Embracing innovation in quality with confidence

Each year World Quality Week invites us to reflect on how quality helps organisations adapt, improve and build trust in a changing world. This year’s theme, Quality: Think differently, challenges us to rethink our approach to quality management and embrace new ways of thinking.

At UKAS we witness how innovation and confidence go hand in hand. Whether it is the integration of artificial intelligence, the digitalisation of supply chains or the growing importance of sustainability, the world of quality and conformity assessment is evolving fast. The task before us now is to engage with the new with assurance rooted in evidence, competence and trust.

Quality as the foundation for innovation

Innovation is often viewed as disruption to established systems. The most effective innovation builds upon a stable foundation and that foundation is quality. Accreditation provides exactly that: independent assurance that innovation takes place within a framework of competence, integrity and reliability.

I’ve spent over twenty-five years working in conformity assessment, and I remain inspired by what accreditation represents. It’s one of those quiet but powerful mechanisms that makes modern life work – from safe food and reliable healthcare to trusted digital systems. Ultimately, accreditation is how the world knows who to trust.

Trust is not static; it is continually earned and renewed through evidence and performance. That is the quiet strength of accreditation, a mechanism that enables progress while maintaining confidence.

From compliance to continual improvement

Accreditation is therefore not just a mark of compliance. It is a catalyst for continual improvement, resilience and innovation. It provides leaders with reliable data to make informed decisions, align quality with strategic goals and deliver sustained performance.

Thinking differently about quality

As technology, markets and expectations evolve, our mission remains constant: to provide assurance that innovation can be trusted. Whether assessing new technologies, verifying sustainability claims or enabling digital trust, UKAS remains committed to applying the principles of quality – competence, impartiality and consistency – to the frontiers of progress.

This year’s World Quality Week theme calls on us all to think differently about quality. It invites each of us as individuals, teams or organisations to reflect on how we build and sustain a quality culture that drives excellence in every action we take.

That spirit was captured beautifully in our recent Careers in Quality webinar, where we explored how the next generation of professionals can shape the future of assurance. The conversations reinforced what we already know: that quality is not just about systems or standards, but about people — their curiosity, their integrity, and their willingness to challenge convention.

Innovation without confidence is risk. Innovation backed by quality assurance is real progress.

This World Quality Week let us continue to build the systems, relationships and standards that enable us to embrace the new with confidence.

A global celebration of quality

World Quality Week is a global celebration of the people who champion quality across organisations, industries and communities. At UKAS, we remain proud to represent the UK in this international network of trust — one that connects businesses, regulators and consumers through a shared belief that quality, when done well, empowers innovation and strengthens society.