Filene-branded coffee cup sitting on a table Inside Filene headquarters in Madison, Wis. (Source: Romulo Ueda)

The pandemic has exposed a growing need by members for better financial services innovations from their credit unions, according to Filene Research Institute.

The Madison, Wis.-based independent cooperative think tank announced this month new efforts to study innovation trends by credit unions with its new Center of Excellence for Innovation and Incubation. According to Filene, the goal of this three-year research project "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" and will be led by Associate Professor and Academic Director of The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development at Rutgers Business School, Dr. Jeffrey Robinson.

Dr. Jeffrey Robinson Dr. Jeffrey Robinson

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Michael Ogden

Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.