CEval

What CEval does

CEval GmbH (Centrum für Evaluation) is a privately held German management consulting and evaluation research firm headquartered in Saarbrücken, founded in 2002 (registered 2004). The firm provides independent monitoring and evaluation (M&E) services, consulting, and education/training programmes to German federal and state ministries, international development organizations (GIZ, DEval, UNICEF, EU, Council of Europe), and NGOs. Core service lines include project, programme, meta-, and strategic evaluations built on OECD-DAC criteria, M&E system design, and capacity development in evaluation methodology.

The firm operates without proprietary technology, software products, or AI/ML infrastructure; its deliverable is human-delivered expert evaluation grounded in mixed-methods research and academic rigour. The team comprises approximately 11 core PhD-level experts across sociology, economics, political science, and education, supported by a network of project staff. Product portfolio includes the 2024 'Handbook on Evaluation' (Prof. Reinhard Stockmann et al.), the GLOBE study on institutionalisation of evaluation across 50+ countries, and a project portfolio exceeding 342 engagements across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Revenue is generated through commissioned project engagements negotiated directly with public-sector and institutional clients; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market model is sales-led via direct outreach, professional networks, and visibility through DeGEval and APEA evaluation conferences. Marketing relies on the firm's website, academic publications, and LinkedIn presence. CEval is privately owned by managing directors and founding partners, with no external investors, subsidiaries, or parent company structure.

Name

CEval

Legal name

CEval GmbH

Website

https://ceval.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CEval GmbH is a Saarbrücken-based evaluation consultancy delivering independent monitoring and evaluation, M&E system design, and capacity development for German ministries, international development organizations, and NGOs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Saarbrücken

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Evaluation and Consulting Services: CEval generates revenue through commissioned evaluation and consulting projects for government agencies, international organizations, and NGOs. Services include monitoring and evaluation, programme evaluation, meta-evaluations, evaluability assessments, and M&E system development. Projects span international development cooperation, environment, education, and social sectors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CEval GmbH provides independent evaluation, monitoring, and consulting services to government ministries, international organisations, and NGOs across international development cooperation, environment, education, and social sectors, using OECD-DAC criteria and theory-based approaches. The firm also designs and implements Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems for development projects and delivers capacity-building training programmes in evaluation methodology. In addition, CEval produces academic publications, including the Handbook on Evaluation (2024) authored by Prof. Reinhard Stockmann.

Product overview

CEval GmbH (Centrum für Evaluation) is an evaluation research and service institute based in Saarbrücken, Germany. The company operates as a professional services firm rather than a software product company, offering three interconnected core service areas: (1) Evaluation Services covering project, programme, meta-, and strategic evaluations using OECD-DAC criteria; (2) Monitoring and Evaluation Systems Development for designing and implementing M&E frameworks; and (3) Education and Training Programmes including workshops and structured further education. The company also produces academic publications including the Handbook on Evaluation (2024) and research papers. CEval's interdisciplinary team conducts evaluations across international development cooperation, education, environment, climate, nature conservation, and social sectors, serving clients including German government ministries, international organizations (GIZ, DEval, UNICEF), and NGOs. The company has no software products, APIs, or technology integrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Evaluation Services (Evaluations- und Beratungsleistungen)
• Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Systems Development
• Education and Training Programmes (Aus- und Weiterbildungsprogramme)
• Handbook on Evaluation (2024)

Quantifiable outcome

• Evaluated projects in 50+ countries globally
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIÖW leads the RePack-Netzwerk (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) network. CEval is responsible for the accompanying and final evaluation of the BMEL-funded programme for sustainable food packaging innovations. IÖW coordinates the network of five research institutions and twelve innovation projects.
• Gesellschaft für Verpackungsmarktforschung (GVM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGVM is one of five research institutions in the RePack-Netzwerk consortium focused on sustainable packaging innovation evaluation, led by IÖW with CEval as the evaluation partner.
• Institut für sozial-ökologische Forschung (ISOE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerISOE is one of five research institutions in the RePack-Netzwerk consortium focused on sustainable packaging innovation evaluation, led by IÖW with CEval as the evaluation partner.
• Sustainable Packaging Institute (SPI) der Hochschule Albstadt-SigmaringenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSPI is one of five research institutions in the RePack-Netzwerk consortium focused on sustainable packaging innovation evaluation, led by IÖW with CEval as the evaluation partner.
• Center for Evaluation and Development (C4ED)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerC4ED is a cooperation partner on the Evaluability Assessment of the UNICEF Jordan Country Programme 2023-2027, working alongside CEval as the lead evaluator.
• WeSD – Research Group on Wellbeing and Sustainable Development, Khon Kaen University ThailandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeSD is a cooperation partner on the UNICEF Thailand representative study on childcare services, supporting CEval in conducting mixed-methods data collection in Thailand.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Particip GmbH: German evaluation and social research consultancy active in international development cooperation and adjacent sectors. Closely comparable to CEval in size, German origin and evaluation-methodology focus.
• Itad: UK-based consultancy specialising in monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) for international development. Highly comparable to CEval in scope (programme evaluation, M&E systems, strategic evaluation) and target clients (donors, multilaterals, NGOs), serving as the closest UK analogue.
• NIRAS: Nordic-headquartered consultancy with a substantial international development portfolio including evaluations for EU and bilateral donors. Similar methodological positioning and donor-client mix to CEval, with comparable scale and project-based delivery model.
• Oxford Policy Management: Oxford-headquartered firm delivering policy research, evaluation and advisory for international development. Overlaps directly with CEval in rigorous impact evaluation, programme evaluation, and engagement with bilateral/multilateral donors.
• Deutsches Evaluierungsinstitut der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit (DEval): German federal evaluation institute for development cooperation. Although a publicly funded body rather than a commercial firm, DEval operates in the same evaluation niche, runs similar M&E methodology work, and competes for institutional mindshare — including commissioning CEval for accompanied evaluations.
• Center for Evaluation and Development (C4ED): Bonn-based evaluation consultancy focused on rigorous impact evaluation in international development cooperation. C4ED is the most directly comparable commercial peer — overlapping client base (including co-bidding with CEval on UNICEF Jordan) and similar methodological specialism in OECD-DAC compliant evaluations.
• Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW): Berlin-based research institute focused on environmental and sustainable-economy policy research, including programme evaluation. Directly comparable to CEval's environment/climate evaluation practice (IÖW is also an existing RePack-Netzwerk partner of CEval).

Broad incumbents

• Palladium: Global development consulting firm with significant M&E and impact evaluation practices. Competes for the same donor-led evaluation tenders as CEval but operates at significantly greater scale and across more geographies.
• ICF International: Global consulting firm with established evaluation and survey practices serving public-sector and international clients. Overlaps with CEval on programme evaluation and M&E system development but competes as a much larger incumbent.
• GFA Consulting Group: Hamburg-based development consulting group with a much larger portfolio spanning project implementation, advisory and evaluation. A broader incumbent operating in adjacent evaluation work for GIZ/BMZ but with a wider service menu than CEval.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ceval

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 CEval