socialdesign
socialdesign ag is a Bern-based independent Swiss consulting firm providing strategy, organizational development, management mandates, recruiting, coaching, and evaluation services to public administrations, nonprofits, and private companies in the healthcare, social services, and education sectors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersBern, Switzerland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What socialdesign does
socialdesign ag is an independent, Bern-based management and policy consulting firm founded in 2004, operating across Switzerland's German, French, and Italian language regions, with occasional cross-border engagements in Liechtenstein. The firm serves public administrations, nonprofit and foundation clients, and a smaller base of private companies operating at the intersection of state and market — concentrated in the healthcare, social services, and education sectors. Its senior partners and team members combine direct management experience in these sectors with academic credentials and board-level exposure (e.g., Fondation Protection de l'enfance Suisse, Asyl-Organisation Zürich, WWF), positioning the firm as a specialist advisor on performance contracts (Leistungsverträge), public procurement, organizational development, and quality management in the Swiss social-policy ecosystem.
The firm's service portfolio comprises seven core offerings: Beratung (strategy and organizational consulting), Leitungsmandate (interim management), Recruiting & Onboarding, Coaching, Externe Überprüfung (external auditing, including the proprietary registered trademark SOZIALREVISION® for case-file reviews in social organizations), Fachreferate & Bildung (teaching, presentations, training), and Studien & Evaluationen (scientific studies, impact evaluations, needs analyses). SOZIALREVISION® is the firm's only productized, trademarked IP, and the firm also operates the 'Green Bag Lunch' knowledge platform developed during the COVID period. Academic partnerships with Bern University of Applied Sciences, the University of St.Gallen, and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences support research, executive education, and knowledge transfer.
Commercially, socialdesign operates a fee-for-service model with transparent, performance-related pricing billed against actual effort — effectively a pay-as-you-go professional-services structure. The firm is privately held by its co-founders, with no disclosed external investors, no M&A activity, and no parent organization. The team visible on its website numbers eight core members, and the firm completed 200+ client assignments in 2021 and several thousand projects cumulatively over its 20-year history, with its customer base dominated by episodic cantonal, municipal, and nonprofit mandates rather than a small set of retainer clients.
socialdesign firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- socialdesign
- Legal name
- socialdesign ag
- Website
- https://socialdesign.ch
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- socialdesign ag is a Bern-based independent Swiss consulting firm providing strategy, organizational development, management mandates, recruiting, coaching, and evaluation services to public administrations, nonprofits, and private companies in the healthcare, social services, and education sectors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
socialdesign industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Management Consulting
- NAICS
- Management Consulting Services (54161), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Individual and Family Services (6241)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)
Keywords
Where socialdesign is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bern
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
socialdesign business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Consulting Services: The company provides consulting services including strategy consulting, organizational development, management mandates, recruiting, coaching, external auditing, specialist presentations & education, and studies & evaluations. They operate on a fee-for-service basis with transparent, performance-related pricing and bill based on actual effort expended.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Fee-for-service consulting with transparent pricing based on actual effort |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
socialdesign product offering
Product offeringCore offering
socialdesign ag is an independent Swiss consulting firm providing strategy, organizational development, leadership, financing, and transformation advisory services to public administrations, nonprofit organizations, and private companies in the healthcare, social services, and education sectors. The firm delivers seven core service lines — Beratung (Consulting), Leitungsmandate (Management Mandates), Recruiting & Onboarding, Coaching, Externe Überprüfung (External Auditing), Fachreferate & Bildung (Presentations & Education), and Studien & Evaluationen (Studies & Evaluations) — supported by the proprietary SOZIALREVISION® audit tool for case-file reviews in social organizations.
Product overview
socialdesign is an independent consulting firm based in Bern, Switzerland, offering a portfolio of seven core professional services: Consulting, Management Mandates, Recruiting & Onboarding, Coaching, External Auditing, Presentations & Education, and Studies & Evaluations. The firm specializes in healthcare, social services, and education sectors, combining practical experience with methodological expertise. Key offerings include the proprietary SOZIALREVISION® audit tool for social organizations, and the Green Bag Lunch knowledge platform for professional exchange.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Beratung (Consulting) Strategic and organizational consulting services for public, social, and healthcare sector organizations, covering strategy, organization, financing, leadership, and transformation.
- Leitungsmandate (Management Mandates) Interim management and leadership mandates for organizations requiring temporary or project-based executive support.
- Recruiting & Onboarding Executive and leadership recruitment services with structured processes for C-level and institutional leadership positions, including onboarding support.
- Coaching Individual coaching services for leadership development, operational leadership challenges, and conflict resolution for executives and employees across organizations.
- Externe Überprüfung (External Auditing) External auditing services including file reviews, service audits, individual needs assessment examinations (IBB/BIA), and quality audits for social and healthcare organizations.
- Fachreferate & Bildung (Presentations & Education) Professional presentations, teaching at universities and colleges, internal training programs, and conference organization for knowledge transfer.
- Studien & Evaluationen (Studies & Evaluations) Scientific studies and impact evaluations including expertise reports, process evaluations, impact evaluations, and needs analyses for policy and practice.
- SOZIALREVISION® Proprietary audit tool developed by socialdesign for reviewing case and file management in social organizations to ensure legality, efficiency, and effectiveness.
Quantifiable outcome
- Several thousand projects completed successfully over 20 years
Companies that use socialdesign
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
socialdesign technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
socialdesign partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH)coreCollaboration with Bern University of Applied Sciences for research projects, teaching, and knowledge transfer in social work and healthcare sectors.
- University of St.Gallen (HSG)corePartnership with University of St.Gallen for executive education and professional development programs, including a joint training on Leistungsverträge and public procurement law.
- Lucerne University of Applied Sciences (HSLU)minorAcademic partnership for research and education collaboration in healthcare and social services domains.
- Swiss Health Observatory (OBSAN)minorCollaboration with the Swiss Health Observatory for health data analysis and planning projects.
- cm-integracoreCo-founding partner in anstellunghochzwei (Emploi puissance 2), a joint venture focused on onboarding and employee integration services for organizations.
- sozialinfo.chcorePartnership with the digital competence center for social work, supporting organizations in digital transformation through the Digitalisierung & Soziale Arbeit center.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
socialdesign competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ecoplan: Bern-based economic, transport, and policy research consultancy. Closely comparable in size, geography (Bern), and reliance on public-sector research, evaluation, and policy mandates in Switzerland.
- BASS (Büro für arbeits- und sozialpolitische Studien): Bern-based research and consulting firm specializing in social policy, labor market, and public administration studies. Directly comparable because both serve Swiss cantonal/federal clients on social-sector research, evaluation, and policy advice.
- Interface Politikstudien: Lucerne-based policy research and consulting firm. Comparable as a small Swiss consultancy conducting studies, evaluations, and policy advice for public administration and nonprofit clients.
- KEK-Beratung: Swiss consultancy focused on healthcare strategy, planning, and organizational development. Highly comparable because both serve Swiss cantonal healthcare and social-service providers with strategy, evaluation, and mandate work.
- INFRAS: Zurich-based research and consulting firm covering transport, environment, energy, and social policy. Comparable as a Swiss niche research/evaluation consultancy competing for public-sector evaluation and strategy mandates.
- Polynomics: Swiss economic research and consulting firm with offices in Olten and Bern. Comparable as a small, specialized Swiss consultancy delivering studies and evaluations to public administration.
Regional players
- B,S,S. Volkswirtschaftliche Beratung: Basel-based economic and policy consultancy active across Switzerland. Comparable as a small-to-mid-sized Swiss consultancy serving public-sector clients with studies and policy advice, anchored in Northwestern Switzerland.
Broad incumbents
- PWC Switzerland: Big Four advisory firm in Switzerland with large public-sector and healthcare practices. Comparable as a competing provider of management consulting, organizational development, and public-sector advisory in Switzerland, though it operates at much greater scale and breadth.
- McKinsey & Company (Switzerland): Global management consultancy with a Swiss practice serving healthcare, public-sector, and social-sector clients. Comparable on management consulting and transformation mandates, but at substantially larger scale and broader scope.
Emerging players
- ZHAW Institute of Public Management: Academic applied-research arm conducting public administration and social-sector studies. Comparable as a provider of evaluations and policy studies to Swiss public administration, though operating within a university mandate rather than a commercial firm.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
socialdesign social profiles
Digital presencesocialdesign financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
socialdesign leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
socialdesign funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
socialdesign M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about socialdesign
What does socialdesign do?
socialdesign ag is an independent Swiss consulting firm providing strategy, organizational development, leadership, financing, and transformation advisory services to public administrations, nonprofit organizations, and private companies in the healthcare, social services, and education sectors. The firm delivers seven core service lines — Beratung (Consulting), Leitungsmandate (Management Mandates), Recruiting & Onboarding, Coaching, Externe Überprüfung (External Auditing), Fachreferate & Bildung (Presentations & Education), and Studien & Evaluationen (Studies & Evaluations) — supported by the proprietary SOZIALREVISION® audit tool for case-file reviews in social organizations.
Is socialdesign a public or private company?
socialdesign is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was socialdesign founded?
socialdesign was founded in 2004. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is socialdesign based?
socialdesign is headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does socialdesign make money?
One revenue line is on record: consulting Services.
Who are socialdesign's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ecoplan, BASS (Büro für arbeits- und sozialpolitische Studien), Interface Politikstudien, KEK-Beratung, INFRAS and Polynomics. B,S,S. Volkswirtschaftliche Beratung is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are PWC Switzerland and McKinsey & Company (Switzerland). ZHAW Institute of Public Management is listed as an emerging player.
Does socialdesign have an API?
No public API is recorded for socialdesign.
What industry is socialdesign in?
socialdesign's product category is Management Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHACAK, Sustainability & ESG Consulting. Its NAICS code is 54161 and its SIC code is 8742.