Executive Summary
The innovation pipeline as we know it today has a clear beginning, middle, and end. At Phase One, opportunities are identified and ideas are generated. Our think tank received 12 new ideas from the i3 teams in 2008. Many ideas have flowed into Phase Two, where they are being further prototyped and tested. And three ideas have now been pumped into Phase Three, where they will be scaled up for national rollout: Prize-Linked Savings, The Savings Revolution, and Virtual Finance.
What is the research about?
This report features 12 new idea blueprints developed around helping members and three updated blueprints on ideas gaining national traction. The ideas examined include:
- Building Wealth
- Meeting Life's Milestones
- Navigating Financial Waters
- Borrowing
- Making Community Connections
What are the credit union implications?
Ideas move based on marketplace demand—it’s that simple. The speed at which they move through the pipeline can be attributed to environmental factors, and perhaps to the fact that credit unions across the nation are embracing open source innovation as a way to shorten the development and implementation process.
Key Findings: Blueprints for Innovation features the i3 team outputs in the form of Concept Documents, each to provide fuel for innovation. As you review the ideas and evaluate the fit for your organization, we invite you to make some improvements and customize these ideas —that’s the very nature of open source innovation. In addition, we’ve also included an update on the three ideas that are reaching the end of Filene’s innovation pipeline. Greater resources are available to assist you in implementing these concepts.