gfs.bern

Name

gfs.bern

Legal name

gfs.bern AG

Website

https://gfsbern.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research Services for Institutional Clients: B2B market and opinion research services including surveys, data science, evaluations, reputation analyses, and campaigning support for government agencies, political parties, associations, companies, and NGOs. Services are commissioned on a project basis or through ongoing retainer relationships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

gfs.bern is a Swiss political and communications research institute that provides empirical, evidence-based market and opinion research services to government agencies, political parties, associations, NGOs, and private companies. Its core offerings include representative surveys, election and voting research (including the long-running VOX post-referendum analyses), reputation and image analyses, data science and statistical modelling, impact analysis and evaluation, issue monitoring and strategy studies, and strategic campaigning support. The firm backs these services with its own proprietary online panel (polittrends.ch) and an interactive Cockpit data dashboard platform.

Product overview

gfs.bern is a political and communications research institute offering a comprehensive suite of research services built around its core expertise in opinion research and direct democratic processes. The portfolio consists of multiple interconnected service lines: core research services including surveys, election and voting research (VOX-Analysen), reputation analyses, data science, impact evaluation, and campaigning support; proprietary digital tools including gfs.insights for benchmarking, the polittrends.ch online panel, and Cockpit for interactive data visualization; periodic barometers and monitors including the Nahtstellenbarometer (Transition Barometer), TCS Emergency Barometer, and Position of Switzerland studies; and media content through the gfs.echo podcast. The company also publishes targeted research studies on health, security, and societal topics. Operating from Bern with approximately 15 researchers, gfs.bern has conducted over 1,000 surveys since 2000, with around 250 studied referendums providing internationally unique expertise in direct democratic decision-making.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Election and Voting Research Pre- and post-election and referendum research for Switzerland's national votes, including the long-running VOX post-referendum analyses commissioned by the Swiss Federal Chancellery and SRG trend surveys (SRG-Trendumfrage) for SRG/SRR.
• Surveys Representative surveys, target group surveys, panel-based polling via polittrends.ch, focus groups, and qualitative in-depth interviews for companies, political parties, associations, cantons, and NGOs.
• Reputation and Image Analyses
• gfs.insights
• Data Science by gfs.bern
• Campaigning
• Impact Analysis and Evaluation
• Issue Monitoring and Strategy Studies
• Cockpit (cockpit-gfsbern.ch)
• Nahtstellenbarometer (Transition Barometer)

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% of Swiss respondents support stronger protection for children on social media (GfS Bern survey for Mercator Foundation)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mercator FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 March 2026Commissioned gfs.bern to conduct a survey on social media protection for minors, with 94% of Swiss respondents supporting stronger protections. Mercator Foundation is a Swiss foundation focused on civic engagement and democracy.
• Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG/SRR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership for conducting SRG trend surveys (SRG-Trendumfrage) for national elections and referendums. gfs.bern conducts surveys on behalf of SRG/SRR.
• Swiss Federal ChancellerycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContracted to conduct post-vote analyses (VOX analyses) of national referendums since 1977. gfs.bern was awarded the VOX project mandate in 2020 through public tender.
• University of Geneva (Dr. Sébastien Salerno)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Sébastien Salerno serves as external advisor to the VOX project, providing expertise as a Senior Lecturer and researcher at Medi@Lab. He contributes to questionnaire design and co-authors reports.
• gfs-befragungsdienst AGcoreTechnology or Integration100% subsidiary of gfs.bern and gfs-zürich providing survey services exclusively to gfs-group institutes. Operates as a service center for survey fieldwork.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• gfs-zürich: Swiss market and opinion research firm that shares gfs.bern's historical origin (GfS association, split in 1998) and continues to operate under the broader gfs group umbrella. Closest comparable peer for image research, opinion polls and customer satisfaction studies in Switzerland.
• Sotomo: Zürich-based social and political research institute affiliated with ETH Zürich. Direct competitor on Swiss public opinion, election and referendum research, with comparable quantitative survey methodologies and institutional client base.
• DemoSCOPE: Swiss market and opinion research firm with a similar product mix of representative surveys, polling, and analytics for both public-sector and private clients in Switzerland.
• M.I.S. Trend: Swiss market and opinion research firm running its own long-running barometers and political surveys, directly comparable to gfs.bern's recurring barometer franchise and election polling work.

Broad incumbents

• IPSOS: Global market and opinion research leader with significant Swiss operations. Overlaps with gfs.bern on public opinion, election polling, brand tracking and customer research but at much larger scale and with international methodology infrastructure.
• GfK (NIQ): Global market research group (now part of NielsenIQ) with Swiss presence, offering consumer and opinion research. Comparable methodology base but broader commercial focus and deeper international footprint than gfs.bern.
• YouGov: Global online survey panel and polling firm with Swiss panel coverage. Closest broad comparable on panel-based opinion research and syndicated tracking products, though with a different cost structure and global product orientation.
• Gallup: Global analytics and polling firm best known for opinion research and recurring global indices. Comparable at the level of polling methodology and public-affairs research, though primarily U.S.-anchored and operating at vastly larger scale.
• Kantar: Global evidence-based insights and consulting group. Comparable to gfs.bern on reputation research, brand tracking and public opinion measurement, but with much wider international reach and a portfolio of adjacent consulting services.

Emerging players

• Léger: Canadian-founded research and analytics firm with growing European footprint. Comparable on opinion polling, election research and brand/reputation analytics, though smaller and less established in Switzerland than the global incumbents.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gfsbern
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gfsbern
• Facebookfacebook.com/gfs.bern

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about gfs.bern