FOUNDING PARTNER COUNCILS
Help shape the enterprise agenda without controlling the room.
A limited, category-aligned partnership for organizations able to contribute credible expertise, research and market capability to an urgent executive issue. EDC protects council independence while creating meaningful opportunities for learning, visibility and permission-based engagement.
What a founding partner receives
- Private executive salon or roundtable
- Pre-session research and participant topic mapping
- Clearly disclosed contribution opportunity
- Anonymized insight brief
- Approved brand presence
- Selected content activation
- Permission-based introductions and follow-up
- Council and market intelligence review
What EDC protects
- No attendee-list resale
- No pitch-first programming
- No partner control of participant selection
- No automatic follow-up rights
- Clear conflict and funding disclosure
- EDC editorial control
- Executive experience and council integrity remain primary
Independence
EDC may work with selected partners that contribute expertise or resources. Partners do not control council membership, conclusions or attribution. Participation does not imply endorsement of EDC, a partner or any commercial solution.
Partner qualification
The partner must demonstrate:
- Direct relevance to the council mandate
- Credible enterprise evidence and expert participation
- Willingness to discuss limitations as well as strengths
- Respect for confidentiality and non-commercial session norms
- Ability to support research or practical outputs
- No conflict likely to make the council appear captured
Visibility model
Allowed, subject to approval
- “Founding Partner” designation
- Logo on council overview and selected materials
- Named expert contribution in a defined session
- Co-developed, editorially controlled public brief
- Approved social announcement
Not allowed
- “EDC approved,” “EDC certified” or “preferred solution” language without a separate standard
- Use of council-member names in sales outreach without permission
- Claims that members endorse the partner
- Unapproved attendee quotations or session content