Lutheran World Ministries (Agency). Office on Studies.

The Lutheran Foundation for Inter-Confessional Research was established by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) at its 1963 Helsinki (Finland) Assembly as a closely linked but legally and financially independent entity. As part of the Foundation, the Institute for Ecumenical Research (IER), officially inaugurated at Strasbourg, France, on February 1, 1965, was founded to conduct critical theological research and seminars and consulations. Established in 1977 as the successor body of the USANC, LWM was a joint agency of the Lutheran Church in America, The American Lutheran Church, and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches.

The USANC Office of Studies and its successor body, the LWM's Office on Studies, participated in the IER program. In 1987, the LWM was terminated with the establishment of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.