Ibis Institute

What Ibis Institute does

Ibis Institut (legal name: Ibis: Institut für interdisziplinäre Beratung und interkulturelle Seminare) is a privately held German consulting partnership (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts, GbR) registered in Viersen and operating from Duisburg. Founded and co-owned by Frank Jessen (Diplom-Soziologe) and Patricia Jessen (Islamkunde M.A.), the firm delivers interdisciplinary advisory services at the intersection of social-science research and practical implementation, focused on coexistence, diversity, integration, citizen participation, and urban development. Its six core service areas are: Analyses und Konzepterstellung (analysis, strategy, and concept development, including integration concepts, diversity concepts, and crime prevention concepts); Moderationen und innovative Bürgerbeteiligung (facilitation and citizen participation); Coaching und interdisziplinäre Beratung (coaching and interdisciplinary consulting); Seminare und Vorträge (seminars and lectures); Quartiersmanagement und Projektarbeit (neighborhood management and project work); and Controlling, Evaluation und Monitoringerstellung (controlling, evaluation, and monitoring systems). The team is composed of approximately a dozen specialists across sociology, Islamic studies, pedagogy, cultural studies, Turkology, theater pedagogy, educational science, and social sciences, with dedicated neighborhood managers (Quartiersmanager) embedded in long-running municipal engagements.

The firm generates revenue exclusively through commissioned professional-services contracts with public-sector clients in Germany — cities, municipalities, counties, federal ministries, and a small number of educational and NGO partners. Documented engagements include Stadt Dinslaken, Stadt Mönchengladbach (2019–2027 neighborhood management), Stadt Duisburg (2023–2026 Alt-Hamborn; Arrival City Marxloh), Stadt Münster (since Nov 2022), Landeshauptstadt Mainz (2023–2025 integration concept and monitoring), Kreis Gütersloh (2023–2024 concept revision), Stadt Melle, Landkreis Osnabrück, and the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (2019–2020 #NoHate-Speech). Distribution is direct, with no resellers or intermediaries; client acquisition is driven by the firm's reference base, the Ibis Blog, and Frank Jessen's LinkedIn presence. Geographic activity spans North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Baden-Württemberg, and Rhineland-Palatinate. In 2026 the institute officially repositioned with a broader remit covering transformation processes of coexistence and participation, from diversity and integration concepts through holistic urban development, arrival-district neighborhood management, and prevention/monitoring systems. Pricing is project-by-project and not publicly disclosed.

Name

Ibis Institute

Legal name

Ibis: Institut für interdisziplinäre Beratung und interkulturelle Seminare

Website

https://ibis-institut.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ibis Institut is a German interdisciplinary consulting partnership (GbR) that delivers analysis, concept development, moderation, coaching, neighborhood management, and monitoring services to municipalities, counties, and federal ministries on diversity, integration, citizen participation, and urban development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Duisburg

HQ country

Germany

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. Consulting and Advisory Services: Ibis Institut generates revenue through commissioned consulting projects, studies, and advisory engagements with public sector clients including municipalities, counties, and federal ministries. Services include analysis and concept development, neighborhood management, coaching, moderation, seminars, and evaluation/monitoring.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ibis Institute delivers commissioned consulting, advisory, and project-based services to German public sector clients and NGOs in six integrated practice areas: analyses and concept development; moderation and innovative citizen participation; coaching and interdisciplinary consulting; seminars and lectures; neighborhood management and project work; and controlling, evaluation, and monitoring. The work focuses on integration, diversity, social cohesion, urban development, and crime prevention in heterogeneous urban societies.

Product overview

Ibis Institute is a consulting firm structured as a Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts (GbR) offering interdisciplinary advisory services focused on integration, participation, and social cohesion. The organization operates as a unified service portfolio rather than a platform-based product architecture. Its six core service areas—Analysis and Concept Development, Moderation and Citizen Participation, Coaching and Interdisciplinary Consulting, Seminars and Lectures, Neighborhood Management and Project Work, and Controlling/Evaluation/Monitoring—are offered as integrated consulting services rather than standalone software products. These services are designed to work together as part of comprehensive community development engagements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Analysen und Konzepterstellung (Analysis, Strategy, and Concept Development) Analysis and concept development service providing situational analyses (IST-SOLL), media analyses, qualitative and quantitative surveys, integration concepts, diversity/inclusion concepts, demographic concepts, and concepts for safety, order, and crime prevention. Targeted at cities, municipalities, counties, and federal ministries managing integration and urban development.
• Moderationen und innovative Bürgerbeteiligung (Moderation and Innovative Citizen Participation) Facilitation and citizen participation service combining classical moderation methods with innovative approaches to engage diverse stakeholders in dialogue across generations, cultures, and milieus. Designed for municipal participatory processes, citizen dialogues, and stakeholder engagement in integration and urban development projects.
• Coaching und interdisziplinäre Beratung (Coaching and Interdisciplinary Consulting) Coaching and interdisciplinary consulting service for organizational development, intercultural opening, change management, concept development, monitoring systems, and funding acquisition. Targeted at NGOs, public administrations, and welfare associations undergoing diversity-oriented organizational change.
• Seminare und Vorträge (Seminars and Lectures) In-house seminars and lectures for public authorities, NGOs, welfare organizations, and companies covering topics of diversity, integration, demographic change, intercultural competence, refugee work, and social cohesion.
• Quartiersmanagement und Projektarbeit (Neighborhood Management and Project Work) Neighborhood management and project work service supporting integrated urban development, community work, and project implementation (including controlling and evaluation). Deployed via on-site multi-person teams for municipal clients (e.g., Gladbach & Westend 2019–2027; Alt-Hamborn 2023–2026; Bremer Platz/Bahnhofsumfeld since November 2022).
• Controlling, Evaluation und Monitoring (Controlling, Evaluation, and Monitoring System Development) Controlling, evaluation, and monitoring system development service including advisory on evaluation system design, process monitoring, final reports, and long-term strategic indicators (e.g., integration monitoring with demographic, education, employment, language, housing, and health indicators). Targeted at municipalities and counties with integration or neighborhood programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11 out of 20 women from the OMA project were placed in social institutions for voluntary engagement after approximately half the project duration.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Katholische Landvolkhochschule Oesede (KLVHS)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Ibis Institut provides scientific monitoring of the 'OMA: Oldie – Muslima – Aktiv' project developed by KLVHS in cooperation with Landkreis Osnabrück, which targets elderly refugee Muslim women and aims to introduce them to voluntary societal engagement. The project is funded by the Lower Saxony State Office for Social Affairs, Youth and Family under the 'Participation and Cohesion' directive.
• Stadt Duisburg - Amt für Integration und EinwandererservicecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2023Ibis Institut collaborates with the Integration and Immigration Office of the City of Duisburg on multiple projects including the Arrival City Marxloh action plan (2023-2024) and neighborhood management for Alt-Hamborn (2023-2026) under the 'Stark im Norden' model project.
• Kreis Gütersloh - Kommunales IntegrationszentrumcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2023Ibis Institut supported the revision of the integration concept for Kreis Gütersloh (2023-2024), developing a concept focused on four main target groups and including a comprehensive integration monitoring system with indicators across demographic data, education, employment, language acquisition, housing, and health.
• Stadt Mönchengladbach - Quartiersmanagement Gladbach & WestendcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2019Ibis Institut operates a four-person team providing neighborhood management services for the Gladbach & Westend districts on behalf of the City of Mönchengladbach, implementing an integrated action and development concept with citizen participation and cultural programming.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Minor - Projektkontor für Bildung und Forschung: Berlin-based social-science research and consulting firm working on education, migration, and participation with German municipalities and federal programs. Directly comparable as a similarly sized interdisciplinary consulting provider serving the same German public-sector integration and civic-participation mandates as Ibis Institut.
• IQ Consult GmbH: German consulting firm specializing in integration consulting, intercultural opening, and qualification programs for municipalities, employment agencies, and welfare organizations. Directly comparable in service portfolio and public-sector client base to Ibis Institut.
• urbanista: Hamburg-based urban development consulting firm supporting municipalities on integrated neighborhood development, participation processes, and Stadtteilmanagement. Comparable to Ibis Institut's neighborhood management and citizen-participation services for German cities.
• Planerladen e.V. Dortmund-based nonprofit planning and consulting office focused on integrated neighborhood development, participation, and social city programs for municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Directly comparable as a regional NRW competitor offering similar neighborhood management and citizen participation services to the same municipal client base as Ibis Institut.

Broad incumbents

• Prognos AG: Large German research and consulting institute delivering policy and impact studies for federal ministries, states, and municipalities — including integration, education, and urban development topics. Comparable as a more established incumbent offering overlapping capabilities to the same public-sector clients, but at substantially greater scale.
• ISS Frankfurt (Institut für Sozialarbeit und Sozialpädagogik): Frankfurt-based applied research and consulting institute working on social work, integration, and civic participation for federal, state, and municipal clients. Comparable in topic area and public-sector client base, but as a larger established institution with broader research remit than Ibis Institut.
• Rambøll Management Consulting: Global consulting firm with a substantial German practice providing social policy, urban development, and integration-related advisory services to public-sector clients. Comparable in client segments served and consulting topic overlap, but operating at vastly greater scale and breadth than Ibis Institut.
• DeZIM (Deutsches Zentrum für Integrations- und Migrationsforschung): Federally funded German research center conducting research and producing evidence on integration, migration, and diversity for federal ministries and public administration. Comparable as a knowledge provider in the same thematic space as Ibis Institut, but operating as a publicly funded research institution rather than a commercial consultancy.

Emerging players

• ZT - Zentrum für Türkeistudien und Integrationsforschung: Essen-based research and consulting center focused on migration from Turkey and integration in Germany, providing studies and policy advice to public-sector clients. Comparable in topic focus (integration, diversity) and German regional footprint, but as a specialized research center rather than a general consulting practice.

Others

• Körber-Stiftung: Hamburg-based independent foundation running civic engagement, democratic participation, and integration-related programs in Germany. Comparable as a thematic ecosystem actor in the same participation/social cohesion space, though as a foundation operator and program funder rather than a competing consultancy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/frank-jessen-8220656b
• Facebookfacebook.com/ibisinstitut.de

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Ibis Institute