partnerships, including copies of communiqués, joint procedures, press releases and MoUs, is available from the ILAC Partnerships page.
ILAC thanks all of the ILAC liaison officers, and their organisations, who volunteer their time to assist ILAC in carrying out these activities for the benefit of all ILAC members.
ILAC Secretariat
The ILAC Secretariat staff currently includes Annette Dever, Sharon Kelly, Hannah Yeoh, Stephanie Sun (0.6 FTE), Rose De Rota (0.7 FTE), and Joelle Nicolas (0.8 FTE).
ILAC Marketing and Communications Officer, Rebecca Sheehan’s last day was Friday 17 February 2023. Rebecca has taken up a permanent role that will provide greater stability and career pathways, noting that the ILAC Secretariat, in its current form will cease operation at the end of 2023. We thank Rebecca for her contribution to both ILAC and the Joint IAF/ILAC work activities while she was working with the Secretariat, and we wish Rebecca all the best for the future.
Stephanie Sun, Joelle Nicolas, Rebecca Sheehan, Hannah Yeoh, Rose De Rota, Sharon Kelly, Annette Dever
Documents and Brochures
The following publication has been finalised and released since October 2022:
ILAC-G24:2022 Guidelines for the determination of calibration intervals of measuring equipment
Follow @ILAC_Official on Twitter to receive the latest ILAC news, including information on meetings, events, liaison activities and new publications.
The April 2023 edition of ILAC News is available from News International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ilac.org).
Subscribe to the latest news to receive updates from ILAC members and liaisons.
June 9th 2023 marks World Accreditation Day (#WAD2023), a global initiative established by ILAC and IAF to promote the value of accreditation.
IAF and ILAC celebrate World Accreditation Day (WAD) with our members, partners, stakeholders and users of conformity assessment. The theme for WAD 2023 is:
Accreditation: Supporting the Future of Global Trade
This theme will showcase how accreditation and accredited conformity assessment activities support the ongoing global supply chain restructuring that continues to be a source of trade normalization as organisations seek new markets and investment opportunities to build resilient and flexible supply chains. This is likely to reinforce long-term growth in multilateral and bilateral trade relationships and augment the value of the ILAC/IAF mutual recognition arrangements in promoting greater supply chain efficiency and resilience.
This year’s theme, Accreditation: Supporting the Future of Global Trade also focuses on how accreditation supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 14, and 17.
IAF and ILAC will be releasing a joint statement by the IAF and ILAC Chairs, a brochure and a video along with the already published poster for use in celebrations. In addition, a virtual event will be hosted by IAF and ILAC on 9th June. Case studies and research on benefits that accreditation can provide in support of this theme are available on the Public Sector Assurance and Business Benefits websites.
We encourage everyone to celebrate with us online using the hashtag #WAD2023, to attend our virtual event and to contact your local accreditation body for further details on local media and online seminars and programs they may be organising. A list of IAF Members is available here, and a list of ILAC Members is available here.
Happy New Year, I am looking forward to 2023 being a year of successful processes and good controls for our decisions that will benefit all ILAC members, partners and interested regulators.
In the past year, despite being a challenging year that required all of us to continue working with a new normal, including conducting our activities online, we managed to fulfill all our plans and even beyond.
The ILAC set of policy documents and internal work procedures that bind all of us as members continue to be managed and implemented in an exceptional way by the ILAC secretariat, the committee Chairs and members and the ILAC Executive.
The work of the IAF/ILAC Steering Committee continues on our mega project, one international organisation for accreditation, with the issue of stakeholder voting rights currently being considered via ballot and the tender for the Secretariat being drafted.
Applications for the recognition of the accreditation of Biobanks from the regions are now being accepted following the publication of ILAC P4, P5 and R6. This evaluation of applicant regional cooperations for this scope is the final stage in the process for extending the ILAC MRA to include the accreditation of biobanks.
ILAC and IAF reviewed and re-signed the MoU with The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), supporting and strengthening our commitment to cooperation and collaboration to the ongoing development of ITU-T’s Conformity and Interoperability (C&I) programme.
ILAC also signed the Joint Statement of Intent On the Digital Transformation in the International Scientific and Quality Infrastructure.
In 2022 we again held a competition for the design of the World Accreditation Day (WAD) poster, again took our WAD event online and saw excellent engagement and launched a joint podcast series.
Finally for 2022, the latest edition of ISO 15189 was published, so all ABs that accredit Medical Labs, now have 3-year implementation period (i.e. until Dec 2025) to ensure accredited medical laboratories comply with this latest edition of the standard.
The year ahead will be challenging and brings with it a variety of activities and face-to-face meetings following three years of on-line only meetings. 2023 will see us consider and require us to make significant decisions to maintain our standing in the world as an international accreditation organization with the tagline ‘accredited once, accept everywhere’. In making these decisions we must maintain the trust of all our stakeholders and international organizations with whom we have mutual recognition agreements. Above all, we will continue to improve the work and cooperation between us, the members of ILAC, and those that wish to join, in a professional manner and respecting the decisions made by all members.
Happy new year, prosperity, fulfillment, and success.