OpenData

Name

OpenData

Legal name

Opendata.ch

Website

https://opendata.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open Data Advocacy and Community Programs

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Developer & Open-Source Communities (MPACAJAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Transparency Portals & Open Data Reporting (EDADAIAN), OER Repositories, Discovery & Metadata Services (EDAGAJAL)

Keywords

• Open data advocacy
• Data literacy education
• Parliamentary data API
• Cultural data hackathons
• Open government data

Headquarters

HQ city

Basel

HQ country

Switzerland

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: Annual membership program offering community participation and organizational benefits. Members receive updates, participate in governance, and support open data mission.
2. Donations: Direct donation program allowing individuals and organizations to support open data advocacy and programs. One-time and recurring donation options available.
3. Event Sponsorships: Corporate and foundation sponsorships for hackathons and events. Partners include foundations (Corymbo Stiftung, Joh. Jacob Rieter-Stiftung) and institutional hosts.
4. Project Grants: Funding from foundations and government bodies for specific projects. Mercator Foundation Switzerland supported OpenParlData development. Prototype Fund supports innovative open source projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Opendata.ch is a Swiss non-profit association that runs an ecosystem of open data programs, including the OpenParlData API and Search Service (harmonizing data from 74 Swiss parliaments), the OpenGLAM Working Group for cultural institutions, Prototype Fund for public-good open source projects, Energy Data Innovation Hub, Data Café awareness campaign, advocacy for open data policy, and recurring hackathons such as GLAMhack and Energy Data Hackdays. All offerings are organized around data literacy, civic engagement, and digital transformation for institutions and community members in Switzerland.

Product overview

OpenData (Opendata.ch) is a Swiss non-profit association that serves as an ecosystem of interconnected programs and initiatives rather than a single product. The core offerings include the Open Parl Data API – a technical data infrastructure that aggregates and harmonizes parliamentary data from Swiss parliaments – complemented by the Open Parl Data Search Service (a web-based GUI). Beyond these data products, the association operates thematic programs including the OpenGLAM Working Group (cultural data advocacy), Energy Data Innovation Hub (energy sector innovation), and hackathon event series (GLAMhack for cultural data, Energy Data Hackdays for energy topics). These programs support data literacy, civic engagement, and open data adoption across Switzerland through events, advocacy, and community building.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Energy Data Innovation Hub (EDIH): Association dedicated to promoting open and sustainable innovation in the energy sector through digital transformation and data usage
• GLAMhack
• OpenParlData.ch

Products and services

• OpenParlData API An open API that aggregates, cleans, and harmonizes parliamentary data from 74 national, cantonal, and municipal parliaments across 46 cities, 26 cantons, and 2 countries (Switzerland and Liechtenstein). Serves journalists, political scientists, developers, and civil society actors building tools, visualizations, and analyses from political affairs, proceedings, actors, decrees, and consultations.
• OpenParlData Search Service A minimal graphical user interface (GUI) that previews and searches the open parliamentary data published through the OpenParlData API, intended for journalists, researchers, developers, and the general public exploring Swiss parliamentary information.
• GLAMhack (Swiss Open Cultural Data Hackathon) Annual free Swiss hackathon focused on cultural data, exploring digitization, description, immersive experiences, and translation of digital knowledge into physical forms for galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM). Targets developers, digital humanists, artists, Wikipedians, and cultural institution staff collaborating on open cultural data projects.
• Energy Data Hackdays Hackathon series focused on energy data, bringing together engineers, designers, and ideators to develop solutions for energy production, consumption, and distribution transparency and sustainability. Targets energy sector stakeholders, public administrations, and institutions working on the energy transition.

Quantifiable outcome

• 13 projects developed per Energy Data Hackdays event
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpendata.ch is part of the Open Knowledge Network, the global network of Open Knowledge Foundation chapters and groups. This provides international reach, shared resources, and alignment with global open data movements.
• Stiftung für Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte (SKKG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for GLAMhack 2026 in Winterthur. Will release over 60,000 cultural objects under open license through SKKG Sammlung Digital, following Linked Art data model.
• Wikimedia CHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss chapter of global Wikimedia movement. Supports cultural institutions in sharing collections on Wikipedia and Wikidata. Active partner in OpenGLAM Working Group and GLAMhack events.
• ETH LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of Friends of OpenGLAM Network. Has actively supported Swiss Open Cultural Data Hackathon since 2015. Promotes digital access to content and metadata as open data.
• Swiss National LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of Friends of OpenGLAM Network. Hosted first Swiss Open Cultural Data Hackathon in 2015. Operates with Open Data Policy and cooperates with open data community.
• Swiss National Museum (SNM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of Friends of OpenGLAM Network. Hosted 2018 hackathon (first museum-based hackathon). Digital access to collections as open data is key policy goal.
• Swiss Social ArchivessecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of Friends of OpenGLAM Network. Supports OpenGLAM movement with technical know-how, financially and as project partner.
• infoclio.chsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of Friends of OpenGLAM Network. Professional portal for historical sciences in Switzerland. Among first-hour supporters of Swiss Open Cultural Data Hackathon.
• FHGR Chur (Swiss Institute for Information Science)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted GLAMhack 2020 (online edition) in collaboration with Institute for Multimedia Production. Focus areas included Linked Open Data, Machine Learning, Human-Computer-Interaction, and Crowdsourcing.
• https://hack.opendata.ch/ch/opensecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerSwiss open government and data association. Oleg Lavrovsky identified as member, connecting Opendata.ch to broader open government community.
• eCH (Swiss Federal Standards)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpendata.ch co-initiated the federal standardization of Swiss parliamentary data through eCH Fachgruppe 'Politische Geschäfte'. Christian Gutknecht (Board member) co-leads the working group.
• Energy Data HackdayscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounders of Energy Data Hackdays (since 2016) established the Energy Data Innovation Hub (EDIH) association in 2023. EDIH promotes open and sustainable innovation in the energy sector.
• Swiss Internet Governance ForumsecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual Swiss internet governance forum where open data topics are discussed. Opendata.ch participates and co-promotes events.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Europeana Foundation: EU-funded digital platform for European cultural heritage; directly comparable GLAM open data mission but operating at pan-European rather than Swiss national scale.
• Sunlight Foundation: US-based non-profit focused on government transparency and open legislative data; directly comparable mission on parliamentary transparency, but operating in a US context.

Broad incumbents

• Open Government Partnership: Multilateral initiative promoting open government data and transparency reforms; comparable advocacy mission and public sector focus, operating at a supranational policy level.
• Open Source Initiative: Global non-profit advocating for open-source software; adjacent open-knowledge peer with overlapping values around openness, though focused on software licensing rather than data infrastructure.
• Creative Commons: Global non-profit building open licensing infrastructure for cultural, educational, and data works; comparable as a sibling organization in the open knowledge ecosystem with overlapping GLAM and cultural heritage constituencies.
• Open Knowledge Foundation: Global parent network that Opendata.ch is a chapter of; operates open data advocacy, tooling (CKAN), and policy programs internationally — most directly comparable as the broader movement organization of which Opendata.ch is the Swiss affiliate.

Emerging players

• Code for America: US non-profit building civic technology and open data tools with government; comparable community-driven model focused on government data transparency, but operating in a different national context.
• Digital Public Goods Alliance: Multi-stakeholder initiative supporting open-source public-interest digital infrastructure; comparable mission around open data and open-source for the public good, though broader in scope.

Direct peers

• Wikimedia Foundation / Wikimedia CH: Global and Swiss chapter of the open knowledge movement; directly partners with Opendata.ch on OpenGLAM and shares cultural heritage / open data mission, though with a focus on encyclopedic content rather than data infrastructure.
• The Open Data Institute (ODI): UK-based non-profit focused on open data infrastructure, training, and policy advocacy; comparable mission and operating model, serving as the UK counterpart to Opendata.ch's Swiss national role.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/opendatach
• GitHubgithub.com/opendata-ch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCYCUi7Z-_-ArA2b9Y8fMN9Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/openglamch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/opendata-ch
• Instagraminstagram.com/opendata_ch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 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 OpenData