About the research
When organisations choose or renew an ISO management system certification provider, a number of factors can influence the decision – from price and service to auditor competence, industry experience, customer requirements and accreditation.
This research explores what matters to certification buyers and how accreditation information influences their decision-making.
We’re particularly interested in understanding how UK organisations perceive certification associated with UKAS and other recognised national accreditation bodies.
This is independent research, not a sales or marketing exercise.
The survey and prize draw close on 18th October 2026
Who can take part?
We’re looking for people aged 18 or over who work for a UK-headquartered organisation and have been involved in choosing or evaluating an ISO management system certification provider within the past three years.
You may have:
- Selected a new certification provider
- Renewed or continued with an existing provider
- Changed certification provider
- Compared providers without purchasing certification
- Started evaluating providers and are still making a decision
You don’t necessarily need to have made the final decision yourself, the research is also interested in people who recommended providers, approved decisions or budgets, or influenced the decision through requirements or advice.
What will we ask?
The survey explores topics including:
Certification decisions
How organisations identify, compare and select certification providers.
UKAS and international accreditation
How buyers perceive UKAS accreditation compared with certification associated with other recognised national accreditation bodies.
Accreditation
What buyers know about accreditation and how they use accreditation information.
Information and confidence
What information buyers would find useful when assessing certification providers.
Provider selection
The factors that influence the choice of certification provider, including price, reputation, competence and service.
Why take part?
There is no right or wrong answer. We’re interested in what certification buyers actually think, know and do.
Your responses will help build a clearer picture of:
- How important accreditation is when selecting a certification provider
- How familiar buyers are with accreditation arrangements
- What influences perceptions of trust and credibility
- How customer, tender and procurement requirements affect decisions
- What information buyers want when comparing providers
Your privacy
Taking part is voluntary, and you can leave the survey before submitting your responses.
Responses will be handled confidentially and reported in combined form, subject to the terms explained in the applicable privacy notice.
Any personal data collected as part of the research will be handled in accordance with applicable data-protection law.
I’d also include the research contact details here once you’ve confirmed them.
Why are we conducting this research?
At Assent Risk Management, we work with organisations across a range of management systems and standards. We want to better understand the experiences and perspectives of the organisations involved in certification decisions.
This research is designed to provide insight into the market and the views of certification buyers.
It is not intended to assess whether an individual respondent or organisation has made a “correct” purchasing decision.
