SoScience
SoScience was a Paris-based, privately-held consulting firm (founded 2014, closed 2024) that offered Impact Advisory Services to researchers, entrepreneurs, and institutions seeking to advance science and innovation for social and environmental benefit under a "science with and for society" strategy.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What SoScience does
SoScience was a Paris-based, privately-held consulting and advisory firm founded in 2014 by Melanie Marcel. The company operated for more than a decade with a mission to advance science and innovation in service of social and environmental impact, pursuing what it described as a "science with and for society" strategy. Its core offering, Impact Advisory Services, supported researchers, entrepreneurs, innovation teams, research institutions, and other organizations on their impact journeys, helping clients shape new approaches to research and innovation aligned with societal benefit.
SoScience operated as a boutique professional services firm rather than a software or technology company, with a headcount of 1-10 employees and no disclosed external funding, parent company, or institutional investors. Its customer base spanned three primary segments — academic researchers and research institutions, entrepreneurs and innovation teams, and institutions undergoing transformation toward science-for-society models — all served through horizontal segmentation. No marketing channels, distribution channels, named customers, patents, certifications, or technology infrastructure are disclosed in the source material.
In 2024, SoScience announced the complete cessation of its activities, with founder Melanie Marcel citing a challenging economic environment and a political/institutional landscape that did not support science committed to the public good. The founder stated that only a small number of clients had been genuinely interested in the company's mission, and that team members would continue engaging with responsible research and innovation through other independent paths. The company is now closed and no longer operating.
SoScience firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SoScience
- Website
- https://soscience.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- SoScience was a Paris-based, privately-held consulting firm (founded 2014, closed 2024) that offered Impact Advisory Services to researchers, entrepreneurs, and institutions seeking to advance science and innovation for social and environmental benefit under a "science with and for society" strategy.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SoScience industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Research and Innovation Consulting
- NAICS
- Management Consulting Services (54161), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- ESG, Sustainability & Impact Research (BPAHALAL), Sustainability, ESG & Climate Risk Advisory (BPAHAJAH)
Keywords
Where SoScience is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
SoScience business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
SoScience product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SoScience offered Impact Advisory Services — consulting and advisory engagements that supported researchers, entrepreneurs, and institutions on their impact journeys to advance science and innovation in service of social and environmental transformation. The company worked under a "science with and for society" strategy and served hundreds of projects, teams, researchers, entrepreneurs, and institutions over more than a decade of operation. The company ceased operations in 2024.
Product overview
SoScience was a consulting and advisory organization dedicated to advancing science and innovation in service of social and environmental impact. The company offered Impact Advisory Services as its core offering, supporting hundreds of projects, teams, researchers, entrepreneurs, and institutions on their impact journeys. Rather than a software product company, SoScience operated as a professional services organization working toward a 'science with and for society' strategy.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Impact Advisory Services Consulting and advisory services supporting researchers, entrepreneurs, and institutions on their impact journeys, focused on advancing science and innovation for social and environmental transformation under a "science with and for society" strategy.
Companies that use SoScience
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
SoScience technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
SoScience partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights1 record
SoScience competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Fraunhofer Society: Europe's largest application-oriented research organization, conducting contract research and supporting institutional clients. Comparable in providing research-driven value to public-benefit-oriented institutions across Europe.
- McKinsey Sustainability: Sustainability and ESG advisory practice of a global consulting firm, serving institutions on net-zero and impact strategy. Comparable in delivering institutional advisory at the science-and-society intersection, though at much larger scale.
- Nesta: UK innovation foundation running programs and investments in social impact, health, and the green economy. Comparable mission orientation—applying research and innovation for public benefit—and overlapping client base in mission-driven institutions.
- RAND Europe: European arm of RAND providing policy-oriented research and analysis to governments, foundations, and the EU. Comparable in delivering research-based advisory services to institutional clients on social and science-policy questions.
- Kantar Public (Kantar): Specialist research and advisory unit of Kantar helping governments, foundations, and public-sector organizations measure social outcomes. Comparable in providing research and evaluation services with a social-impact focus.
Direct peers
- Research Consulting Ltd: Boutique UK consultancy providing research and innovation advisory and evaluation services primarily to universities, research funders, and innovation organizations. Directly comparable in offering, target segment, and service model to SoScience's Impact Advisory Services.
Emerging players
- EIT Climate-KIC: European climate innovation knowledge community orchestrating research, entrepreneurship, and systemic transformation programs across member states. Closely comparable to SoScience in working at the intersection of research, innovation, and social/environmental impact across European institutions.
- Innovate UK KTN: UK innovation knowledge-transfer network connecting businesses, researchers, and policymakers across sectors. Comparable in operating as an intermediary supporting researchers, entrepreneurs, and institutions on innovation impact journeys.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SoScience social profiles
Digital presenceSoScience financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SoScience leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
SoScience funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SoScience M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SoScience
What does SoScience do?
SoScience offered Impact Advisory Services — consulting and advisory engagements that supported researchers, entrepreneurs, and institutions on their impact journeys to advance science and innovation in service of social and environmental transformation. The company worked under a "science with and for society" strategy and served hundreds of projects, teams, researchers, entrepreneurs, and institutions over more than a decade of operation. The company ceased operations in 2024.
Is SoScience a public or private company?
SoScience is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently closed.
When was SoScience founded?
SoScience was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is SoScience based?
SoScience is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
Who are SoScience's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Fraunhofer Society, McKinsey Sustainability, Nesta, RAND Europe and Kantar Public (Kantar). Research Consulting Ltd is listed as a direct peer. Emerging players are EIT Climate-KIC and Innovate UK KTN.
Does SoScience have an API?
No public API is recorded for SoScience.
What industry is SoScience in?
SoScience's product category is Research and Innovation Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHACAK, Sustainability & ESG Consulting, with a secondary code of BPAHALAL, ESG, Sustainability & Impact Research. Its NAICS code is 54161 and its SIC code is 8700.