EDK | CDIP | CDPE | CDEP

What EDK | CDIP | CDPE | CDEP does

The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Education Directors (EDK / CDIP / CDPE / CDEP) is the legally mandated inter-cantonal coordination body for Switzerland's education system, constituted as a public-law corporation under the 1970 Swiss School Concordat and headquartered at Haus der Kantone in Bern. It serves all 26 Swiss cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein, coordinating harmonization of compulsory schooling, diploma recognition, intercantonal education financing, vocational education and training, gymnasium and higher education policy, scholarship harmonization, and special needs education. Its supreme decision-making body is the Plenary Assembly of the 26 cantonal education directors, supported by an Executive Committee, the General Secretariat, specialized agencies (IDES, Educa, CSRE/SKBF, SZH), and specialist committees. Liechtenstein participates in EDK's work without full membership status.

EDK's core products and technology infrastructure center on knowledge management and policy coordination rather than commercial offerings. IDES (Informations- und Dokumentationszentrum), established in 1994 and successor to CESDOC (1962), is a 9-person specialist agency that operates edudoc.ch, the Swiss Education Document Server hosting over 2,000 education documents, in collaboration with the Swiss Institute for Information Science (SII) at the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden. EDK publishes a quarterly-cycle electronic newsletter, a multilingual blog, a podcast (Parlons formation), annual reports, and the Schriftenreihen publication series. Its authoritative outputs include the Swiss Education Report (Bildungsbericht Schweiz) published every four years, the National Basic Competencies (Nationale Bildungsziele), and the HarmoS Concordat frameworks. EDK also co-publishes the European Language Portfolio and the Swiss World Atlas, and participates in digital identity infrastructure through the Edulog project coordinated by specialized agency Educa.

EDK is funded by contributions from its 26 member cantons based on the intercantonal financing agreement, with no commercial revenue model. It does not sell products or services; print publications are available at nominal cost-recovery prices (CHF 12-15 per copy) while digital downloads are free. Its go-to-market is institutional rather than commercial: EDK reaches its members through the political bodies (Plenary Assembly, Executive Committee), working groups, formal consultation procedures (Vernehmlassungen), the General Secretariat, and outreach via website, newsletter, blog, podcast, and participation in international seminars (DACH, OECD/CERI, Eurydice, Forum Sprachen).

Name

EDK | CDIP | CDPE | CDEP

Legal name

Konferenz der kantonalen Erziehungsdirektorinnen und -direktoren (EDK) / Conférence intercantonale de l'instruction publique (CDIP)

Website

https://edk.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

EDK is Switzerland's statutory public-law corporation coordinating education policy across all 26 cantons and Liechtenstein under the 1970 School Concordat, operating specialist agencies (IDES, Educa, CSRE/SKBF, SZH), the edudoc.ch document repository, and inter-cantonal financing and harmonization frameworks, funded by cantonal contributions rather than commercial revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intergovernmental Education Coordination

NAICS

Administration of Education Programs (923110), Administration of Education Programs (92311), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Learning Data Infrastructure & Interoperability (LRS, xAPI/LTI/OneRoster, Data Pipelines) (EDAFAFAJ)

Keywords

• Education policy coordination
• Intercantonal education agreements
• Education knowledge management
• Diploma recognition services
• Harmonization compulsory schooling

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Cantonal Membership Contributions: EDK is a public-law corporation (öffentlich-rechtliche Körperschaft) with its registered office in the Canton of Bern. It is funded by contributions from its member cantons. The 26 Swiss cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein are members.
2. Publication Sales: EDK publishes various publication series (Schriftenreihen/Edizioni) including Studies and Reports (Studien + Berichte), Individual Publications, EDK Texts (including annual reports, framework curricula), and Conference Reports. Physical copies are available for order via email (IDES) at prices such as CHF 15.00 per copy, with free digital downloads.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

EDK is an intergovernmental coordination body that harmonizes education policy across Switzerland's 26 cantons and Liechtenstein. It administers intercantonal concordats, coordinates diploma recognition, manages education financing agreements, publishes national educational standards and monitoring reports, and operates the IDES knowledge center and edudoc.ch document server. The organization delivers policy coordination, knowledge management, and standardized publications for the Swiss education system.

Product overview

EDK (Swiss Conference of Cantonal Education Directors) operates as a coordination body for Swiss education policy rather than a traditional product company. Its primary service offerings center on information management and knowledge sharing: IDES (Informations- und Dokumentationszentrum) serves as the core competence center for Swiss education system knowledge; edudoc.ch provides the Swiss education document server for public access to publications; and the EDK Newsletter, Blog, and Podcast deliver communication services. The organization publishes Schriftenreihen (Studies and Reports, Individual Publications, EDK-Texte, and Conference Reports) and maintains the Swiss Education Diagram as a multilingual visual resource. Key standards include National Basic Competencies (Nationale Bildungsziele) and the HarmoS Concordat for school harmonization. Digital initiatives include Edulog for education identity management. Research services include the Swiss Education Report, Kantonsumfrage (annual cantonal survey), and cantonal school structure documentation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IDES (Information and Documentation Center)
• edudoc.ch (Swiss Education Document Server)

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SERI (Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation / State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEDK and SERI jointly oversee the Swiss Education Report (Bildungsbericht), published every four years by CSRE/SKBF on their joint mandate. They also share objectives for the Swiss education space ( gemeinsame Bildungsraum), co-finance intercantonal agreements, and jointly address digitalization in education (Edulog project). SERI manages federal education policy and EDK represents cantonal interests, making their cooperation essential across all tiers of Swiss education.
• Eurydice (European Education Network)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEDK contributes to the Eurydice network, which provides descriptions of European education systems. The Swiss education system description on Eurydice is maintained collaboratively by EDK and SERI.
• Swiss Institute for Information Science (SII) at University of Applied Sciences GraubündencoreTechnology or IntegrationIDES has collaborated with the SII for more than five years to operate the edudoc.ch document server. Both organizations are connected to projects like the Virtual Educational Observatory (NFP77) and Switch Connectome, which aim to link data from multiple institutions into open datasets.
• CSRE / SKBF (Swiss Coordination Centre for Research in Education)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSRE/SKBF produces the Swiss Education Report (Bildungsbericht) every four years on mandate from EDK and SERI. The 2023 edition covers all education levels from compulsory schooling to continuing education. CSRE also develops education scenarios for Switzerland.
• Swiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS / OFS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBFS produces education statistics and scenarios that are referenced in EDK's monitoring work. EDK's blog notes that ChatGPT cannot currently access BFS sources, underscoring BFS as an authoritative upstream data provider for the education monitoring ecosystem.
• Educa (Swiss Education Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEduca is the Swiss Education Network and a specialized agency of EDK. It focuses on digitalization in education and coordinates the Edulog digital identity project for Swiss education. Educa produced the report 'La numérisation dans l'éducation' on mandate of EDK and SERI.
• SZH (Schweizerisches Zentrum für Heil- und Sonderpädagogik / Swiss Centre for Special Needs Education)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSZH is a specialized agency of EDK providing expertise and materials for the Standardized Assessment Procedure (SAV) in special needs education. SZH hosts materials for the SAV on its website.
• DACH-SeminarminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEDK participates in the DACH-Seminar, a trilateral conference on education with Germany (D), Austria (A), and Liechtenstein (CH). Conference reports and documentation are available on the DACH-Seminar website.
• OECD/CERI (Centre for Educational Research and Innovation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEDK participates in OECD/CERI regional seminars for German-speaking countries, addressing topics such as language importance in education policy, heterogeneity, justice, and lifelong learning in the knowledge society.
• All 26 Swiss Cantons and Principality of LiechtensteincoreOthersEDK is composed of the 26 cantonal directors of public education. The Principality of Liechtenstein participates in EDK's work. The cantons fund 90% of public education expenditure. EDK coordinates harmonization, intercantonal financing, and diploma recognition across all member cantons.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK): Germany's Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs is the most direct structural homolog of EDK. It coordinates education policy across 16 German Länder under the Basic Law, mirrors EDK's intergovernmental model, and engages in DACH cooperation with EDK and Austria.
• Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC): CMEC is the intergovernmental forum for Canada's provincial and territorial ministers of education. Like EDK it operates in a federated system where subnational governments retain primary education authority, and it likewise pursues harmonization, mobility, and shared standards.
• Education Council (Australia): The Education Council coordinates education policy across Australia's states and territories and is the closest functional counterpart to EDK in the Asia-Pacific. It mirrors EDK's role in setting national goals, harmonizing school systems, and representing subnational jurisdictions on education matters.
• Conference of Cantonal Directors of Public Health (GDK): GDK is the Swiss intergovernmental coordination body for cantonal health directors, structurally identical to EDK but for the health sector. It is the closest institutional model of EDK's intergovernmental coordination approach within Switzerland.

Others

• Schweizerisches Zentrum für Heil- und Sonderschulpädagogik (SZH): SZH is a specialized agency of EDK providing expertise and standardized assessment materials (SAV) for special needs education. It is functionally integrated into EDK's institutional structure and represents EDK's model of in-house specialized agencies.
• Council of Europe - Education Department: The Council of Europe's Education Department develops common European standards and frameworks in education policy. EDK contributes to its work, making it a relevant international peer for EDK's standards-setting and harmonization activities.
• State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI): SERI is EDK's federal Swiss counterpart at the State Secretariat level. It manages federal education policy and jointly funds key initiatives with EDK (e.g., Swiss Education Report, intercantonal agreements, Edulog), making it the most relevant structural partner in the Swiss system.
• Swiss Coordination Centre for Research in Education (CSRE / SKBF): CSRE/SKBF produces the Swiss Education Report (Bildungsbericht) every four years on joint mandate from EDK and SERI. It is a close partner and spin-off-like entity that complements EDK's monitoring work with research-based analysis.
• OECD Directorate for Education and Skills: The OECD Directorate for Education and Skills produces comparative education data and policy analysis (e.g., PISA, Education at a Glance). EDK participates in OECD/CERI regional seminars, making the OECD an international counterpart for EDK's data and benchmarking work.

Broad incumbents

• Eurydice (European Education Network): Eurydice is a broader European education information network overseen by the European Commission, of which EDK is a national contributor. It overlaps with EDK's IDES function in providing comparative education system data, but operates at the European rather than cantonal level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/edk-cdip-cdpe-cdep

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about EDK | CDIP | CDPE | CDEP