Investor Responsibility Reseach Center

What Investor Responsibility Reseach Center does

Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC) is a research and educational publishing organization focused on corporate governance, ESG considerations, and socially responsible investing. Founded in 1972 as a social issues and corporate research firm, IRRC transitioned in 2005 to focus exclusively on independent, issues-based research. The organization was acquired by Unicurve in 2015 and currently operates as a privately held subsidiary with 1-10 employees, headquartered at 1665 Charleston Road, Mountain View, California.

IRRC's product surface consists of free editorial content distributed via its website (irrc.org), organized around six topic areas: investment analysis and ESG research, business planning and strategy, corporate governance and directorship practices, social issues advisory for proxy voting, sustainable investing information, and decision-making frameworks. There is no proprietary technology stack, no API, no mobile application, and no software products currently offered. The historical operating model involved subscription-based research, software, and consulting services to approximately 500 institutional subscribers (pension funds, asset managers, corporations, and law firms), but the current entity operates on a freemium content publishing model with no disclosed pricing or paid offerings.

The go-to-market motion is content-led and community-led, relying on organic search and website publishing to reach institutional investors, corporations, law firms, and individual investors. IRRC claims a global audience reach. The organization has no disclosed leadership team, no funding rounds, no patents, and no third-party certifications. Its relationship with Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and MSCI is historical and pertains to the prior corporate incarnation, not the current Unicurve-owned entity.

Name

Investor Responsibility Reseach Center

Legal name

Investor Responsibility Research Center

Website

https://irrc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IRRC is a private research and educational content publisher focused on corporate governance, ESG, and socially responsible investing, serving institutional investors, corporations, law firms, and individual investors through free website-published editorial content.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Governance and ESG Research

NAICS

Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Investor Relations (IR) Services (BPAFADAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Investor Relations (IR) & Capital Markets Communications (MPAAADAH)

Keywords

• Corporate governance research
• ESG investment research
• Responsible investing analysis
• Proxy voting research
• Shareholder advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Free educational content: Information resources are provided free of charge to readers for business education purposes. Revenue is generated indirectly through the Unicurve parent company's broader operations.
2. Subscription research services: IRRC historically provided research, software products and consulting services to nearly 500 subscribers and clients. The organization received ongoing contributions from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and had an initial endowment to support operations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

IRRC provides independent research and educational resources on corporate governance, social responsibility, ESG investing, and shareholder proxy voting issues to institutional investors, corporations, and law firms. Information resources are provided free of charge for business education purposes. Historically, IRRC offered subscription-based research, software products, and consulting services to nearly 500 institutional clients worldwide.

Product overview

IRRC operates as an independent research and educational platform focused on corporate governance and socially responsible investing. The organization provides a unified content resource consisting of published articles, research guides, and analytical tools covering six interconnected areas: investment analysis and ESG research, business planning and strategy, corporate governance and directorship practices, social issues advisory services for proxy voting, sustainable investment information, and decision-making frameworks. All information resources are provided free of charge for business education purposes, serving institutional investors, corporations, and individual investors seeking to align investments with social values and understand corporate governance trends.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investment Research and Analysis Resources

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 500 subscribers and clients served historically
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UnicurvecoreOthers · 1 January 2015Unicurve acquired IRRC in 2015, continuing its mission. Unicurve, founded by Dr Andrew Lancaster in 2013, is dedicated to providing reliable educational advice and resources. Unicurve's offerings are impactful and insightful for responsible investing education.
• MSCIminorOthersHistorical relationship: The original IRRC NGO was acquired by ISS, Risk Metrics and ultimately became part of MSCI's ESG division. Comment from former employee indicates IRRC managed programs in South Africa, social issues, environmental sustainability, corporate governance that contributed to development of what became ESG investing.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS): ISS is both a historical acquirer of the original IRRC and a current 'Core' financial partner of today's IRRC. ISS provides proxy advisory, corporate governance research, and ESG ratings to the same institutional investor, corporation, and law firm audience that IRRC historically and currently serves.
• Sustainalytics (Morningstar): Sustainalytics is a leading independent ESG and corporate governance research firm serving institutional investors and asset managers. It directly competes with IRRC's historical research positioning on ESG ratings, risk research, and governance analytics.
• Glass Lewis: Glass Lewis is a proxy advisory and corporate governance research firm serving institutional investors, overlapping directly with IRRC's corporate governance, directorship, and proxy voting research content.
• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project): CDP runs a global environmental disclosure system used by investors, corporations, and cities. It overlaps with IRRC's ESG, environmental sustainability, and corporate disclosure research focus, particularly for institutional investors.

Broad incumbents

• Morningstar: Morningstar offers investment research, data, and now ESG analytics (via Sustainalytics). It is comparable to IRRC's investor-facing information and education offering, with a much broader investment research franchise.
• MSCI ESG Research: MSCI's ESG division is the direct institutional successor to the original IRRC NGO, which was acquired via ISS and Risk Metrics. MSCI is the dominant ESG ratings and corporate governance research provider to institutional investors, making it the most directly comparable peer in terms of brand lineage and product category.
• S&P Global Sustainable1: S&P Global's Sustainable1 unit (incorporating SAM and Trucost) provides ESG ratings, climate data, and corporate governance research. It competes in the same institutional ESG research category as IRRC's historical subscription products.
• LSEG (Refinitiv) ESG: London Stock Exchange Group (formerly Refinitiv) provides ESG scores, reference data, and corporate governance information through its Data & Analytics platform, serving the same institutional investor and corporate audience as IRRC.
• Bloomberg ESG: Bloomberg provides ESG data, scores, and research integrated into its terminal platform, serving asset managers and asset owners. It competes with IRRC's research and ESG information services at the institutional buyer level.

Emerging players

• RepRisk: RepRisk provides ESG and business conduct risk data sourced from public media and stakeholder sources, serving institutional investors. It overlaps with IRRC's environmental, social, and governance research scope as a more narrowly focused, data-driven peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/irrcresearch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Investor Responsibility Reseach Center