ACORD announces the launch of a new educational initiative called the ACORD Knowledge Center. The goal is to provide members as well as industry participants with a knowledge base of webinars, documents, classes, and other items.

"We're going to start off with a series of webinars that will provide educational insights into a variety of topics including those related to ACORD Standards implementations," says Beth Grossman, chief learning officer of ACORD. "From there, with the help and support of ACORD members, we'll begin growing the knowledge center and include a variety of documents and other resources."

ACORD provides educational assets to the industry from guides and directories to recordings, video, and books. However, they were often contained within specific communities. With the ACORD Knowledge Center, these resources will be more easily accessible, shared among groups, and will cross-pollinate ACORD's various communities.

The current plan is to launch the webinar series in June and focus on implementations as well as specific topics including employee benefits, exposure reporting, telematics, and e-signatures.

"These are truly education-focused events," says Grossman. "We want people to walk away with inspiration, education, and ideas that will benefit both themselves and their organizations. As the center grows, so will the diversity and possible number of webinars."