Ciedel

What Ciedel does

Ciedel (Centre International d'Études pour le Développement Local) is a French nonprofit training organization headquartered in Lyon that delivers professional and certifying programs in local and territorial development. Founded in 1994 as an associated member of the Université Catholique de Lyon, Ciedel has trained approximately 2,000 professionals from more than 60 countries over a 30-year operating history, with a current headcount of 24 employees. The organization serves development professionals, elected officials, technicians from territorial collectivities, NGO staff, and consultants working in local and territorial development across France and internationally.

Ciedel's product portfolio is anchored by a long certifying formation, 'Chargé.e de mission de développement local', which confers an RNCP level 7 title and forms the core revenue and reputation driver. This is complemented by two specialized tracks — 'Accompagner la vie associative locale' (AVAL, co-built with RNMA and Savaara) and 'Accompagner le développement économique local durable' — and approximately ten short courses (3–5 days each) covering project elaboration, territorial animation, social innovation, cooperation, conflict management, experience capitalization, heritage, prospective, and advocacy. All programs are Qualiopi certified and delivered primarily in French, with at least one English-language remote course. The pedagogy is participatory and experiential, designed for adult professional learners.

Ciedel operates a direct-to-consumer training business model, selling seat-based course registrations priced at €600–€1,000 for short courses and €3,200 for the AVAL specialized track. Programs are funded through a combination of individual professional fees, organizational sponsorships, and French government CPF (Compte Personnel de Formation) accounts made accessible via Qualiopi certification. The go-to-market relies on the organization's institutional affiliation with Université Catholique de Lyon, a Google Sites catalog, direct email enrollment, and professional-network referrals within the French associative and local-development ecosystem. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the organization has no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, or M&A activity.

Name

Ciedel

Legal name

Centre International d'Études pour le Développement Local

Website

https://ciedel.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ciedel is a Lyon-based nonprofit training center and Université Catholique de Lyon affiliate that delivers RNCP-certified and short professional courses in local and territorial development to professionals, elected officials, and NGO and government staff in France and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Training Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Professionals (Teacher/Administrator CE, CPD) (EDAAALAE)

Keywords

• Professional training services
• Territorial development training
• Local development certification
• Capacity building programs
• Adult professional education

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Training Services: Ciedel generates revenue through professional training fees for its certifiying programs, specialized tracks, and short courses. The organization offers RNCP level 7 certified training, specialized parcours, and 3-5 day intensive workshops. Programs are eligible for CPF (Compte Personnel de Formation) funding, allowing French professionals to use government-allocated training credits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ciedel (Centre International d'Études pour le Développement Local) is a nonprofit professional training center specializing in local and territorial development. It delivers a long certifying program (RNCP level 7) titled 'Chargé.e de mission de développement local', two specialized parcours tracks (associative life support and sustainable local economic development), and a catalog of short 3-5 day courses covering project elaboration, territorial animation, social innovation, cooperation, advocacy, conflict management, heritage development, and prospective. Programs are delivered in-person in Lyon and via distance learning, and are Qualiopi certified and CPF-eligible.

Product overview

Ciedel offers a portfolio of professional and certifying training programs in local and territorial development. The core offering is the long certification program 'Chargé.e de mission de développement local' (RNCP level 7) which provides comprehensive preparation for local development professionals. This is complemented by two specialized tracks ('Accompagner la vie associative locale' and 'Accompagner le développement économique local durable') and approximately 10 short training courses (3-5 days each) covering specific competencies such as project elaboration, territorial animation, experience capitalization, social innovation, cooperation, conflict management, heritage development, prospective, and advocacy. All training follows a participatory, interactive methodology and is certified Qualiopi.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chargé.e de mission de développement local (Formation longue certifiante)
• Accompagner la vie associative locale (Parcours AVAL)
• Accompagner le développement économique local durable
• Introduction à la capitalisation des expériences
• Elaborer un projet
• Expérimenter sur un territoire : les fondamentaux de l'innovation sociale et territoriale
• Coopérer et initier des relations de partenariat
• La Place du conflit dans les dynamiques territoriales
• Élaborer une démarche de plaidoyer
• Patrimoine et développement local
• L'animation territoriale en action
• Sensibilisation à la prospective
• Heritage and local development
• Animer une démarche de capitalisation d'expériences

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 2000 professionals trained from over 60 countries

Named customers6 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

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Université Catholique de LyoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCiedel is an associated member of Université Catholique de Lyon. This partnership provides institutional affiliation, academic credibility, and likely enables shared resources and collaborative development of training programs.
• RNMA (Réseau National des Maison des Associations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRNMA co-built and co-animates the AVAL (Accompagner la vie associative locale) specialized training track with Ciedel and Savaara. This partnership brings expertise in associative life support and network of Maisons des Associations.
• SavaaracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSavaara co-built and co-animates the AVAL (Accompagner la vie associative locale) specialized training track with Ciedel and RNMA, contributing specialized knowledge to the associative development training program.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bioforce: Bioforce is a French training organization specializing in capacity building for humanitarian and development professionals, directly comparable to Ciedel's mission of training local/territorial development practitioners.
• IRAM (Institut de Recherche et d'Applications des Méthodes de développement): IRAM provides training, consulting, and applied research to development actors in the Global South; comparable to Ciedel in its professional training focus on development practitioners.

Others

• GRET (Groupe de Recherches et d'Échanges Technologiques): GRET is a French development NGO providing professional expertise and field programs; comparable as a French development-sector player with overlapping training/technical-assistance activities, though more consulting-led than training-led.
• RNMA (Réseau National des Maisons des Associations): RNMA is Ciedel's co-builder on the AVAL parcours and a national network supporting associative life — directly adjacent to Ciedel's associative-sector training mission and a key partner/channel.

Regional players

• France Active: France Active finances and supports social-economy and associative enterprises in France, with overlapping interest in associative life capacity-building that complements Ciedel's AVAL parcours.
• Resacoop: Resacoop is the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes cooperative resource center supporting associative and social-economy actors — a regionally rooted peer with overlapping training and accompaniment offerings.

Emerging players

• Sciences Po École d'Urbanisme (Urban School): Sciences Po's urban school offers postgraduate training on urban and territorial transformation — comparable to Ciedel's local-development curriculum but oriented to graduate-degree urbanists rather than field practitioners.

Broad incumbents

• INET (Institut National des Études Territoriales) / CNFPT: INET, within CNFPT, is the French state's primary training body for senior territorial civil servants — the broad public-sector incumbent counterpart to Ciedel's territorial-development training niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/ciedel

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Ciedel