ISO 22316-2017 PDF

Full title and description

ISO 22316:2017 — Security and resilience — Organizational resilience — Principles and attributes. Guidance standard that describes principles, attributes and activities to enhance the resilience of organizations of any size or sector, focusing on leadership, culture, governance and adaptive capacity rather than prescriptive management-system requirements.

Abstract

ISO 22316:2017 provides high-level guidance to help organisations improve their ability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to and adapt to changing conditions and disruptions. The standard sets out core principles for resilience, describes organizational attributes that support those principles, and outlines activities to evaluate and strengthen resilience. It is sector‑neutral, applicable throughout an organisation’s lifecycle, and intended as guidance rather than a certifiable management‑system standard.

General information

• Status: Published
• Publication date: March 2017
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
• ICS / categories: 03.100.01 (Security and resilience)
• Edition / version: Edition 1 (2017)
• Number of pages: 10

Scope

Defines principles for organizational resilience and identifies attributes and activities that support the adoption of those principles. The scope covers generic guidance for all types and sizes of organisations, addressing leadership, culture, governance, awareness of context and dependencies, integration of disciplines (risk, business continuity, security, quality), and the need to learn and adapt. ISO 22316 is guidance only and does not specify requirements for certification.

Key topics and requirements

• Principles of organizational resilience: leadership commitment, shared purpose, situational awareness and continual learning.
• Organizational attributes: governance, culture, structure and information flows that enable adaptive decision-making.
• Activities to enhance resilience: assessment of context and dependencies, identification of critical outcomes, development of resilience‑supporting behaviours and capabilities.
• Integration: aligning risk management, business continuity, crisis management and other disciplines to improve coherence and outcomes.
• Stakeholder and dependency awareness: mapping internal and external dependencies (suppliers, infrastructure, communities) that affect critical outcomes.
• Leadership and accountability: defining roles, responsibilities and decision authorities to act under uncertainty.
• Evaluation and improvement: monitoring resilience attributes, learning from events and updating arrangements.

Typical use and users

Used by senior leadership, resilience and continuity managers, risk and compliance teams, crisis and emergency planners, internal auditors, consultants and public-sector organisations. It supports strategy-setting, resilience assessments, capability development, executive briefings and integration of resilience concepts into governance and planning rather than serving as a specification for certification.

Related standards

Commonly used alongside ISO 22301 (Business continuity management), ISO 22313 (Guidance on ISO 22301), ISO 22320 (Emergency management), ISO 22361 (Crisis management), ISO 22395 (Community resilience — supporting vulnerable persons), ISO 31000 (Risk management) and other ISO/TC 292 security & resilience publications that address continuity, crisis and community resilience.

Keywords

Organizational resilience; resilience principles; governance; leadership; situational awareness; adaptive capacity; business continuity; crisis management; ISO 22316; resilience attributes.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO 22316:2017 is an international guidance standard titled "Security and resilience — Organizational resilience — Principles and attributes" that describes principles and attributes to strengthen organisational resilience.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers high‑level principles, organisational characteristics (attributes) that support resilience and related activities to evaluate and enhance those attributes. It focuses on leadership, culture, governance, dependencies and learning rather than prescriptive technical controls.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Senior leaders, resilience, continuity and risk professionals, crisis managers, consultants and public‑sector planners who want to embed resilience thinking into strategy, governance and operational decision‑making.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: The 2017 edition remains the published standard. As guidance documents are periodically reviewed, organisations should check with their national standards body or ISO for any updates or draft revisions that may be in development.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes. ISO 22316 is part of a broader suite of ISO/TC 292 standards on security and resilience (business continuity, crisis management, community resilience and related guidance documents) and is often used together with ISO 22301, ISO 22313, ISO 22320, ISO 22361, ISO 22395 and ISO 31000.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Organizational resilience, resilience principles, leadership, governance, adaptive capacity, situational awareness, business continuity, crisis management.