ACRP and IISRA Establish Strategic Partnership

The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) and the Investigator Initiated Sponsored Research Association (IISRA) are pleased to announce the initiation of a strategic partnership. The two organizations share a commitment to supporting their membership through the creation of professional development activities, knowledge standards and exchange amongst members. Together, ACRP and IISRA aim to increase the level of service provided to their members by sharing resources through this collaborative partnership.

For members of IISRA this partnership will provide access to ACRP and IISRA knowledge resources through a specialty Interest Group on the ACRP website (scheduled for launch in May 2013), created for and supported by the IISRA leadership team. Upon joining ACRP, IISRA members will have full access to the resources available to ACRP members such as The Monitor, ACRP's award-winning peer reviewed journal, and the ACRP Online Community, where a specialized eForum and resource library will be established for members of the IISRA organization.

IISRA's President, Anton Ehrhardt, PhD says 'The concentrated IISR expertise of IISRA and the deep clinical research expertise of the ACRP seem to form a synergistic match. Merging the two organizations will provide IISRA members with greater resources while allowing the IISRA leadership team the avenues to expand our impact within the clinical research environment.'

For ACRP, the partnership addresses a need of the ACRP membership by providing an immediate increase in resources and volunteer expertise in the field of investigator initiated-sponsored research (IISR). While the two organizations have worked collaboratively over time, most recently through IISRA leadership presenting a session at the ACRP Global Conference in Orlando in April, and at the Minnesota Chapter of ACRP in May, the partnership marks an official merger of the two organizations.

'I am thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with the outstanding professionals of IISRA who have made such a superb contribution to clinical research.' says ACRP Executive Director, Jim Thomasell. 'The additional expertise in the area of investigator initiated-sponsored research will be invaluable to many current and future ACRP members and further enhances our ability to advance our mission.'