Deutscher Berufsverband für Soziale Arbeit e.V. (DBSH)

What Deutscher Berufsverband für Soziale Arbeit e.V. (DBSH) does

Deutscher Berufsverband für Soziale Arbeit e.V. (DBSH) is a German registered association (e.V.) operating as both a professional association and trade union for social workers, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Berlin. The organization represents approximately 12,000 members — social workers, social pedagogues, and related professionals — across all 16 German federal states through a federated structure of Landesverbände (state associations), supplemented by functional areas covering Child and Youth Welfare, Health, Values-Oriented Social Work, and Queer and Diversity, plus dedicated Junger DBSH (youth) and Senior*innen-DBSH (retiree) segments.

DBSH's product and service portfolio centers on representation, education, and professional infrastructure rather than technology. Core offerings include the FORUM sozial professional journal, the DBSH Institut for continuing education (in cooperation with dbb akademie), the annual Berufskongress Soziale Arbeit congress, the Berufsregister professional registry, a Summer School program, and the #dauerhaftsystemrelevant advocacy campaign. Trade-union functions include collective-bargaining participation for the Sozial- und Erziehungsdienst sector, legal protection (Rechtsschutz) for members, and an Ethics Commission. The association is the German member of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and affiliates with dbb beamtenbund und tarifunion for public-sector bargaining.

Revenue is generated almost exclusively through recurring membership dues, supplemented by training fees, publication sales, and event revenue; specific pricing is not publicly disclosed. With only 8 paid employees, DBSH runs a lean federal office while distributing member-facing activity across state associations and volunteer functional-area teams. Distribution is a mix of direct recruitment via state associations, online self-serve membership, university partnerships for student recruitment, and event/conference channels.

Name

Deutscher Berufsverband für Soziale Arbeit e.V. (DBSH)

Legal name

Deutscher Berufsverband für Soziale Arbeit e.V.

Website

https://dbsh.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DBSH is a German non-profit professional association and trade union for social workers, representing approximately 12,000 members across all 16 federal states through state associations, functional areas, and IFSW/dbb affiliations, delivering representation, training, and professional registry services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: DBSH generates revenue primarily through membership fees from social work professionals across Germany. Members pay contributions that fund the association's activities including professional representation, trade union services, and policy advocacy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

DBSH is a German professional association and trade union for social workers (Sozialarbeiter*innen) and social pedagogues (Sozialpädagog*innen). It delivers membership-based professional representation, collective bargaining and tariff negotiation, legal protection for members in employment disputes, continuing education through the DBSH Institut, professional ethics guidance, and advocacy on social policy issues. The association serves approximately 12,000 members across Germany via 16 state-level associations (Landesverbände).

Product overview

Deutscher Berufsverband für Soziale Arbeit e.V. (DBSH) is a professional association and trade union for social workers in Germany. The organization offers a unified portfolio of membership services, professional publications (FORUM sozial), accredited training through the DBSH Institut, professional registry services (Berufsregister), and organizes the annual Berufskongress. The association also runs advocacy campaigns such as #dauerhaftsystemrelevant and provides specialized programs including the DBSH Summer School. As a dual-role organization serving as both a professional association and union, DBSH represents approximately 12,000 members across Germany through its network of state associations and functional areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Berufsregister für Soziale Arbeit A professional register accreditation system for social workers that verifies qualifications and professional standing. It is offered as a personal membership option within the register for credentialed social work practitioners in Germany.
• DBSH Institut Continuing Education Continuing education and professional development programs for social workers, including the Kurs Verbandsmanagement (Association Management Course) delivered in partnership with dbb akademie. Targeted at social work professionals seeking career advancement.
• Berufskongress Soziale Arbeit Annual professional congress for social work practitioners, academics, and students providing a platform for education, professional exchange, and networking.
• FORUM sozial Magazine The professional journal of DBSH, published regularly, covering topics relevant to social work practice, ethics, and professional development. Distributed to association members.
• DBSH Summer School Summer school program organized by the Young DBSH (Junge DBSH) for professional development and networking among young social workers and students.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• dbb beamtenbund und tarifunion (German Civil Service Federation)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDBSH is affiliated with dbb as its trade union umbrella organization. Through this partnership, DBSH participates in collective bargaining for the public sector, particularly for the Sozial- und Erziehungsdienst (Social and Educational Services), and represents members' interests in the dbb's tariff commission.
• IFSW (International Federation of Social Workers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDBSH is the German member of IFSW, participating in global conferences and contributing to international professional standards. DBSH was represented at the IFSW Global Delegates Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya in June 2026.
• dbb akademieminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDBSH Institut partners with dbb akademie for professional development and training programs for members.
• MOMO Büro EssenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDBSH's Child and Youth Welfare Function Area cooperates with MOMO, an organization of young people with experience of homelessness, for the annual Street Children Conference. MOMO organizes events for young people who have been or are affected by homelessness, working in line with § 4a SGB VIII self-representation.
• 52 Organizations from Health and Social Sector CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDBSH joined over 50 organizations including Ärzte der Welt, AWO, Diakonie, DGB, Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband, and DVSG in a joint statement warning about threats to social cohesion from planned welfare reforms (Bürgergeldreform).

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Caritas Deutschland: Germany's Catholic welfare confederation and one of the largest social-work employers. Comparable as an adjacent welfare-association stakeholder with overlapping advocacy priorities, including co-signing the 52-organization Bürgergeldreform statement.
• Diakonie Deutschland: Germany's Protestant welfare-services confederation, a major social-work employer and tariff counterpart. Comparable as an adjacent welfare-sector actor influencing DBSH members' working conditions and co-participant in social-policy coalitions.
• AWO Bundesverband (Arbeiterwohlfahrt): A major German welfare-association umbrella employing social workers and co-signatory of the same 52-organization welfare-reform statement. Comparable as an adjacent employer/stakeholder shaping working conditions for DBSH's membership.

Broad incumbents

• IFSW (International Federation of Social Workers): Global federation of national social-work associations of which DBSH is the German member. Comparable as a higher-tier professional-association body governing international standards; broader in scope but parallel in membership-association function.
• DGB (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund): Germany's umbrella trade-union confederation whose member unions (including ver.di) organize social-work labor. Comparable as a broader labor-movement actor with which DBSH co-advocates but does not directly compete for the same specialized social-work niche.

Regional players

• NASW (National Association of Social Workers, US): The largest US professional association for social workers, with comparable services in advocacy, continuing education, publications, and ethical guidelines. Functions as the US analogue to DBSH's professional-association role.
• BASW (British Association of Social Workers): The UK professional association for social workers, offering the closest cross-border analogue to DBSH in terms of professional-standards advocacy, membership services, and trade-union-adjacent representation in a single national market.

Direct peers

• dbb beamtenbund und tarifunion: DBSH's own umbrella trade-union federation covering civil-service and tariff negotiations. Comparable as a membership organization for public-sector professionals with the same tariff, legal-protection, and lobbying functions that DBSH accesses through affiliation.
• ver.di (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft): Germany's largest services-sector trade union, which also represents substantial numbers of social workers and social-pedagogy professionals and conducts tariff negotiations in the same Sozial- und Erziehungsdienst space as DBSH. Directly comparable on union function, membership model, and German geographic focus.
• DVSG - Deutsche Vereinigung für Soziale Arbeit im Gesundheitswesen: Germany's professional association specifically for social workers in healthcare settings. Directly comparable as a profession-specific Fachverband with overlapping membership base, similar advocacy for professional standards, and co-membership in coalitions such as the 52-organization welfare-reform statement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/dbshsachsenanhalt2020
• Instagraminstagram.com/dbsh_sachsen_anhalt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deutscher-berufsverband-f%C3%BCr-soziale-arbeit-e.v.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Deutscher Berufsverband für Soziale Arbeit e.V. (DBSH)