Leaders must do this all while faced with great unknowns, the only sure thing being that things have changed. Those that fail go down the path of fear, succumbing to the avoidance of risk or paralysis of decision. Those that succeed however have made sense of their environment, sorted the opportunities from the risk and decided to lean into new possibilities.
The innovative leaders and organizations that have navigated our new world, built new solutions, forged new paths of success, and discovered new ways to grow their futures have given us the most to learn from.
In the past year, I have looked for inspiration from those who have leaned in. The innovative leaders and organizations that have navigated our new world, built new solutions, forged new paths of success, and discovered new ways to grow their futures have given us the most to learn from.
These are the impactful stories we at Filene are most excited to learn about and share with our industry and beyond. These are also the stories that fuel the work we do.
Because of that, I wanted to share an update with you on what Filene has been focused on over the past year, and what we will be working on in the year ahead.
Filene is focused on addressing the three most pressing challenges for credit unions.
Digital Transformation Growth Value Proposition
To support these efforts, Filene launched three new Centers of Excellence this year. The Center for Data Analytics & the Future of Financial Services will advance credit unions’ understanding of and capabilities in data governance, management, and analytics to prepare credit unions for the future financial services landscape. The Center forInnovation & Incubationwill explore emerging products and services, and help credit unions explore new avenues for growth, and build systems and processes so that they may remain adaptive to the changing needs of their members and communities. The Center for Community and Social Impactwill guide credit unions in leveraging their value proposition to expand community social impact and achieve a strategic advantage in the communities they serve.
Together, the resources produced from these research centers will provide credit unions with a depth and breadth of knowledge, skillsets, and action items to successfully address their top challenges.
This rounds out Filene’s total of 6 Centers of Excellence—joining with existing Centers for DEI, Financial Lives in Transition and Emerging Technology. Together, the resources produced from these research centers will provide credit unions with a depth and breadth of knowledge, skillsets, and action items to successfully address their top challenges.
Download our Strategic Playbook to put Filene’s research to work in addressing these challenges right now.
Filene is focused on testing and incubating ideas.
While growth is and has always been an essential driver in credit union strategic priorities, credit unions must innovate across both mission and margin strategies to continue to grow.
Filene launched the Growth Incubator to test new and novel ideas to accelerate credit union growth and create a competitive advantage via new delivery channels and business models. We are focused in the year ahead on our Incubator work to support credit unions’ strategies and meet their aggressive growth goals.
Filene is focused on projects that elevate credit unions’ positions in their communities as change agents for financial well-being, economic empowerment, and maximizers of impact.
Through our Incubator and partnerships with community organizations and foundations, we will engage credit unions in projects that expand cross-sector community collaborations, promote financial well-being and enable more effective solutions for complex economic issues.
This work will allow credit unions to maximize impact while allowing other sectors to show up and help provide solutions to the challenges faced by credit union members. We are eager to bring you along in our journey over the coming year.
Filene is grateful for this ‘village’ and we are thrilled to highlight and celebrate the strength of our collective impact.
Filene is grateful for this ‘village’ and we are thrilled to highlight and celebrate the strength of our collective impact. I hope these insights and resources help you take advantage of the opportunities emerging from these uncertain times. Let me know if you’d like to discuss anything further!
Cheers + Best,
Mark
