Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation

What Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation does

TESEV (Türkiye Sosyal ve Ekonomik Etüdler Vakfı / Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation) is a private non-profit think tank foundation established in 1994 and headquartered in Şişli, Istanbul, Turkey. The organization generates evidence-based policy recommendations on a defined portfolio of governance issues including urban governance and sustainability, disaster management, climate crisis, gender equality, transparency and anti-corruption, civil society empowerment, child policy, migration policy, and digital policy tools. It operates with 11-50 staff and is governed by an Executive Board and Advisory Board.

TESEV's research output spans long-form reports, policy briefs, and event programming including workshops, roundtables, webinars, and conferences. The foundation has built proprietary digital platforms — most notably MoDeL (kentekatilim.org), a strategic plan monitoring and civil-society participation tool deployed across 10+ Turkish cities, and Kent95, a data-driven policy tool for child-centered urban planning. These platforms position TESEV not only as a research publisher but also as an infrastructure provider for participatory municipal governance in Turkey. The organization maintains the 'TESEV Sohbetleri' podcast on Spotify and active profiles across six social media channels for dissemination.

As a non-profit foundation, TESEV does not generate commercial revenue from its publications; outputs are distributed free of charge to government institutions, municipalities, civil society organizations, academics, and the public. Funding flows through grants and project-based partnerships with the Republic of Turkey, the European Union (notably via the Partnerships and Networks Grant Program for MoDeL), International Budget Partnership (since 2006), and the SELDI regional network (since 2012). Primary stakeholder segments are government institutions and public administration, civil society organizations, municipal disaster-management units, and environmental and climate policy makers — all served through policy research, direct institutional briefings, and digital tools.

Name

Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation

Legal name

Türkiye Sosyal ve Ekonomik Etüdler Vakfı

Website

https://tesev.org.tr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TESEV is a Turkish non-profit think tank founded in 1994 that produces evidence-based policy research on urban governance, disaster management, climate crisis, gender equality, and transparency, serving government institutions, municipalities, civil society organizations, and international partners through reports, digital tools, and events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research and Think Tank Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Democratic Governance & Public Administration Reform (BPADAGAJ), Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) (BPADAEAB), Education Policy Research Institutes & Think Tanks (EDADADAA), Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

Keywords

• Policy research
• Think tank
• Governance studies
• Civil society advocacy
• Transparency monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Istanbul

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) is a nonprofit think tank that conducts independent policy research and produces evidence-based studies, reports, and digital tools focused on governance, transparency, urban policy, and public policy issues in Turkey. The organization develops data-driven platforms such as MoDeL (Strategic Plan Monitoring and Participation Tool), Urban95/Kent95, and Mor Haritam, and publishes policy reports to inform government decision-making and civil society advocacy.

Product overview

TESEV operates as a policy research think tank producing publications (reports, briefs), conducting research across multiple topics (urban governance, climate crisis, disaster management, gender equality, transparency, civil society empowerment), organizing events and workshops, and developing digital tools. The primary digital product is the MoDeL (Strategic Plan Monitoring and Participation Tool) platform, which facilitates democratic governance and municipal-civil society cooperation. The organization does not offer commercial software products but rather policy research outputs and digital tools for governance improvement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MoDeL (Empowering Civil Society for a More Democratic Local Governance): A project developed within the scope of Republic of Turkey and European Union supported Partnerships and Networks Grant Program, aiming to empower civil society with increased municipal-civil society cooperation. Includes a digital platform called MoDeL: Strategic Plan Monitoring and Participation Tool.
• Kent95

Products and services

• MoDeL Strategic Plan Monitoring and Participation Tool

Quantifiable outcome

• MoDeL project implemented across 10+ Turkish cities including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Balikesir, Malatya, and various district municipalities
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• International Budget PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTESEV has been preparing the Turkey country report of International Transparent Budget Index as a partner of International Budget Partnership since 2006. This partnership enables TESEV to contribute to global transparency initiatives and provide comparative analysis of Turkey's budget transparency performance.
• SELDI (Southeast European Leadership for Development and Integrity)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTESEV has been a member of the international SELDI network since 2012. SELDI is a regional network focused on anti-corruption and good governance in Southeast Europe, enabling TESEV to participate in regional transparency initiatives and share expertise on anti-corruption policies.
• Sişli MunicipalitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSişli Municipality is a key partner in the MoDeL (Empowering Civil Society for a More Democratic Local Governance) project. The project aims to strengthen cooperation between municipalities and civil society organizations for democratic urban governance.
• Association of Union of Citizen Assemblies (Türkiye Kent Konseyleri Birliği)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Association of Union of Citizen Assemblies is a partner in the MoDeL project, contributing expertise on citizen participation mechanisms and local governance frameworks in Turkey.
• Checks and Balances Network (Denge Denetleme Ağı)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Checks and Balances Network serves as an associate partner in the MoDeL project, bringing expertise in governance monitoring and accountability frameworks.
• Republic of Turkey and European UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe MoDeL project was supported by Republic of Turkey and European Union through the Partnerships and Networks Grant Program, which aims to enhance cooperation between public sector and civil society organizations.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS): CEPS is a leading European think tank producing policy research with strong EU and governance orientation — a comparable institutional model to TESEV, especially in the EU-accession and governance-reform research area.
• European Policy Centre: The EPC is a Brussels-based EU-facing think tank focused on EU integration, governance and economic policy. It is a strong peer reference for TESEV's Turkey-EU governance work and partnerships with EU institutions.

Direct peers

• KONDA Research and Consultancy: KONDA is a leading Turkish social-research and polling firm producing evidence-based studies on society and public policy — comparable in evidence-generation role and in serving government, media and civil society customers.
• IPC (Istanbul Policy Center at Sabancı University): Istanbul Policy Center conducts interdisciplinary policy research on Turkey with strong emphasis on sustainability, governance and civil society — closely mirroring TESEV's thematic mix and Istanbul-based operating model.
• SETA (Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research): SETA is a large Turkish think tank publishing research across political, economic and social policy — directly overlapping with TESEV's broad policy-research remit and audience of policymakers and civil society.
• TEPAV (Turkish Economic Policy Research Foundation): TEPAV is a Turkey-based policy research foundation producing independent analysis on economic, governance and public policy issues — the closest direct functional peer to TESEV in terms of size, mandate and methodology.

Broad incumbents

• International Budget Partnership: IBP is the global anchor for budget transparency and accountability work. TESEV serves as IBP's Turkey country author for the Open Budget Index, making IBP the natural incumbent peer for TESEV's anti-corruption and budget transparency work.
• Brookings Institution: Brookings is a global reference think tank producing evidence-based policy research across governance and economic topics — a useful benchmark for TESEV's research-publication model and multi-channel dissemination approach.
• Chatham House: Chatham House is a leading international affairs think tank focused on governance, international institutions and policy research — comparable in mission and in convening government, academia and civil society stakeholders.
• Transparency International: Transparency International is the global leader on anti-corruption, transparency and accountability — the same thematic space as a major part of TESEV's governance work and SELDI network membership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tesev2015
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC_I0x5tOZaxEWOo102AidhQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/tesev2015
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tesev
• Instagraminstagram.com/tesev_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation