MADISON, Wis.–The Filene Research Institute has launched its Center of Excellence for Innovation and Incubation.
This three-year project, to be led by Dr. Jeffrey Robinson as its new research fellow, will study current trends for how credit unions can respond to members’ desire for greater financial services innovations that meet their needs and their communities’ needs today while also exploring the general state of innovation across the credit union system.
The launch of the newest Center of Excellence rounds out Filene’s research agenda with six focus areas, which include, in addition to Innovation and Incubation, Centers for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Consumer Financial Lives in Transition, Emerging Technology, Data Analytics, and Community Social Impact launched in 2020.
“Ultimately, this research aims to help credit unions build systems, cultures and processes so that they may remain adaptive to changing needs of members and communities long into the future,” Filene said. “Consumer behaviors and preferences were changing at a rapid pace pre-pandemic and now that change is only accelerating. With 1 in 5 credit union members reporting that they would consider switching to a more innovative financial institution, credit unions can’t afford to ignore this growing consumer demand.”
More Than 20 Years’ Experience
Dr. Robinson is associate professor and academic director of The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development at Rutgers Business School in New Jersey. Filene said Robinson has spent more than 20 years researching innovation and entrepreneurship, and during that time has consulted with more than 2,000 startups startups and numerous corporations seeking a competitive edge.
"This my life’s work, what I’ve been doing, and what I want to do. I am interested in supporting an industry I admire—I got my first car loan from a credit union and I am a member of a credit union now,” said Robinson. “As a researcher, I am interested in this work because I want to better understand and reveal deeper insights on how an industry like credit unions is reacting to social, technological and economic challenges, what kinds of business models are changing, how they are changing, who is changing them, and what kinds of innovations are coming out of these."
“Cooperative finance is not just a business model, it’s a movement—and I like to be involved in movements that matter,” he added.
An ‘Action-Oriented’ Approach
According to Filene, in order to support credit union growth, the Center of Excellence for Innovation and Incubation will take an action-oriented applied research approach to studying products, services and operations that can improve the credit union system’s innovation capabilities and capacities.
“Filene’s innovation and incubation initiatives support our broader mission to help credit unions and communities thrive,” said Filene’s senior director of incubation, Josh Sledge. “We do this by seeking new ideas, running test pilots, and scaling promising concepts. The Center of Excellence for Innovation and Incubation will help fuel that mission.”
The Supporters
Support for the Center of Excellence for Innovation and Incubation is provided by BECU in Tukwila, Wash.), Christian Financial Credit Union in Sterling Heights, Mich., Coastal Credit Union in Raleigh, N.C., and Corporate Central Credit Union in Muskego, Wis.
Filene said credit unions and system partners can get involved as part of Filene’s Inner Circle by sponsoring Innovation and Incubation or any other Center of Excellence, much like these strategic partner organizations already have.
“Credit unions have an opportunity to differentiate among financial services providers through business model innovation and entrepreneurial thinking,” said Corporate Central Credit Union’s president and CEO Chris Felton. “Combining credit unions’ status as trusted community partners with Filene’s research on innovation and incubation gives the industry a competitive advantage and Corporate Central is excited to support the advancement of this innovation initiative."