Efficiently managed community systems have far-reaching benefits for all stakeholders. Community management system is a platform where communities and special-interest groups with specialized expertise represent themselves and try to find solutions to specific problems.
ISO/IEC TS 17021-8 specifies competence requirements for personnel involved in the audit and certification process of a management system for sustainable development in communities and complements the existing requirements of ISO 170211.
ISO 37101 sets out a coherent framework to enable community to develop its purposes and vision. Personnel certifying the management system for sustainable development in communities need to have generic competencies described in ISO/IEC 170211:2015, as well as the specific management system competencies described in ISO TS 17021-8.
The scope of ISO/IEC TS 17021-8 is not limited to the competence of the auditors only but covers other certification personnel as well: personnel conducting the application review to determine audit team competence required, to select the audit team members, and to determine the audit time; personnel reviewing audit reports and making certification decisions.
ISO/IEC TS 17021-8 on management systems for communities is applicable to:
The quality of the audit is impacted by the ability and competence of the auditor. Certification bodies have a responsibility to interested parties, including their clients and the customers of the organizations whose management systems are certified, to ensure that only those auditors who demonstrate relevant competence are allowed to conduct audits of a management system for sustainable development in communities.
ISO/IEC TS 17021-8 complements the requirements in ISO/IEC 170211:2015 and the guiding principles in ISO/IEC 170211:2015. ISO/IEC TS 17021-8 clarifies the requirements for the competence of personnel involved in the certification process set out in ISO/IEC 170211:2015.
ISO/IEC TS 17021-8 is intended that all auditors possess the generic competencies described in ISO/IEC 17021‑1, as well as the specific competencies described in ISO/IEC TS 17021-8. Certification bodies will need to identify the specific audit team competence needed for the scope of each audit. Competent auditors impact communities in a positive way, contributing to the success of community management systems.
ISO/IEC TS 17021-8:2019