The Equipment Leasing & Finance Association (ELFA) launched its new, modernized Research Agenda, debuting a permanent strategic framework designed to provide actionable business intelligence for the $1.3 trillion equipment finance industry.
The new framework positions the organization’s research strategy on practical, proactive and data-driven content designed to directly support the immediate operational and strategic needs of ELFA members. As announced last fall, production of studies previously led by the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (ELFF) moved to ELFA, and, moving forward, research and analysis will be delivered through an agile mix of digital tools, podcasts, webinars and short-form content alongside classic reports.
Built from a comprehensive member survey and macroeconomic environmental scan, and layered with input from members of the unified ELFA and Foundation Research Committees, the agenda’s priorities were vetted by industry executives to address immediate operational needs.
“At ELFA, our mission has always been to equip the industry with the insights and tools needed to stay ahead of the curve,” Daryl Muller, chief operating officer and corporate secretary at ELFA, said. “Today, we are taking a major leap forward. This new Research Agenda fundamentally shifts how we use member feedback to shape our content and ensures we can leverage data in entirely new, impactful ways.”
Kelli Nienaber, senior vice president of industry advancement at ELFA and executive director of ELFF, added, “We’ll use these major themes to guide our research, data collection, webinars and conferences throughout the year. The model ensures our focus remains completely aligned with changing market trends and immediate, top-of-mind business challenges.”
Six core pillars define the industry’s strategy moving forward:
- Industry Modernization & AI: Advancing technology investment strategies and fintech trends while scaling real-world AI use cases and governance frameworks
- Fraud Defense: Elevating fraud risk awareness and mitigation through real-time intelligence sharing and industry-tailored prevention guidance
- Workforce Evolution: Supporting expanded Foundation workforce initiatives and talent pipelines to attract new talent and promote stable industry careers
- Regulatory Environment: Shifting to a proactive agenda to address regulatory and legislative threats and opportunities
- Capital Markets: Exploring the long-term operational impact of sustained private credit, private equity and foreign investment
- Economic Navigation: Providing leading indicators and scenario planning tools to help members navigate major economic events
These six themes will serve as an organizational roadmap, directly supporting legislative and regulatory advocacy priorities, benchmarking metrics in research, session content at events and professional development in education.
“In 2026, we brought together the ELFA and Foundation Research Committees to leverage key thought leaders in our industry and our collective knowledge and experience to create this inaugural framework,” David Normandin, CLFP, chair of ELFA’s research committee and president and CEO of Wintrust Specialty Finance, said. “Moving forward, I am energized to lead this incredibly talented group as we identify the key topics, frame them accurately for our members and enhance deliverable formats that will be critical to the ongoing success of equipment finance companies.”
