What Instituut Gak does

Instituut Gak is a Dutch endowment fund (vermogensfonds), founded in 2001 and headquartered at 's-Gravelandseweg 49 in Hilversum, Netherlands. It finances societal projects, research, academic chairs (leerstoelen), and lectureships (lectoraten) with the stated mission of improving the quality of social security and the labor market in the Netherlands. The foundation does not develop or sell technology products; its core activity is grant-making and knowledge dissemination, organized through formal governance bodies including a Wetenschappelijke raad (scientific council), Raad van advies (advisory board), Beleggingscommissie (investment committee), and Bestuur (board). It holds ANBI (Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling) status under Dutch law.

The foundation's portfolio comprises several interlocking lines of activity. The Maatschappelijke projecten stream provides direct project funding to organizations helping people with barriers to employment. The Onderzoek stream has funded 205 research projects across long-running academic studies and short policy-focused studies, with knowledge outputs surfaced through a Kennisbank (knowledge bank), Kennisclips (video summaries), podcasts, and blogs. Two flagship national programs anchor the agenda: 'Een nieuw bestaan, een nieuwe baan' (2018-2022), which guided 1,000+ refugees and newcomers through 31 projects at 28 organizations, and 'Stap voor stap' (launched 2022), which supports transitions from day care to sheltered or regular employment and scaled from 26 projects in 2023 to 30 in 2024. Funded chairs and lectureships at Dutch universities and hogescholen build long-term academic capacity, supplemented by a fellowship program and the Instituut Gak-KNAW Award in partnership with the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The business model is endowment-funded grant disbursement rather than commercial revenue. Income is generated from returns on the foundation's endowment, managed by the Beleggingscommissie, and deployed as grants and program funding; revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. The operating team is small (1-10 employees) and the geographic footprint is exclusively the Netherlands (NLD), with partner relationships spanning major Dutch universities (Tilburg, Leiden, Groningen, Utrecht, Radboud, Maastricht/ROA, Erasmus MC), applied-research institutes (TNO), the KNAW, and dozens of societal implementing organizations. Applicants access funding through a structured procedure beginning with a Quickscan self-assessment and proceeding via the scientific council and board, with a project gallery and newsletter used to publicize supported work.

Name

Instituut Gak

Legal name

Instituut Gak

Website

https://instituutgak.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Instituut Gak is a Dutch endowment fund that finances societal projects, research, academic chairs, and lectureships to improve social security and labor-market outcomes in the Netherlands, serving universities, research institutes, and implementing organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Grantmaking Foundation (Social Security and Labor Market)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Field-of-Study & Discipline-Specific Funding (EDAIAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research Grants, Fellowships & Stipends (International) (EDAIAOAJ), Scholarships, Grants & Education Benefits Administration (Financing-adjacent) (FSAKAEAM)

Keywords

• Social security funding
• Labor market research
• Grant foundation
• Academic chairs funding
• Employment integration programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Hilversum

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Instituut Gak is a Dutch endowment fund that finances societal projects, research, academic chairs, and lectureships to improve the quality of social security and the labor market in the Netherlands. It funds organizations that help people with barriers to the labor market find and retain employment, supports rigorous academic and policy-oriented research on social security topics, and underwrites professorial positions at Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences.

Product overview

Instituut Gak is a Dutch endowment fund (vermogensfonds) that does not offer a commercial software product. Its 'offerings' consist of grant programs, knowledge products, and research initiatives aimed at improving social security and the labor market in the Netherlands. The core portfolio includes: grant funding for societal projects (maatschappelijke projecten) that help people with barriers to employment; an extensive research program (onderzoek) comprising 205 research projects spanning long-running academic programs and short-term policy studies; knowledge products including a searchable knowledge bank (kennisbank), knowledge clips (kennisclips), podcasts, and blogs; two major national programs ('Stap voor stap' and 'Een nieuw bestaan, een nieuwe baan'); funded chairs and lectureships (leerstoelen en lectoraten) at Dutch universities and applied sciences; a fellowship program; and a Quickscan self-assessment tool for potential applicants. There is no unified software platform; the organization operates as a funding and knowledge center.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Maatschappelijke projecten (Societal Projects) Financial support to Dutch organizations running societal projects that help people with barriers to the labor market find work, strengthen their employment prospects, or prevent relapse into benefit situations.
• Onderzoek (Research Program) Funding for rigorous and innovative academic and policy-oriented research on social security and the labor market in the Netherlands, including long-running PhD tracks and short-term policy studies, with research proposals evaluated by the foundation's scientific council.
• Leerstoelen en lectoraten (Chairs and Lectureships) Funding for (special) chairs and lectureships in Social Security at Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences, supporting academic education, generating new researchers in the field, and providing expertise to students and society.
• Fellowships Short-term research fellowships enabling selected researchers to conduct focused studies on social security and labor market topics, with output intended for a broad audience.
• Programma 'Stap voor stap – Van dagbesteding naar (beschut) werk' National program launched in 2022 that helps people in day care facilities take steps toward sheltered or regular employment, offering flexible pathways with the option to return if needed, in collaboration with day care providers, local employers, municipalities, and Simpel Switchen.
• Programma 'Een nieuw bestaan, een nieuwe baan' Program (2018-2022) supporting refugees and newcomers through integrated labor-market guidance trajectories toward work, involving 31 projects from 28 organizations and reaching 1,000+ participants, evaluated by Regioplan.
• Quickscan Online self-assessment tool that enables prospective applicant organizations to evaluate whether their project idea fits the criteria for funding by Instituut Gak before submitting a full application.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,000+ participants guided toward employment through the 'Een nieuw bestaan' program
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered major, supporting and core.

• Universiteit voor HumanistiekmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Conducts research using life stories as a starting point for the 'Stap voor stap' program, investigating transitions from day care to sheltered work.
• TNOmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTNO conducts research funded by Instituut Gak on topics such as increasing WIA inflow due to psychological complaints among young workers.
• Tilburg UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTilburg University researchers conduct research on topics like personalization in risk allocation for pensions, funded by Instituut Gak.
• Rijksuniversiteit GroningenmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGroningen University researchers conduct research on topics including responsive rule of law and social security, funded by Instituut Gak.
• Universiteit LeidenmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeiden University researchers conduct research on causes and consequences of exit from labor market, funded by Instituut Gak.
• Erasmus MCmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerErasmus MC conducts research on health and sustainable employment, funded by Instituut Gak.
• Universiteit UtrechtmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUtrecht University researchers conduct research on inclusive learning culture and lifelong development, funded by Instituut Gak.
• Radboud UniversiteitmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRadboud University conducts research on facilitating lifelong development for people with migration backgrounds (MILLION project), funded by Instituut Gak.
• Maastricht University / ROAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaastricht University researchers conduct research on pensions and career decisions, funded by Instituut Gak.
• RegioplanmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegioplan conducted evaluation research for the 'Een nieuw bestaan, een nieuwe baan' program, examining results and lessons learned.
• Open EmbassysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpen Embassy contributed to knowledge exchange within the 'Een nieuw bestaan' program, helping apply insights within the project.
• MuzussupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuzus contributed to knowledge exchange within the 'Een nieuw bestaan' program, helping apply insights within the project.
• Simpel SwitchencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatform used within the 'Stap voor stap' program to enable flexible transitions from day care to sheltered work, allowing participants to return if needed.
• Dutch municipalities and local employersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal employers and municipalities collaborate with day care providers within the 'Stap voor stap' program to create pathways to sheltered work.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Ford Foundation: Major US private foundation with a broad social-justice and equity mandate; comparable as a large endowment foundation funding research and societal initiatives, though operating at vastly greater scale and global scope.
• Wellcome Trust: UK charitable foundation funding health and biomedical research via grants and fellowships; comparable as a research-focused endowment foundation, though operating at much larger scale and in a different thematic domain.
• Open Society Foundations: Global grant-making foundation supporting democratic, social, and economic reform; comparable as a large endowment foundation funding research and societal projects, though internationally diversified and broader in scope.

Direct peers

• VSB fonds: Dutch foundation supporting citizenship, participation, and community initiatives; closely comparable in structure (Dutch vermogensfonds) and mandate (societal participation and labor-market inclusion).
• Stichting DOEN: Dutch impact foundation funding green and social entrepreneurs; comparable as a Netherlands-based grant-making foundation supporting innovative societal projects with measurable outcomes.
• Oranje Fonds: Dutch national foundation funding social participation and societal initiatives; directly comparable as a Netherlands-based grant-making foundation with a similar societal-impact orientation.

Emerging players

• NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research): Dutch public research-funding organization that allocates grants to academic research; partially comparable as a Netherlands-based research grant-maker, though publicly funded rather than endowment-driven.

Regional players

• Skanefondene: Danish regional foundations funding social and labor-market initiatives; comparable Northern European endowment-fund model supporting welfare-to-work and societal projects, though operating in a different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/InstituutGak
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stichting-instituut-gak

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 Instituut Gak