Citing the standard
Cite the version, and where it matters the anchor. Every competency, unit section, principle, model, tension and self-check question of EMA Standard v3.0 has a permanent identifier, and the identifier is the anchor in its URL: EMA Body of Knowledge v3.0, PL-1.P3 is the third principle of the delegation unit, at the address that ends #PL-1.P3, and will remain so for the life of v3.0, because anchors are never renumbered within a version (release cadence). A citation that names the version and the anchor can be checked by anyone, which is the point of citing a standard.
The forms below follow APA 7, Chicago (bibliography) and BibTeX. The author and the publisher are both the Engineering Management Academy; no individual is named. Every unit page carries the APA form for that unit in its Cite this unit box, ready to copy.
The whole standard
APA:
Engineering Management Academy. (2026). Engineering Management Academy Body of Knowledge (Version 3.0). https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/body-of-knowledge
Chicago:
Engineering Management Academy. Engineering Management Academy Body of Knowledge. Version 3.0. Engineering Management Academy, 2026. https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/body-of-knowledge.
BibTeX:
@book{ema-bok-v3-0,
author = {{Engineering Management Academy}},
title = {Engineering Management Academy Body of Knowledge},
edition = {Version 3.0},
publisher = {Engineering Management Academy},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/body-of-knowledge}
}
A knowledge unit
Cite the unit by its competency identifier and title, as part of the Body of Knowledge. The example is PL-1 Delegation, ownership, and decision rights; the same pattern holds for all twenty-nine.
APA:
Engineering Management Academy. (2026). PL-1 Delegation, ownership, and decision rights. In Engineering Management Academy Body of Knowledge (Version 3.0). https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/body-of-knowledge/people-leadership/delegation
Chicago:
Engineering Management Academy. "PL-1 Delegation, ownership, and decision rights." In Engineering Management Academy Body of Knowledge, version 3.0. Engineering Management Academy, 2026. https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/body-of-knowledge/people-leadership/delegation.
BibTeX:
@incollection{ema-bok-v3-0-pl-1,
author = {{Engineering Management Academy}},
title = {PL-1 Delegation, ownership, and decision rights},
booktitle = {Engineering Management Academy Body of Knowledge},
edition = {Version 3.0},
publisher = {Engineering Management Academy},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/body-of-knowledge/people-leadership/delegation}
}
A single principle, section or question
The anchor is a locator inside the unit, in the place a page number would go. In running text, the short form is enough: EMA Body of Knowledge v3.0, PL-1.P3, or in APA's author–date style (Engineering Management Academy, 2026, PL-1.P3). In a reference list, cite the unit with the anchor as the locator and in the URL:
APA:
Engineering Management Academy. (2026). PL-1 Delegation, ownership, and decision rights. In Engineering Management Academy Body of Knowledge (Version 3.0, PL-1.P3). https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/body-of-knowledge/people-leadership/delegation#PL-1.P3
Chicago:
Engineering Management Academy. "PL-1 Delegation, ownership, and decision rights." In Engineering Management Academy Body of Knowledge, version 3.0, PL-1.P3. Engineering Management Academy, 2026. https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/body-of-knowledge/people-leadership/delegation#PL-1.P3.
BibTeX:
@incollection{ema-bok-v3-0-pl-1-p3,
author = {{Engineering Management Academy}},
title = {PL-1 Delegation, ownership, and decision rights},
booktitle = {Engineering Management Academy Body of Knowledge},
edition = {Version 3.0},
publisher = {Engineering Management Academy},
year = {2026},
note = {PL-1.P3},
url = {https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/body-of-knowledge/people-leadership/delegation#PL-1.P3}
}
The anchor forms are S1–S10 for a unit's sections, P for a principle, M for a model, T for a tension, Q for a self-check question, and I for a proficiency indicator on an Exam Content Outline. A single competency on the framework page is anchored by its identifier alone, as in /framework#PL-1.
The Competency Framework
APA:
Engineering Management Academy. (2026). EMA Competency Framework (Version 3.0). https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/framework
Chicago:
Engineering Management Academy. EMA Competency Framework. Version 3.0. Engineering Management Academy, 2026. https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/framework.
BibTeX:
@misc{ema-framework-v3-0,
author = {{Engineering Management Academy}},
title = {EMA Competency Framework},
edition = {Version 3.0},
publisher = {Engineering Management Academy},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/framework}
}
Which licence covers which part
| Part of EMA Standard v3.0 | Licence |
|---|---|
| The competency list of the Competency Framework: the twenty-nine identifiers, titles, domains and one-line descriptions | CC BY 4.0 |
| The proficiency indicators of the three Exam Content Outlines: each "A certified … can …" statement, with its identifier and scope tag | CC BY 4.0 |
| The Body of Knowledge: the units, the chapters, the techniques, the glossary and the sources | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 |
| The prose of the framework page, and the rest of each Exam Content Outline: its specification, weights, scenario contexts, cognitive mix and exclusions | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 |
| The examination questions | Not published, and not licensed |
| The names Engineering Management Academy, EMA-I, EMP-II and EME-III, and the Academy's marks | Not licensed by either licence |
The two CC BY parts may be copied, adapted, translated and built on, commercially or not, as long as they are attributed. Everything under CC BY-NC-ND may be copied, shared, printed and cited, with attribution, for non-commercial purposes and without modification; to do more, ask through the contact page. The governance chapter states the terms in full.
Attributing the openly licensed parts
When you use the competency list or the proficiency indicators unchanged — in a career ladder, a rubric, a job description or a tool — put this line beside them:
Competency list and proficiency indicators from the EMA Competency Framework v3.0 and its Exam Content Outlines, by the Engineering Management Academy (https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/framework), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
When you have changed them — reworded an indicator, merged two competencies, added your own — say so, because the licence requires it:
Adapted from the competency list and proficiency indicators of the EMA Competency Framework v3.0 and its Exam Content Outlines, by the Engineering Management Academy (https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/framework), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Changes were made.
Both parts are published as data, generated from the same source as the pages, with the licence and the attribution line inside each file: competencies.json and competencies.csv. Each competency in them links to its row on the framework page.
Attribution is not endorsement. Using the competency list does not make a course, a ladder or a product EMA-certified, EMA-approved or EMA-aligned, and it may not be described that way.