DeGEval - Gesellschaft für Evaluation e.V.

What DeGEval - Gesellschaft für Evaluation e.V. does

DeGEval - Gesellschaft für Evaluation e.V. is a German registered non-profit professional association (eingetragener Verein) founded in 1997 and headquartered in Saarbrücken, Germany. It serves evaluation practitioners, researchers, and institutions across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), spanning government, academia, NGOs, and the private sector. Its core offering is a portfolio of professional services rather than a software product: 17 thematic working groups (Arbeitskreise) covering domains from vocational education to environmental policy, plus ad-hoc groups on AI in Evaluation and Sustainability; the peer-reviewed Zeitschrift für Evaluation (ZfEv) journal published in partnership with Waxmann Verlag; the DeGEval-Standards for evaluation; continuing education seminars; the annual DeGEval-Jahrestagung rotating across German and Austrian cities (28th edition held in Saarbrücken in 2025); and the DeGEval-Nachwuchspreis for young researchers.

The association operates a membership-based business model. Individual and institutional members pay membership fees for access to the journal, publications, monthly newsletter (DeGEval...Mail), a member directory, and discounted conference participation; non-members pay higher conference rates. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, consistent with its non-profit status. Distribution relies on direct membership sales, conference registration, and academic distribution of the journal through Waxmann. Marketing reach is delivered through annual conferences, the website (www.degeval.org), the newsletter, and a LinkedIn company page, with thought leadership anchored in DeGEval-Standards, recommendations, and position papers.

The company's strategic posture is that of a stable, mature association rather than a growth-stage company. Key partners include CEval at Saarland University (co-organizer of international conference streams), DEval (institutional partner for development cooperation evaluation), HTW Saarland (co-host of the 2025 conference), and conference sponsors including evasys, MAXQDA, and syspons. The Geschäftsstelle is small (three staff disclosed: Sandra Schopper as head, Hannah Erb for PR/events, Elisabeth Randig for accounting and membership administration), with board leadership currently provided by Prof. Dr. Philipp Pohlenz as Vorstandsvorsitzender, succeeding Prof. Dr. Udo Kelle, alongside board member Dr. Sonja Kind. The organization has no parent company, no disclosed funding rounds, and no commercial AI/ML product.

Name

DeGEval - Gesellschaft für Evaluation e.V.

Legal name

DeGEval - Gesellschaft für Evaluation e. V.

Website

https://degeval.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DeGEval is a German non-profit professional association founded in 1997 that serves evaluation practitioners, researchers, and institutions across the DACH region through annual conferences, working groups, the Zeitschrift für Evaluation journal, and DeGEval-Standards for evaluation practice.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Saarbrücken

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DeGEval is the German professional association for evaluation, founded in 1997 and registered as a non-profit (e.V.) in Saarbrücken. It offers annual conferences, continuing-education seminars, the peer-reviewed journal Zeitschrift für Evaluation (ZfEv), professional standards, recommendations, and working groups that support evaluation practitioners, researchers, and institutions across the DACH region.

Product overview

DeGEval - Gesellschaft für Evaluation e.V. is a professional society for evaluation established in 1997, headquartered in Saarbrücken. The organization does not offer a commercial software product but provides a portfolio of professional services including annual conferences (Jahrestagungen), continuing education seminars (Weiterbildungsseminare), the academic journal Zeitschrift für Evaluation (ZfEv), professional standards (DeGEval-Standards), published recommendations, and a network of thematic working groups (Arbeitskreise). The organization also awards the DeGEval-Nachwuchspreis to young researchers and maintains an active newsletter (DeGEval...Mail) for members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DeGEval-Jahrestagungen (Annual Conferences)
• DeGEval-Weiterbildungsseminare (Continuing Education Seminars)
• Zeitschrift für Evaluation (ZfEv)
• DeGEval-Standards für Evaluation
• DeGEval-Empfehlungen (Recommendations)
• DeGEval-Wirkungsmodell (Theory of Change Model)

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Centrum für Evaluation (CEval) – Universität des SaarlandescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025CEval at Saarland University is the primary co-organizer of DeGEval's annual conferences and jointly develops the international conference streams. CEval organized the international stream at the 2025 conference featuring the Evaluation GLOBE Project with 50 country case studies.
• DEval (Deutsches Evaluierungsinstitut der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025DEval is a key institutional partner for DeGEval's annual conferences, providing sponsorship and participating in sessions on evaluation in development cooperation. DEval contributes to professionalization discussions and evaluation capacity development.
• eval-training.orgminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025DeGEval refers members and visitors to eval-training.org for evaluation training and continuing education opportunities, maintaining a collaborative relationship for professional development.
• Waxmann VerlagminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2025Academic publisher that distributes the Zeitschrift für Evaluation (ZfEv) journal and DeGEval publications.
• ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-GemeinschaftminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Conference sponsor and participant in sessions on evaluation in spatial planning and regional development.
• sysponsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Research and consulting organization that sponsors DeGEval's annual conference.
• HTW Saarland (Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft des Saarlandes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of the 28th DeGEval Annual Conference 2025 in Saarbrücken alongside the Centrum für Evaluation at Saarland University.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Swiss Evaluation Society (SEVAL): SEVAL is the Swiss national evaluation association operating in DACH territory alongside DeGEval. It serves overlapping practitioner and commissioning-party segments with comparable offerings (guidelines, conferences, networking), making it the closest geographical peer competing for DACH-wide institutional mindshare.
• American Evaluation Association (AEA): AEA is the principal US professional association for evaluators, publishing the American Journal of Evaluation and running a major annual conference. It is the most direct functional peer to DeGEval in another market, mirroring its combination of journal, conference, working groups, and standards.
• UK Evaluation Society: The UK Evaluation Society is the principal UK professional body for evaluators, running conferences, training events, and member services—closely paralleling DeGEval's structure and value proposition as a national evaluation professional society.

Regional players

• Canadian Evaluation Society (CES): CES is the national professional association for evaluators in Canada, offering credentialed evaluator (CE) designation, an annual conference, and a journal. It mirrors DeGEval's standards-and-events model in a comparable national market, with the added dimension of professional credentialing.
• Australasian Evaluation Society (AES): AES is the leading evaluation professional association in Australia and New Zealand, publishing the Evaluation Journal of Australasia and running an annual conference. It parallels DeGEval's model in a distinct Asia-Pacific geography, useful as a benchmark for member engagement and standards diffusion.

Emerging players

• African Evaluation Association (AfREA): AfREA is the continental evaluation association focused on building evaluation capacity across Africa, running biennial conferences and capacity-development programs. It parallels DeGEval's professionalization mission but in an emerging-market context with development-cooperation-driven demand.

Broad incumbents

• International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE): IOCE is a global umbrella network connecting national and regional evaluation associations and influencing international evaluation norms. It positions DeGEval within the global evaluation community and shapes cross-border standards that impact DeGEval-Standards adoption.
• European Evaluation Society (EES): EES is the pan-European evaluation association serving practitioners across EU member states with biennial conferences and a European Journal of Evaluation. As a broader geographic incumbent, it overlaps with DeGEval's events and journal offerings while competing for European institutional engagement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/degeval

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DeGEval - Gesellschaft für Evaluation e.V.