The Ethics Resource Center (ERC) and the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association (ECOA) have officially entered a strategic partnership, following last fall’s merger announcement.

The organizations have joined forces to form the Ethics & Compliance Initiative, which aims to be the authority on ethics and compliance issues for practitioners in the field. The affiliation, broken into three pillars, also marks the introduction of the ECI resource center, which will launch later this year.

“We are ready and excited to offer an unprecedented level of thought leadership and depth of resources to organizational leaders who are faced with the daunting responsibility to help their members build and protect their organizations’ reputations and values,” said ERC President Patricia Harned, who will serve as ECI’s CEO.

Each organization brings unique value to the partnership. Billed as “America’s oldest nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and advancement of high ethical standards and practices in public and private institutions,” ERC is a strong complement to ECOA in its mission of providing members with the tools for carrying out their organizations’ ethics, compliance, and business-conduct programs.

“ERC and ECOA will retain their individual strengths as they develop their collaborative advantage in the industry,” ERC Board Chair Michael Oxley said in the news release. “The combination of unique experience and market reach make them the only organizations currently working to scientifically identify, certify, and promote practices and cultures that enhance organizational integrity and ethics. We look forward to the great potential of these leading organizations coming together.”

By combining their myriad resources in ethics and compliance education and practice, ERC and ECOA are broadening their reach while fortifying their own reputations as time-honored institutions.

“Both ERC and ECOA have long, proud histories of serving their constituents,” said Lee Augsburger, chair of the ECOA board of directors, in a news release. “At a time when boards and compliance leaders need greater resources and guidance to deal with a complex environment of ethical challenges, increasing regulation, and shareholder engagement, we have a shared vision for leveraging our resources to provide answers.”

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