What Samenwerking Noord does

Samenwerking Noord is a non-profit professional association (vereniging) headquartered in Groningen that connects more than 100 member organizations across the Northern Netherlands provinces of Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe for IT knowledge sharing, talent development, and digital transformation collaboration. The organization operates across six vertical sectors — Healthcare & Wellbeing, ICT Services, Education & Research, Governments, Transport/Energy/Services, and Housing Corporations — and runs 11+ specialized knowledge networks covering Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Digital Transformation, Privacy & Security, CIO, CISO, Architecture, Digital Collaboration, Functional Management, Lean, and Finance & Control.

Its service portfolio is built around a member portal (MijnSN) for knowledge exchange, assessment services (Digital Readiness Scan, AI Readiness Scan), a Data & AI Traineeship delivered with YER and IT Academy Noord-Nederland, and a management learning program with University of Groningen Business School. The organization also operates larger ecosystem projects including AI Hub Noord Nederland, the AI-fabriek (a high-performance AI innovation facility with supercomputer and Niemeyer Campus location in Groningen), and the CLIC-IT Learning Communities initiative. Founding academic partnerships with IT Academy Noord-Nederland, Hanzehogeschool Groningen, and Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (via GDBC) anchor its talent pipeline and research linkages.

Commercially, Samenwerking Noord is funded through annual organizational membership fees, fee-based training and traineeship programs, project subsidies (notably SNN Human Capital funding), and partner co-funding. As a vereniging, financials are not publicly disclosed, and there is no equity, M&A, or exit activity. The organization describes its market positioning as the strongest IT network in Northern Netherlands, with no comparable regional competitor.

Name

Samenwerking Noord

Legal name

Samenwerking Noord

Website

https://samenwerkingnoord.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Samenwerking Noord is a Groningen-based non-profit association connecting 100+ organizations across six IT-relevant sectors in Northern Netherlands through knowledge networks, member portal MijnSN, assessment services, traineeships, and collaborative AI and digital transformation projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Groningen

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Organizations pay membership fees to join the network. Membership provides access to knowledge networks, events, collaborative projects, and the MijnSN platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Samenwerking Noord is a professional association (vereniging) that connects more than 100 public and private member organizations across Northern Netherlands for IT knowledge sharing, talent development, and collaborative innovation. It offers member access to specialized knowledge networks, a member portal (MijnSN), assessment services (Digital Readiness Scan, AI Readiness Scan), and training programs (Data & AI Traineeship, Management Leergang Strategisch en Digitaal Leiderschap).

Product overview

Samenwerking Noord is an IT networking organization in Northern Netherlands that connects over 100 member organizations across sectors including healthcare, ICT services, education, government, transport/energy, and housing corporations. The organization offers a member platform (MijnSN) for knowledge sharing and networking, alongside professional development services including the Digital Readiness Scan and AI Readiness Scan for organizational assessment, the SN Data & AI Traineeship for talent development, and a Management Training Program for Strategic and Digital Leadership. The organization also runs collaborative AI initiatives including AI Hub Noord Nederland, the AI-fabriek (high-performance AI innovation facility), and CLIC-IT learning communities. Multiple knowledge networks address topics from AI and data science to privacy, security, and digital transformation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MijnSN Member Portal Member portal platform enabling knowledge sharing, networking, and access to collaborative resources for member organizations of Samenwerking Noord.
• Digital Readiness Scan
• AI Readiness Scan
• SN Data & AI Traineeship
• Management Leergang Strategisch en Digitaal Leiderschap
• Kennisnetwerken (Knowledge Networks)

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% of Make IT Work graduates in Amsterdam find IT employment
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IT Academy Noord-NederlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIT Academy Noord-Nederland, part of Hanzehogeschool, is a founding partner of Samenwerking Noord. The partnership focuses on IT education, reskilling programs (Make IT Work), and talent development. Samenwerking Noord served as founding father when the academy was established 5 years ago. The academy is linked to 180+ organizations.
• Groningen Digital Business Centre (GDBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGDBC, part of Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, collaborates on Digital Readiness Scan, Learning Communities, and AI research projects. Samenwerking Noord members benefit from academic partnerships and student collaborations.
• Connect.FrlminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConnect.Frl is the Frisian sister organization of Samenwerking Noord. The organizations collaborate on cross-regional IT initiatives and knowledge sharing in Northern Netherlands.
• Hogeschool van AmsterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHogeschool van Amsterdam developed the Make IT Work program in 2015. IT Academy Noord-Nederland brings this successful reskilling program to Northern Netherlands.
• Hanzehogeschool GroningencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey educational partner hosting IT Academy and collaborating on Digital Readiness Scan, student projects, and innovation initiatives including the 5G safety vest project with TNO and Politie.
• AI Hub Noord NederlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAI Hub Noord Nederland is a project partner focused on building AI ecosystem and innovation in Northern Netherlands.
• CLIC-ITcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLearning Communities initiative focused on collaborative learning and knowledge sharing in IT.
• Rijksuniversiteit GroningencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner through GDBC, collaborating on Learning Communities, Digital Transformation research, and AI initiatives.
• NHL Stenden HogeschoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner involved in Cyberveiligheid initiative and Make IT Work collaboration.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CIO Platform Nederland: CIO Platform Nederland is a network of CIOs from large Dutch organizations focused on digital strategy and knowledge sharing. Highly comparable to Samenwerking Noord's CIO-network knowledge stream and broader membership-collaboration model, though serving primarily large enterprises nationally.
• Stichting Digitale Infrastructuur (DINL): DINL is the Dutch trade association for the digital infrastructure sector (datacenters, cloud, hosting). Comparable as a Dutch sector-specific membership organization promoting collaboration, knowledge sharing, and policy advocacy for IT stakeholders.
• IT Academy Noord-Nederland: IT Academy Noord-Nederland is a founding partner and the educational arm of Samenwerking Noord's reskilling initiatives (Make IT Work, traineeships). Directly comparable as a regional IT talent-development network linked to 180+ organizations.
• Connect.Frl: Connect.Frl is explicitly named as the Frisian sister organization of Samenwerking Noord, collaborating on cross-regional IT initiatives. Operates a near-identical regional IT networking and knowledge-sharing model for Friesland, making it the most direct peer.

Regional players

• Digitaal Vlaanderen: Digitaal Vlaanderen is the Flemish government's digital agency driving digital transformation in Flanders. Comparable as a regional IT/digital transformation orchestrator with public-sector anchors, though operating in Belgium rather than the Netherlands.
• Brainport Industries: Brainport Industries is a high-tech manufacturing cluster and supplier network in the Eindhoven region. Comparable as a regional public-private collaboration network orchestrating industry knowledge sharing, talent development, and innovation in the southern Netherlands.

Broad incumbents

• NLdigital: NLdigital is the national trade association for the Dutch digital sector, representing ICT service providers, software vendors, and related companies. Comparable as a membership-based association driving knowledge sharing and lobbying for the IT industry, though at a national (vs. regional) scale.
• CIONET: CIONET is a European-wide CIO and IT executive network. Comparable as a membership-based knowledge-sharing organization for IT leaders, though operating across multiple countries rather than within a single Dutch region.
• VNO-NCW: VNO-NCW is the largest Dutch employers' confederation representing broad business interests. Comparable as a Dutch membership organization providing member services, advocacy, and networking, but operates across all industries nationally rather than focusing on IT regionally.

Emerging players

• AI Hub Noord Nederland: AI Hub Noord Nederland is a strategic project partner of Samenwerking Noord focused on building the regional AI ecosystem. Comparable as a regional AI-focused collaboration network, though narrower in scope than SN's full IT networking portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/samenwerkingnoord
• Xx.com/samennoord

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Samenwerking Noord