Stakeholder engagement at the UK's national accreditation body

As the national accreditation body for the United Kingdom, UKAS covers a vast array of accreditation areas, spanning sectors including Healthcare, Forensic Science, Food & Farming, Construction, Engineering, IR4, Information Security and Environmental.

To supply the technical expertise necessary to deliver a suitably robust assessment service to over 2,500 accredited customers, UKAS relies on the technical ability of our 320 permanent members of staff, supported by a wider network of Independent Technical Assessors.

Government engagement

We depend on stakeholder engagement with our members and broader group of stakeholders to maintain our technical competence, as well as our relevance for markets and public policy. Government engagement is a key element to this approach and UKAS works with policymakers across government, regulators, and agencies, and with the devolved administrations, to explore how accreditation can be used to support better risk-based and outcome-focused policy delivery.

UKAS members representing customers

UKAS enables customer views, concerns and future priorities to be fed into its strategic planning processes through governance mechanisms like the Policy Advisory Forum and Council, as well as its Technical Advisory Committees. This helps to ensure that UKAS delivers an effective, technically competent and professional accreditation service.

UKAS accreditation underpins a broad and diverse range of economic and business activities both inside and outside the regulatory sphere. UKAS therefore works closely with professional institutes, trade association and other bodies including those representing end users and consumer enforcement.

UKAS External Affairs department

The UKAS External Affairs team manages relationships with all stakeholders. It reflects stakeholder views and develops policy positions on key issues. This engagement helps establish where and how accreditation may be appropriate as an alternative or a complement to regulatory policy development. UKAS expertise also helps UK government target intervention when and where it is most needed.

UKAS shapes its strategy and policy via:

·????????The Policy Advisory Forum (PAF), comprising more than 60 members.

·????????The Policy Advisory Council (PAC), drawn from members elected from the Policy Advisory Forum.

·????????Healthcare steering group.

·????????4IR Strategic Advisory Committee.

UKAS provides advice and guidance via:

·????????Technical Advisory Committees that provide advice on specific technical issues and enable dissemination of knowledge.

·????????External industry groups where UKAS drives awareness of quality and competence across multiple sectors.

·????????Appointed technical focus people whose specific expertise provides a competent and appropriate contact in UKAS for technical enquiries.

·????????Development in pilot projects that deliver new areas of accreditation.

To find out more about the governance of UKAS and how stakeholder engagement supports our deliver of accreditation on our website.

Working with our international colleagues to support their development plans

Alongside our training division, UKAS's advisory services are designed to support initial development of new Accreditation Bodies, as well as to assist with the development of new services for established national Accreditation Bodies.

Find out more and discuss your advisory needs here.