What Mulier Instituut does

Mulier Instituut is an independent Dutch sports research institute headquartered in Utrecht that conducts scientific research, monitoring, and policy advisory work on sport, physical activity, and public health. Founded in 2002 and operating as a non-profit with 51-100 employees, the institute serves the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS), provinces, municipalities, and sport federations by delivering evidence-based research that underpins national and local sport policy, including the multi-year Nationaal Sportakkoord and Strategy 2030 for disability sport.

The institute's technical core consists of national data infrastructure rather than packaged software products. Sport Data Valley (SDV) is the national, privacy-proof data infrastructure for sport, movement, and health, providing an open environment for collecting, organising, analysing, and sharing data. The Database SportAccommodaties (DSA) holds data on approximately 22,000 Dutch sports facilities, while the Verenigingsmonitor maintains a national panel of nearly 25,000 sports clubs. These assets are operationalised through recurring monitoring products (BRC Monitor, Doortrappen Monitor, Vitaliteitsindex), research panels (Nationaal Sportonderzoek, qualitative research panels), and bespoke advisory services such as feasibility studies, demand-supply analyses for sports facilities, and policy evaluations. Most outputs are made publicly accessible through the collaborative Kennisbank platform with Kenniscentrum Sport & Bewegen, VSG, and KVLO.

Mulier Instituut operates a B2G research-services model funded primarily through Dutch public money: multi-year programmatic contracts with VWS, individual commissions from provinces and municipalities (for example, Gemeente Rotterdam, Gemeente Maastricht, Gemeente Voorne aan Zee, and a 95-municipality cycling survey), and project grants such as the €4.9 million 2024 Nationale Wetenschapsagenda award for the Re-Presenting Europe consortium. Sport federations including KNVB and Sportvisserij Nederland also commission studies. GTM is sales-led and relationship-driven, leveraging the institute's website, monthly newsletter, LinkedIn, YouTube, press releases, and the open-access Kennisbank.

Name

Mulier Instituut

Legal name

Mulier Instituut

Website

https://mulierinstituut.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Mulier Instituut is an independent Dutch non-profit sports research institute in Utrecht that delivers scientific research, monitoring, and policy advisory services on sport, movement, and health to the Dutch Ministry of VWS, provinces, municipalities, and sport federations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Research Contracts: Primary revenue comes from research contracts with government bodies including the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS), provinces, and municipalities. Research is funded with public money (government subsidies) and most outputs are made available to third parties.
2. Federation and Organization Contracts: Sport federations and other sport organizations commission research projects. Results are made publicly accessible.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Mulier Instituut is an independent Dutch sports research institute that conducts scientific research and provides expertise to support well-founded policy aimed at promoting sport, active movement, and strengthening the sports sector. The institute delivers a portfolio of services including policy monitoring, data collection, policy support, evaluation and impact research, and scientific research for national government (Ministry of VWS), provinces, municipalities, and sport federations. It also operates national data infrastructure such as Sport Data Valley (SDV) and Database SportAccommodaties (DSA) covering approximately 22,000 sport accommodations.

Product overview

The Mulier Instituut is an independent sports research institute offering a comprehensive portfolio of research services, monitoring products, and data infrastructure for sports policy support. Its core offerings include the Sport Data Valley (SDV) national data infrastructure and Database SportAccommodaties (DSA) with data on 22,000 sports facilities, complemented by monitoring products (Verenigingsmonitor, Vitaliteitsindex, BRC Monitor, Doortrappen Monitor), research services (Nationaal Sportonderzoek, qualitative and quantitative research panels), and advisory services (feasibility studies, policy support). The organization supports national and local governments, sports federations, and other organizations in evidence-based sports policy development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sport Data Valley (SDV): Landelijke data-infrastructuur voor sport, bewegen en gezondheid. The national data infrastructure for sport, movement and health managed and developed by Mulier Instituut.
• Database SportAccommodaties (DSA)

Products and services

• Sport Data Valley (SDV) National data infrastructure providing an open, privacy-proof environment for collecting, organizing, analyzing and sharing sport, movement and health data for research, education, policy and practice.
• Database SportAccommodaties (DSA) National database with data on approximately 22,000 sport accommodations in the Netherlands, providing insight into the state of sports accommodations and enabling comparison across municipalities and regions.
• Nationaal Sportonderzoek (NSO) National Sports Survey research panel through which the institute collects data on various topics related to sport, physical activity and policy.
• Verenigingsmonitor Annual monitoring of sports clubs in the Netherlands using a national panel of nearly 25,000 associations, available nationally and locally for provinces, municipalities, and sport federations.
• Vitaliteitsindex Index measuring how sports associations in a municipality are performing, their future viability, and identifying bottlenecks and opportunities for municipalities and sport federations.
• Vraag-aanbodanalyse sportaccommodaties Analysis tool providing insight into current and future demand for sports facilities in a municipality, including assessment of sufficiency of accommodations and space for physical education.
• Tarief- en exploitatievergelijkingen sportaccommodaties Rate and exploitation comparisons of municipal sports facilities, enabling municipalities and operators to benchmark operations against peer municipalities.
• Haalbaarheidsstudie Feasibility research into financial and organizational viability, opportunities and barriers for sports events or new sports facilities.
• Rekenkameronderzoek sportbeleid Independent research into the efficiency, effectiveness and legality of municipal sports policy for municipal audit offices.
• Sportdeelname-onderzoek Research on sports participation patterns, factors influencing participation, and approaches to stimulate sports participation among target groups.
• Monitor Brede Regeling Combinatiefuncties (BRC) Monitoring of the deployment of BRC officials such as neighborhood sports coaches (buurtsportcoaches) under the Brede Regeling Combinatiefuncties national sports policy scheme.
• Monitor Doortrappen Monitoring and evaluation of the Doortrappen program, which supports elderly people to cycle safely for longer.
• SportklimaatApp App that monitors sportsmanship and unsportsmanlike behaviors during sports matches on Dutch amateur fields.
• Toolbox behoefteonderzoek gehandicaptensport Practical toolbox for municipalities and professionals to independently conduct research on the sports needs of people with disabilities.
• Onderzoekspanels Managed research panels for sports associations, municipalities, neighborhood sports coaches and employers of neighborhood sports coaches, enabling repeated data collection.
• Kwalitatief onderzoek Qualitative research services using interviews, focus groups and other methods to explore sports and movement topics in depth.
• Analyse van bestaande data Analysis of existing datasets such as CBS statistics and other sources, including big data and geodata applications for sport and movement insights.

Quantifiable outcome

• 62% of adults in Maastricht meet movement guidelines (vs 44% national average)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Kenniscentrum Sport & BewegencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in the Kennisbank (Knowledge Bank) platform, which contains approximately 22,000 publications on sport, movement, and health. Joint effort to make sports research widely accessible.
• Vereniging Sport en Gemeenten (VSG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Kennisbank collaboration, representing Dutch municipalities in sports policy matters.
• Koninklijke Vereniging voor Lichamelijke Opvoeding (KVLO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Kennisbank collaboration focused on physical education.
• Radboud Universiteit NijmegenmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the consortium for the Re-Presenting Europe project (€4.9M from Nationale Wetenschapsagenda). Responsible for the work package on sport, titled 'Arenas of Belonging: Sport Heroes as Models of Aspiration, Inspiration, and Participation'.
• Erasmus Universiteit RotterdammajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the Re-Presenting Europe consortium, contributing to research on sport heroes and diversity.
• Universiteit UtrechtmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject leadership for Re-Presenting Europe by cultural historian Rachel Gillett.
• KNVB (Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbal Bond)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in OVIVI (Aanvalsplan tegen racism and discriminatie in het voetbal) monitoring. KNVB launched the action plan in February 2020 together with ministries.
• Stichting Onbeperkt Sportief (former)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloped approach for research on sport for people with disabilities in cooperation with the former foundation.
• Nivel (Nederlands instituut voor onderzoek van de gezondheidszorg)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on sport participation of people with disabilities. Used Nivel panels (NPCG and Panel Samen Leven) for questionnaires.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nivel (Netherlands institute for health services research): Dutch independent research institute active in health and societal research, collaborating with Mulier on disability sport studies. Comparable in operating model, scale and government-funded applied research mandate.
• Kenniscentrum Sport & Bewegen: Dutch knowledge center for sport and movement, jointly operating the collaborative Kennisbank with Mulier Instituut. Direct peer given overlapping mission of supporting sport policy through research, knowledge dissemination and practitioner support in the Netherlands.

Regional players

• LIKES Research Centre for Physical Activity and Health: Finnish research center for physical activity and health, providing research and evaluation services for sport policy. Comparable in applied sport research for national government in a Nordic country.

Others

• Statistics Netherlands (CBS): Dutch national statistics office, whose data Mulier uses and analyzes. Comparable as a data ecosystem participant in Dutch sport research, and a potential substitute for primary data collection in some use cases.

Broad incumbents

• Norges idrettshøgskole (Norwegian School of Sport Sciences): Norwegian national institution combining sport education and applied sport research. Comparable in producing sport science evidence for Norwegian policy and serving as a national research backbone for sport.
• Sport England: UK national body funding sport and physical activity with an established research function (e.g., Active Lives Survey). Comparable mandate of national sport participation monitoring and policy support through data infrastructure.
• Sport Scotland: Scottish national sport agency commissioning and conducting participation and policy research. Comparable mandate of supporting government sport policy through evidence and monitoring.
• German Sport University Cologne: Germany's leading sport university with extensive applied sport research output for federal policy. Comparable as a national-level sport research institution providing evidence to government, though anchored in academia rather than independent applied research.
• Riksidrottsförbundet (Swedish Sports Confederation): National sports confederation in Sweden that commissions and conducts sport participation and policy research. Comparable as a national-level body driving sport research and policy evaluation in a Nordic market.

Emerging players

• Vereniging Sport en Gemeenten (VSG): Dutch association of municipalities for sport, jointly operating the Kennisbank with Mulier. Comparable as a sport policy knowledge partner serving Dutch municipalities, though with an advocacy rather than research focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@mulier_instituut
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mulier-institute
• Xx.com/mulierinstituut

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Mulier Instituut