Faktor D

What Faktor D does

Faktor D is a non-profit strategic democracy network serving the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), founded in Winter 2022 from the multi-year ANSTOSS funding initiative and rebranded from 'Hub für Demokratie' to 'Faktor D' in August 2023. It is structured under three carrier organizations — Initiative Offene Gesellschaft e.V. (Germany, registered at Amtsgericht Charlottenburg VR 35977 B, recognized as gemeinnützig in November 2023), Demokratie21 (Austria), and Campus für Demokratie (Switzerland) — with offices in Berlin, Vienna, and Bern. The organization convenes democracy professionals, civil society, public administration, academia, media, and libraries through a portfolio of thematic Missions, an annual festival, co-creative innovation processes, scaling processes, a collaborative agenda initiative (Demokratie-Playbook), a digital magazine, and online events.

Its core offerings are four strategic thematic networks: Mission #1 Generation Mitgestaltung (youth participation, since October 2023, with €92,934 disbursed across 4 funded projects via its first Innovation Process); Mission #2 STRG Depolarisierung (AI and societal cohesion, since June 2024); Mission #3 Treffpunkt Demokratie (libraries as democratic places, since June 2025, targeting approximately 11,000 DACH libraries); and Mission #4 Emotional verfügbar (emotions in politics, since October 2025). The annual Mitmacht Festival grew from over 100 participants in Ingolstadt in September 2024 to over 200 participants across roughly 50 events in Vienna in November 2025, with the third edition scheduled for Berlin in September 2026. There is no proprietary software product; the technology stack is limited to a Webflow-hosted website and pretix.eu ticketing.

The business model is purely philanthropic: Faktor D does not sell products or services, all programmatic offerings are free to participants, and the network is funded by three foundation partners (Robert Bosch Stiftung, Stiftung Mercator Schweiz, and ERSTE Stiftung), with an emerging donation channel visible on the website. The organization is led by country-level Managing Directors (Hannah Göppert and Max Bohm in Germany; Nina Schnider in Austria; Carol Schafroth in Switzerland), operates with approximately 25 named individuals across the three offices, and has a three-person board (Andre Wilkens, Stefan Wegner, Ulrich Lilie) at Initiative Offene Gesellschaft e.V.

Name

Faktor D

Legal name

Initiative Offene Gesellschaft e.V.

Website

https://faktor-d.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Faktor D is a non-profit strategic democracy network serving Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It convenes democracy professionals, civil society organizations, public administration, academia, and media through thematic Missions, an annual festival, and co-creation processes. Fully foundation-funded; no commercial revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Foundation grants and philanthropy: Faktor D is funded by three main foundation partners: Robert Bosch Stiftung (Germany), Stiftung Mercator Schweiz (Switzerland), and ERSTE Stiftung (Austria). The network emerged from the ANSTOSS initiative and is structured under three carrier organizations: Initiative Offene Gesellschaft e.V. (DE), Demokratie21 (AT), and Campus für Demokratie (CH). No commercial revenue streams are described; the organization does not sell products or services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Faktor D is a non-profit democracy network operating in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland that connects democracy professionals and experts through thematic Missions, an annual Mitmacht-Festival, multi-stage Innovationsprozesse and Skalierungsprozesse, networking events, a collaborative Demokratie-Playbook, and a digital Magazin. All offerings are provided free of charge to participants and are designed to strengthen democratic civil society across the DACH region.

Product overview

Faktor D is a strategic democracy network for the German-speaking region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) that operates as a coordination and collaboration infrastructure rather than a traditional software product. Its offerings include: four 'Missionen' (strategic thematic networks) focused on youth participation, AI for social cohesion, libraries as democratic places, and emotions in politics; the 'Mitmacht-Festival' for collective strategies; 'Innovationsprozesse' for collaborative project development; 'Skalierungsprozesse' for scaling good practices into toolkits; the 'Demokratie-Playbook' as a shared agenda; regular 'Veranstaltungen' for knowledge exchange; networking ('Vernetzung') services; and a 'Magazin' with strategic content. The organization functions as a convener and facilitator, connecting experts across borders, sectors, and organizations to strengthen democracy collaboratively.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mitmacht Festival: Annual democracy festival for collective strategies bringing together experts from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
• Demokratie-Playbook
• Innovationsprozesse
• Missionen

Products and services

• Demokratiemission (Democracy Mission)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 participants at Mitmacht 2024 (Ingolstadt), over 200 at Mitmacht 2025 (Vienna)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• AI4Democracy (Wirkungsallianz)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Faktor D joined the AI4Democracy alliance (Wirkungsallianz) in June 2024, engaging with questions of how artificial intelligence can strengthen democratic structures. Contributes through Mission #2 (STRG Depolarisierung).
• Initiative Offene Gesellschaft e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022German carrier organization of Faktor D. Registered association (Amtsgericht Charlottenburg, Nr. VR 35977 B), recognized as charitable (gemeinnützig) since November 2023. Hosts the Berlin office. The legal entity responsible for Faktor D operations in Germany.
• Demokratie21coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Austrian carrier organization of Faktor D. Hosts the Vienna office. Responsible for the Austrian branch of the network's operations.
• Campus für Demokratie (Stiftung Dialog)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Swiss carrier organization of Faktor D. Hosts the Bern office. Responsible for the Swiss branch of the network's operations. Also referred to as Stiftung Dialog in the privacy policy.
• Citizens for DemocracyminorOthersVerein zur Verbesserung der politischen Teilnahme der Bürgerinnen und Bürger. Listed as a data processor in the privacy policy, responsible for organizational activities in Austria.
• Stiftung DialogminorOthersListed as a data processor in the privacy policy. Campus für Demokratie / Stiftung Dialog is the Swiss carrier organization of Faktor D.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Carnegie Europe: Brussels-based program of the Carnegie Endowment producing analysis and convening policy communities on European democracy and rule of law; broader think-tank positioning with overlapping convening function.
• Open Society European Policy Institute: Policy arm of the Open Society Foundations working on democratic governance and civil society across Europe; broader portfolio with overlapping democracy-strengthening objectives and much deeper funding base.
• German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF): Transatlantic policy organization running democracy-support programs across Europe; comparable high-level convening role but with a transatlantic rather than DACH-only frame and a much larger institutional footprint.
• Civicus: Global civil society alliance tracking civic space and convening civil society actors worldwide; operates an overlapping coordinator-of-coordinators function but at global rather than DACH scale.

Direct peers

• European Civic Forum: European network of civic associations promoting civic participation and fundamental rights; comparable role as a Europe-facing convener of civil-society actors.
• European Partnership for Democracy (EPD): Multi-stakeholder Brussels-based partnership coordinating European democracy actors; mirrors Faktor D's role as a meta-network that convenes civil society, funders, and governments around shared democratic goals.
• Mehr Demokratie e.V. Germany's leading association for direct democracy and civic participation; comparable DACH-rooted organization working on democratic reform and citizen participation infrastructure.
• Democracy International: Brussels-based democracy support organization working on democratic participation and civil society coordination; directly comparable to Faktor D's mission of strengthening democratic culture through cross-border coordination.

Regional players

• Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb): German federal agency for civic and political education; comparable civic-infrastructure function in Germany but government-run and not a network convening civil-society actors across borders.

Emerging players

• Stiftung neue verantwortung: Berlin-based think tank focused on the intersection of democracy and digitalization; overlaps with Faktor D on AI-and-democracy topics covered in Mission #2 (STRG Depolarisierung).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/faktor-d

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 Faktor D