Speakers during Filene's "Data Analytics Readiness Assessment" webinar on Sept. 28, 2021.
Filene Research Institute launched what could be a first for the credit union industry – a study on credit unions' data analytics practices.
What is being billed as the "Data Analytics Readiness Assessment," the Madison, Wis.-based think tank announced on Tuesday a system-wide effort to survey credit unions and study data analytics practices to help measure the readiness and maturity of the industry's business intelligence capabilities.
This research is being conducted through Filene's Center of Excellence for Data Analytics and the Future of Financial Services. Members of the research team announced the new project during a webinar this week.
According to the announcement, Filene Fellow Dr. Cheri Speier-Pero of Michigan State University will lead the research effort. Her goals are "to identify critical drivers of readiness to help credit unions and credit union system partners make sound investments in the people, processes and technologies of data analytics — and see value from those investments."
"In the past 12 to 18 months, we've seen a great deal of investment in digital transformation," Filene Senior Director of Research Taylor C. Nelms said. "What we haven't seen credit unions saying is: 'What is the ROI?'"
Filene has asked credit unions of all assets sizes to fill out a 10-minute survey at filene.org/datasurvey. The survey will be open to credit unions through Nov. 24, according to a statement from Filene.
"All survey participants will immediately receive a download of Filene research and resources on technology and when the survey analysis is complete in early 2022, all participants receive a customized index of where their credit union fits within the big picture of data analytics across the industry," Nelms said.
He added, "Credit unions are under constant pressure to keep up with demand for digital delivery of financial services. Using data analytics to fulfill these demands is essential yet realizing value from data continues to be a challenge. By participating in our data readiness assessment, credit union CEOs and IT leaders advance their organizations' digital transformation journeys and gain insights into effective strategies for data analytics."
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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.
