PSCU Sponsors Filene Center of Excellence

Funding Supports Research Focused on Organizational Entrepreneurship


Boston, Mass. – June 14, 2016 –The Filene Research Institute has announced that PSCU will sponsor Filene’s Center of Excellence for Organizational Entrepreneurship. The Center, headed by Filene Fellow Dennis Campbell, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard University Business School, explores cooperative strategies for sustained competitive advantage and business model evolution. It is the second of five Centers of Excellence being launched by Filene in 2016 and 2017. The announcement was made at a Colloquium held at Harvard University earlier today.

The Center of Excellence for Organizational Entrepreneurship will work ahead of the year-to-year business cycle of credit unions by routinely assessing their organizational culture and performance against this research, credit unions will be able to achieve favorable business results, scale, and most importantly value for their members. 

PSCU has long supported the Filene Research Institute and is proud of its legacy as the Institute’s first Chairman’s Roundtable sponsor dating back to 2003.

“Acting as an advocate for our credit unions member owners is a cornerstone of PSCU’s mission,” said Chuck Fagan, PSCU President & CEO. “As the nation’s leading CUSO, we have a responsibility to our Owners and the industry to have a strong presence in this regard. One way we meet this responsibility is by contributing to research that benefits all credit unions.”

More than 90 credit union leaders gathered at Harvard University on June 14 for Structures for Success, a Colloquium led by Professor Campbell and sponsored by PSCU. He presented the case study of Handelsbanken to illustrate how local decision-making and distributed control can be the path to long-term success. Credit union leaders representing Verve, a Credit Union (Wisconsin) and Conexus Credit Union (Saskatchewan) also presented new approaches to member value and growth. 

“We’re grateful for the vision of PSCU in supporting world-class thinking for credit unions and their members,” said Mark Meyer, CEO of Filene. “Their participation over the years has encouraged contributions from other CUSOs and industry groups. The Center for Organizational Entrepreneurship will produce and analyze strategies to help credit unions everywhere thrive.”

Led by academic thinkers from across North America, Filene’s Centers of Excellence produce unique research and engagement opportunities for Filene members and the credit union system. Designed to address the changing needs of credit unions and their members, the research centers explore critical and emerging topics regarding the future of consumer financial trends to encourage credit unions to think differently and do amazing things to change people’s lives.

For more information about Filene’s Centers of Excellence, please visit www.filene.org.  

About Filene

Filene Research Institute is U.S.-based independent, consumer finance think and do tankdedicated to scientific and thoughtful analysis about issues affecting the future of credit unions, retail banking and cooperative finance. Founded more than 25 years ago, Filene is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Nearly 2,000 members make the nonprofit’s research, innovation and impact programs possible. For more information, visit filene.org and @fileneresearch

About PSCU

Established in 1977, PSCU (St. Petersburg, Fla.) is the nation's leading credit union service organization (CUSO) and was awarded CUSO of the Year recognition by NACUSO. The cooperative is owned by over 800 member credit unions representing more than 18.9 million credit, debit, prepaid, online bill payment and mobile accounts. Comprehensive 24/7/365 member support is delivered through contact centers located throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.pscu.com.