Société d'Ergonomie de Langue Française

What Société d'Ergonomie de Langue Française does

Société d'Ergonomie de Langue Française (SELF) is a French nonprofit professional association founded in 1963 and headquartered at the CNAM Ergonomics Laboratory in Paris. Its mission is to promote the research, practice, and teaching of ergonomics within the French-speaking world. SELF serves individual ergonomists, human factors professionals, occupational health and safety specialists, researchers, and academics — its primary customer segments are personas, not commercial enterprises. Members engage through annual congresses, peer-reviewed journals, a monthly newsletter, and specialized working commissions (History, Young Practitioners, Occupational Risks).

SELF's core offerings are content and community rather than technology. The product portfolio centers on the annual SELF Congress (59th edition scheduled for September 2026 in Nantes), a monthly newsletter (Self@ctu, previously SELF-Express), a searchable database of congress communications spanning 1999 to 2025 with over 2,000 named authors, a YouTube channel of congress recordings, and sponsorship of four peer-reviewed journals: Activités (bilingual, IEA endorsed, indexed in PsycINFO and DOAJ), Le Travail Humain, PISTES, and Laboreal. Journal distribution is handled through OpenEdition and PUF rather than built on proprietary technology infrastructure.

The organization's revenue model is member-funded: annual membership fees from individual professionals provide recurring revenue, supplemented by registration fees for the annual congress and occasional institutional sponsorships (e.g., INRA, EDF R&D, SNCF, PSA Peugeot Citroën have historically supported the Activités journal). Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The society operates with a small permanent staff of five, is governed by a Board of Directors and Bureau, and is institutionally affiliated with the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) and the Fédération des Sociétés d'Ergonomie (FEES).

Name

Société d'Ergonomie de Langue Française

Legal name

Société d'Ergonomie de Langue Française

Website

https://ergonomie-self.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Société d'Ergonomie de Langue Française (SELF) is a 1963-founded French nonprofit professional association that promotes ergonomics research, practice, and teaching among French-speaking ergonomists, researchers, and occupational health professionals through annual congresses, peer-reviewed journals, and member publications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: SELF generates revenue through annual membership fees paid by ergonomists, researchers, and practitioners who join the society. Membership provides access to publications, congresses, and networking events.
2. Congress and event registration fees: Revenue generated from registration fees for the annual SELF Congress (Congrès de la SELF) and other workshops, seminars, and professional development events organized by the society.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SELF is a nonprofit professional association that serves French-speaking ergonomists, researchers, and occupational health practitioners through membership, peer-reviewed academic journals (Activités, Le Travail Humain, PISTES, Laboreal), an annual congress, a monthly newsletter (Self@ctu), and a searchable archive of congress communications. Its core mission is to promote the research, practice, and teaching of ergonomics in the French-speaking world.

Product overview

The Société d'Ergonomie de Langue Française (SELF) is a professional association for French-speaking ergonomists, not a commercial software company. Its offerings consist of member communications and publications infrastructure: Self@ctu is a monthly newsletter (formerly SELF-Express) for members; the Congress Communications Database is a searchable repository of papers from annual SELF congresses dating back to 1999; and a YouTube channel hosts video recordings of congresses and history-of-ergonomics series. SELF also supports four peer-reviewed academic journals — Activités, Le Travail Humain, Laboreal, and PISTES — through partnerships with OpenEdition and institutional publishers. The annual SELF Congress is a flagship conference for the community. Two publishing partners, Octarès Editions and ANACT, are also featured on the site for related scientific and professional publications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Self@ctu: Monthly newsletter of the Société d'Ergonomie de Langue Française, previously known as SELF-Express until 2019.
• Activités

Products and services

• Self@ctu Newsletter (formerly SELF-Express) Monthly newsletter for SELF members providing timely news about ergonomics events, publications, congresses, and professional opportunities. Renamed from SELF-Express in 2019 and published monthly since then.
• Congress Communications Database Searchable online database of communications presented at SELF congresses, allowing users to search by keyword, author, congress year, location, and session type (oral, written, workshop, plenary, thematic session, symposium, round table). Contains over 2,000 named authors.
• Annual SELF Congress Annual congress of SELF featuring paper presentations, workshops, symposia, round tables, and networking for French-speaking ergonomics professionals. Includes in-person and virtual participation options.
• Activités (Journal) Bilingual (French/English) peer-reviewed open-access electronic journal published biannually since 2004, covering activity analysis, work design, and human factors research. Indexed in PsycINFO, DOAJ, and Ergonomics Abstract, and endorsed by the IEA.
• Le Travail Humain (Journal) Peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing original articles in French or English on human factors in work situations and technology-mediated interactions, covering ergonomics, occupational psychology, health, and human-machine cooperation.
• PISTES - Perspectives Interdisciplinaires sur le Travail et la Santé (Journal) Open-access interdisciplinary electronic journal in French focusing on organizational, social, and human aspects of work and their links to health within organizations.
• Laboreal (Journal) International interdisciplinary scientific journal published in Spanish and Portuguese, covering health, well-being, and safety of workers, with free electronic access and two issues per year.
• SELF YouTube Channel (@SELF-fr) SELF's YouTube channel hosting video recordings of congresses (Saint-Denis La Réunion 2023, Genève 2022, Paris 2021, Tours 2019), commission videos, history of ergonomics series, and student competition videos.

Quantifiable outcome

• 59th Congress scheduled for September 2026
• +1 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

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• International Ergonomics Association (IEA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSELF is affiliated with the IEA as a member society representing French-language ergonomics. The society participates in IEA technical committees and its journal Activités holds IEA 'endorsed journal' status.
• Fédération des Sociétés d'Ergonomie (FEES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFEES is the European federation of ergonomics societies. SELF administrators hold positions in FEES, maintaining close cooperation among European ergonomics professional bodies.
• OpenEdition / Revues.orgmajorTechnology or IntegrationThe Activités journal, supported by SELF, joined the OpenEdition platform (Revues.org) in 2016 to increase visibility and access through university libraries and international scientific databases.
• INRA, EDF R&D, SNCF, PSA Peugeot CitroënminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThese organizations have provided occasional financial support to the Activités journal. Their contributions supplemented SELF's ongoing financial backing for the publication.
• Collège des Enseignants Chercheurs en Ergonomie (CE2)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCE2 is the French association of ergonomics educators and researchers. SELF administrators participate in CE2 activities and collaborate on professional development and research initiatives.
• Centre de Recherche et d'Etudes sur l'Ergonomie (CREE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCREE is a research center in ergonomics. SELF maintains collaborative relationships with CREE for research and professional development activities.
• Cnam Ergonomics LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SELF headquarters is located at the CNAM (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers) Ergonomics Laboratory in Paris, facilitating close ties between the professional society and academic research.
• Association pour la Recherche en Psychologie Ergonomique et Ergonomie (ARPEGE)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerARPEGE organizes the biennial EPIQUE symposium. SELF supports and participates in ARPEGE events, and the two organizations share overlapping membership among French ergonomics researchers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Gesellschaft für Arbeitswissenschaft (GfA): The German professional society for work science/ergonomics; comparable to SELF as a national learned society hosting an annual congress (GfA-Frühjahrskongress) and supporting German-language research dissemination.
• Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors (CIEHF): The UK professional body for ergonomists, comparable to SELF as a national society delivering membership services, professional registration, conferences, and journals in its own linguistic and regulatory market.
• Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES): The leading US-based professional society for human factors and ergonomics, directly comparable to SELF as a national learned society that publishes journals, holds annual conferences, and represents the discipline domestically and internationally through IEA.
• Asociación Española de Ergonomía (AEE): The Spanish professional ergonomics association, a sibling society within the European ergonomics community; comparable to SELF as a national society serving a Romance-language membership and participating in FEES activities.
• Nordic Ergonomics Society (NES): A regional Nordic professional society for ergonomics; comparable to SELF as a learned society operating across multiple countries with periodic congresses and multidisciplinary research interests.
• Association of Canadian Ergonomists / Association canadienne d'ergonomie (ACE): The bilingual Canadian professional ergonomics association; comparable to SELF as a national society serving a bilingual membership and hosting annual conferences with similar professional development offerings.

Broad incumbents

• International Ergonomics Association (IEA): The global federation of ergonomics societies of which SELF is a member; comparable as the umbrella organization coordinating national ergonomics bodies, journal endorsements, and triennial congresses.

Emerging players

• Fédération des Sociétés d'Ergonomie (FEES): The European federation of national ergonomics societies in which SELF holds leadership positions; comparable as a higher-tier federation coordinating SELF with peer national societies across Europe.

Others

• ANACT (Agence nationale pour l'amélioration des conditions de travail): French public agency improving working conditions; comparable as a partner organization referenced on SELF's site, addressing overlapping occupational health and ergonomics topics from the policy and practice side.
• Centre de Recherche et d'Études sur l'Ergonomie (CREE): A French ergonomics research center that collaborates closely with SELF; comparable as a partner research body sharing membership and supporting professional development activities in the French ergonomics ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SELFergonomie
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SELF-fr
• Facebookfacebook.com/SELFergonomie
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soci%C3%A9t%C3%A9-d-ergonomie-de-langue-fran%C3%A7aise

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Société d'Ergonomie de Langue Française