What MV does

MV (MV Social Design) is a Rotterdam-based social design consultancy founded in 2005 by Marjolein Vermeulen and Myrthe Veeneman. The firm specializes in co-creative, human-centered design methods applied to complex societal challenges in the Dutch public sector. Its practice combines empathic qualitative research, journey mapping, reframing, speculative/ontwerpend onderzoek, prototyping, and co-creation tools to help government agencies, municipalities, educational institutions, public broadcasters, and cultural organizations redesign services, reshape organizational processes, and engage citizens in policy implementation. Notable engagements span the Omgevingswet implementation for Gemeente Rotterdam, the Aardgasvrije Wijken (gas-free neighborhoods) program with BZK, the Rijksmakerstaat program with Rijkswaterstaat, the Bondmaken ecosystemic design research with Topsector Energie and RVO, and participatory media projects with VPRO including Club Lees, which won the Prix Europa for best online youth project in 2024.

The firm operates as a boutique professional services practice with 1-10 employees, generating revenue through fee-for-service project contracts rather than product sales. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated on a per-project basis depending on scope and duration. MV's go-to-market is sales-led and event-driven, relying on a detailed project portfolio website (mvdesign.nl), conference presentations at Dutch Design Week and sector-specific events, published case studies, and referrals from long-standing partners including TwynstraGudde, Matching Futures, and New Wave Collective. Distribution is entirely direct and domestic, with active engagements across 10+ Dutch municipalities. The firm maintains a strategic sister-organization relationship with De Nacht Club, co-founded by Marjolein Vermeulen, which operates a speculative design studio focused on safety, trust, and futures literacy in the public domain.

Name

MV

Legal name

MV service design

Website

https://mvdesign.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MV is a Rotterdam-based boutique social design consultancy founded in 2005 that delivers co-creative, human-centered design services to Dutch municipalities, national government agencies, higher education institutions, and public broadcasters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Design Consulting

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541), Specialized Design Services (5414), Other Specialized Design Services (54149)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Graphic Design & Visual Content Production (BPAFAIAC)

Keywords

• Social design services
• Service design consulting
• Co-creation design
• Design research methodology
• Organizational innovation design

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Design Consulting & Project Fees: MV generates revenue through fee-for-service design projects contracted by government agencies, municipalities, educational institutions, NGOs, and cultural organizations. Projects range from short-term design sprints to multi-year organizational innovation trajectories. Revenue is project-based and recurring as long-term client relationships generate new engagements.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

MV is a Dutch social design consultancy that delivers co-creative design research, empathic qualitative research, journey mapping, and organizational innovation services to Dutch government agencies, municipalities, educational institutions, NGOs, and cultural organizations. The firm designs, advises, teaches, and creates interactive processes and tools that help clients address complex societal challenges such as energy transition, citizen participation, and educational inclusion through methods including empathic research, speculative design, prototyping, and co-creation.

Product overview

MV is a social design consultancy founded in 2005 by Marjolein Vermeulen and Myrthe Veeneman. The company does not offer a unified software product or platform; instead, it provides social design and service design consulting services. Their portfolio consists of various project-based interventions and methodologies, including design research projects (such as 3dubbel, Bondmaken!, Zero Mica), interactive digital experiences (Club Lees, Hoe overleef jij...?, UExchange), educational tools (MBO-kit, Speculative Design Program), and organizational innovation approaches (Studio Speculaas, Toekomstraam). These offerings are not integrated software products but rather design methodologies and co-creation processes applied to societal challenges in government, education, healthcare, and sustainability sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Social Design Consulting Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 20% increase in student enrollment applications for Willem de Kooning Academie following interactive campaign
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Topsector EnergiecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV has partnered with Topsector Energie and RVO on the Bondmaken project, a multi-year speculative design research program exploring nature as an ally in the energy transition. The partnership produced interactive exhibition works presented at Dutch Design Week and made freely accessible via the Topsector Energie knowledge platform. The collaboration involved New Wave Collective, Urban Synergy, and Matching Futures as additional partners.
• TwynstraGudde (Part of IsOok)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMV has worked extensively with organizational consultancy TwynstraGudde on multiple government service design projects since 2017, including Omgevingswet implementation for Gemeente Rotterdam, the energy transition design sprint, and De Haagse Cirkel care co-production project. André Schaminée from TwynstraGudde has been a recurring collaborator.
• Matching FuturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV collaborates with Matching Futures (Jaap Warmenhoven) on service design and organizational innovation trajectories for government clients, including the Aardgasvrije Wijken program and storytelling for the Omgevingswet project. Jaap Warmenhoven provides expertise in change management and storytelling methodologies.
• New Wave CollectivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV partners with New Wave Collective (Zinzi Stasse) on organizational change and social design projects, including the Bondmaken energy transition research and the Bibliotheek Haarlem innovation trajectory. New Wave Collective provides change management and organizational advisory expertise.
• Gemeente RotterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV has a longstanding strategic partnership with Gemeente Rotterdam, having delivered over a dozen projects since 2017 including service design for citizen-facing services (Ik wil Ruimte), Omgevingswet implementation tools, the energy transition human-centered approach (Aardgasvrije Wijken), organizational innovation learning programs, and speculative design education with the Willem de Kooning Academie.
• Gemeente AmsterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV partners with Gemeente Amsterdam on multiple projects including the Zero Mica plastic-free market initiative, Draagkrachtige buurten neighborhood resilience program with Nationaal Programma Amsterdam Nieuw-West, and the hotspotaanpak for cleanliness and livability in Amsterdam Nieuw-West.
• De Nacht ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDe Nacht Club is a sister organization co-founded by MV's Marjolein Vermeulen that operates a speculative and experimental design studio focused on safety and trust in the public domain. De Nacht Club runs the Nacht Club Academie and collaborative programs including Studio Speculaas, Draagkrachtige buurten, and the Toekomstraam futures literacy project. Projects are co-branded and jointly delivered.
• Hogeschool UtrechtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV partnered with Hogeschool Utrecht's pabo (teacher training) on the 3dubbel project to integrate experiential knowledge of students with chronic conditions into the teacher training curriculum. This partnership embedded MV's co-created tools into the Hogeschool curriculum across multiple study years, with ongoing collaboration with lector Anja Overdiek.
• Willem de Kooning Academie (WdKA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV has a multi-year partnership with the Willem de Kooning Academie for the annual Speculative Design program, where 500 students per year collaborate with Gemeente Rotterdam on speculative future scenarios for the city. MV also delivered the student recruitment campaign resulting in a 20% enrollment increase.
• VPROcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV has collaborated with VPRO on multiple media innovation projects since 2011, including the interactive TV co-production Hoe overleef ik...?, the Boek je Trip/Club Lees reading platform (which won the Prix Europa), and the Trees investigative journalism app. The Club Lees platform reached 20,000+ users.
• AVROTROSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAVROTROS partnered with MV on the Hoe overleef ik...? youth television series co-production, which combined drama with social media audience participation. AVROTROS served as the broadcast partner providing organizational and editorial oversight.
• Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (EUR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV partners with Erasmus Universiteit through the GOVLAB010 initiative, which designs and refines governance models for complex transition challenges including climate change and digitalization. Studio Speculaas was delivered as part of the GOVLAB010 expo at Timmerhuis Rotterdam, exploring how future generations can be integrated into local democracy.
• GOVLAB010coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGOVLAB010 is a joint initiative of Erasmus Universiteit and Gemeente Rotterdam focused on governance innovation for urban transitions. MV contributed through Studio Speculaas, a speculative design studio exploring anticiperende overheid (anticipatory government) as part of the GOVLAB010 expo at Timmerhuis, Rotterdam.
• Bibliotheek Zuid-KennemerlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV partnered with Bibliotheek Zuid-Kennemerland (Haarlem) on a six-session learning trajectory to embed community-led programming (Meemaakpodium) across the library's 7 branches. The project facilitated organizational change to shift from top-down to community-facilitation programming.
• RijkswaterstaatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV partnered with Rijkswaterstaat (national water management agency) on the Rijksmakerstaat program, specifically the 'Kun je dit maken?!' trajectory exploring social safety and maker culture within the organization. The project engaged participants from directors to operational staff in a rich design research process.
• Urban SynergyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV collaborated with Urban Synergy (Laura de Bonth) as a sparring partner on the Bondmaken ecosystemic design project for the energy transition, contributing urban design expertise alongside MV's social design methodology.
• Nationaal Programma Samen Nieuw-WestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV partners with Nationaal Programma Amsterdam Nieuw-West on the Draagkrachtige buurten project and the broader schoon-heel-veilig (clean-safe-liveable) movement, collaborating with housing corporations, welfare organizations, and residents in long-term alliance for neighborhood improvement.
• Zorgeloos naar SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV partnered with Stichting Zorgeloos naar School (led by director Lydia Braakman and chair Floor Kaspers) on the 3dubbel project to integrate experiential knowledge of students with chronic conditions into teacher training at Hogeschool Utrecht. Supported by Agis Innovatiefonds.
• Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties (BZK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV partnered with BZK on the human-centered energy transition approach for the Aardgasvrije Wijken (gas-free neighborhoods) program, working with Gemeente Dordrecht, Rotterdam, and Veenendaal. The approach shifted the energy transition from a technology-dominated to a human-centered, co-creative process.
• RVO (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV partnered with RVO (Franka Beijers) alongside Topsector Energie on the Bondmaken speculative design research exploring nature as an ally in the energy transition, including the development of interactive exhibition works for the Dutch Design Week.
• Gemeente Den HaagminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMV partnered with Gemeente Den Haag on De Haagse Cirkel, a learning trajectory to improve WMO care and collaboration through the frame of 'care as co-production of stakeholders,' working with policy officials, care consultants, district nurses, and welfare organizations.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design and innovation firm with a long-standing social design and public sector practice. Comparable to MV on design methodology and societal-challenge focus, but at vastly greater scale and international footprint.
• TwynstraGudde (Part of IsOok): Large Dutch organizational consultancy and frequent MV partner on government transformation engagements. Broader scope than MV (strategy, change mgmt, HR) but overlapping in public sector service design delivery.

Direct peers

• Livework: Pioneering European service design consultancy applying co-creation and human-centered design to public services and complex organizations. Comparable to MV's service design offering for institutional and government clients.
• Waag Society: Amsterdam-based social design and technology research organization working on societal innovation through co-creation and civic tech. Comparable to MV's participatory design practice, particularly on public-interest projects in the Netherlands.
• Snook: UK service design agency focused on public sector transformation, citizen experience, and organizational change. Directly comparable to MV on the social-impact, government-facing service design specialization.
• Forum for the Future: International sustainability and futures-focused consultancy using systems thinking, scenario planning, and design to address societal challenges. Comparable to MV's speculative design and futures work (Studio Speculaas, Toekomstraam).
• STBY: Amsterdam-based service design and design research firm specializing in co-creative methods for public and private sector clients. Directly comparable to MV on service design methodology, citizen/stakeholder research, and Dutch project portfolio.
• Koopman Rotgé: Dutch strategic design consultancy based in Amsterdam applying co-creation and design research to public sector and societal challenges. Highly comparable to MV in size, methodology, and Dutch institutional client base.

Regional players

• Submarine: Amsterdam-based transmedia production studio specializing in interactive documentary, cross-media storytelling, and audience engagement. Comparable to MV's transmedia and public broadcasting projects (Club Lees, Hoe overleef ik...?) but focused more on content production than social design methodology.
• Baltan Laboratories: Eindhoven-based applied research lab at the intersection of design, technology, and society, with strong emphasis on speculative and experimental work. Comparable to MV on speculative design methodology and Dutch-based societal design practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about MV