IAF and ILAC are excited to announce the launch of our new podcast, Accreditation Matters. This podcast series will feature discussions with international experts on important matters to the international quality infrastructure community and the way that accreditation supports regulators, global trade and consumers.

In our first episode, Brendon Moo of the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) interviews Kylie Sheehan of the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ), IAF MLA Management Committee Chair, and Jennifer Evans of NATA, ILAC Arrangement Management Committee Chair, on the role of accreditation and accredited conformity assessment services within the quality infrastructure community.

Ms. Evans and Ms. Sheehan highlight the importance of accreditation and the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement/ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement, their contribution to sustainability, and the work of IAF, ILAC, NATA and JAS-ANZ. They also share their views on the IAF and ILAC project to create a single international organization for accreditation.

Listen to our first episode now on Spotify, Apple Podcast and Google Podcasts. 

The signatory status of Organismo Nacional de Acreditacion (ONA), Paraguay, to the ILAC MRA has been extended to include Calibration (ISO/IEC 17025).

The full list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available from https://ilac.org/signatory-search/ .

ILAC-G19:06/2022 – Modules in a Forensic Science Process has been published and is now available from https://ilac.org/publications-and-resources/ilac-guidance-series/

We welcome Latvian National Accreditation Bureau, Latvia, as a Full Member of ILAC.

As LATAK is a signatory to the EA MLA for the accreditation of calibration and testing laboratories using ISO/IEC 17025, medical testing laboratories using ISO 15189 and inspection bodies using ISO/IEC 17020, LATAK has been granted signatory status to the ILAC MRA and therefore, Full membership of ILAC. 

We welcome LATAK and look forward to working with our LATAK colleagues.

The full list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available here.

ILAC P4:06/2022 ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement: Policy and Management, ILAC P5:06/2022 ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement: Scope and Obligations and ILAC R6:06/2022 Structure of the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement and Procedure for Expansion of the Scope of the ILAC Arrangement have been revised to support the implementation of the following resolution and the extension of the ILAC MRA to include accreditation of biobanking:

 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.

P4 and P5 are available here and R6 is available here.

The 2021 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 2021 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). 

ILAC signed the Joint Statement of Intent On the digital transformation in the international scientific and quality infrastructure on 31 May 2022. The joint statement had previously been signed by the BIPM, the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Measurement Confederation (IMEKO), the International Science Council (ISC) and its Committee on Data (CODATA).

The joint statement provides a platform for the signatory organizations to come together to indicate their support, in a way appropriate to their particular organization, to the development, implementation, and promotion of the SI Digital Framework as part of a wider digital transformation of the international scientific and quality infrastructure. The addition of ILAC further strengthens the collaboration and global reach of the initiative. Etty Feller, ILAC Chair, commented that “ILAC and BIPM have been working together for decades as part of the quality infrastructure community to enhance and strengthen international recognition and trust in accurate and traceable measurements that underpin science including in the medical, commerce, monitoring of the environment and the provision of safe food and water sectors. ILAC is working with our quality infrastructure colleagues and in particular BIPM, to ensure the effective delivery and implementation of the SI Digital Framework via the accreditation processes”.

The joint statement is part of an ongoing initiative by the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) and its Task Group on the Digital SI (CIPM-TG-DSI) to develop and establish a world-wide uniform and secure data exchange format based on the International System of Units (SI).

The National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards (ACFS), Thailand, is welcomed as an Associate member of ILAC.

We welcome ACFS and look forward to working with our ACFS colleagues.

09 June 2022 marks the 15th anniversary of World Accreditation Day (WAD), a day that IAF and ILAC celebrate every year with members, partners, stakeholders and other organisations in the field of conformity assessment to mark the importance of accreditation.

WAD was established in 2007 by the IAF/ILAC Joint General Assembly, and first celebrated in 2008 with the theme of Accreditation: Delivering Trust in the Global Market. Over the years, themes have touched on the broad qualities of accreditation such as its ability to deliver trust and confidence, the ways that it benefits specific groups such as regulators, and its role in benefiting certain sectors and addressing specific issues. More recent themes focus on how accreditation supports broader global issues such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The past themes of WAD, and promotional materials prepared to celebrate the day, can all be viewed here.

The WAD 2022 theme is Accreditation: Sustainability in Economic Growth and the Environment. With ecosystems under increasing strain from climate change, habitat destruction, and pollution, viewing economic growth through the lens of sustainability has become essential. Accreditation and standards can help regulators, companies and consumers require or engage in more environmentally friendly practices. A joint statement from the IAF and ILAC Chairs, poster and brochure with more information on the theme are now available for download here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted in-person celebrations in recent years, but IAF, ILAC, their members and other organizations have continued to celebrate in a wide variety of ways, including with virtual events. Some examples of how members adjusted to the pandemic to celebrate in 2020 can be viewed here and here.

IAF and ILAC will be holding a virtual event on 09 June 2022 at two different times, 8:00 UTC and 19:00 UTC, to accommodate individuals in different time zones. To attend, register at one of the following links:

08:00 UTC event: https://bit.ly/3GmeTqb

19:00 UTC event: https://bit.ly/3NwVVj8

We also encourage everyone to celebrate with us online using the hashtag #WAD2022 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.

We welcome Georgian Accreditation Center – The Unified National Body of Accreditation (GAC), Georgia, as a Full Member of ILAC.

GAC joined ILAC as an Affiliate member on 21 February 2005 and then became an Associate Member on 11 January 2021.  As GAC is a signatory to the EA MLA for the accreditation of calibration and testing laboratories using ISO/IEC 17025, medical testing laboratories using ISO 15189 and inspection bodies using ISO/IEC 17020, GAC has also been granted signatory status to the ILAC MRA and therefore, Full membership of ILAC. 

We welcome GAC as a Full Member and look forward to working with our GAC colleagues.

The full list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available here.