ERC has started a Web-based, world-wide dialogue for ethics professionals – and anyone else interested in the topic – with the launch of its new online meeting place, the "Research and Measurement Community."

Two years in the planning and building, the Community is a first – a place to share ideas with peers, discuss best practices, trade experiences and delve more deeply into ERC's comprehensive storehouse of data, knowledge and expertise.

"This is an exciting and positive step forward for ERC and the whole community," said ERC President Patricia J. Harned. "It will be an effortless way to expand our knowledge, compare notes and new concepts and help provide technical context and comparative measurement for anyone's ethics program."

To get the conversation going, the Community offers a number of features including insider access to ERC data, white papers and studies and Web casts by ERC researchers and guest experts.  A Community chat function lets members network with leading ethics officers and a discussion forum allows subscribers to start a thread or join one in progress.

"It's part classroom and part lunchroom – a lot of fun and a superb learning tool," said Harned.  "The bigger the response, the better."

For detailed information about membership and features, please contact the project's manager, Katie Lang, at Katie@ethics.org.