ODIS
ODIS is a Belgian non-profit association operating a free, multilingual web database for studying 19th-20th century European civil society organizations, serving academic researchers, cultural heritage institutions, and heritage enthusiasts with a validated 319,422-record corpus maintained by ten partner archives.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersLeuven, Belgium
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What ODIS does
ODIS (Online Database voor Intermediaire Structuren) is a Belgian non-profit association (vzw ODIS) that operates a contextual web database for the study of intermediate structures — specifically civil society organizations — in 19th and 20th century European history. The platform cross-references seven entity types (organizations, persons, families, publications, archives, buildings, and events) using international standards-based thesauri adapted for Western European historical contexts, with a multilingual Dutch/English interface and spatial visualization capabilities. As of 31/12/2025, the database contains 319,422 records, with 51,000+ users consulting 336,047 records in 2025.
The underlying technology is a web-based contextual database that integrates multiple data series into a single technical environment, validated and continuously updated by a consortium of ten Flemish archive and research institutions (four founding partners — ADVN, Amsab-ISG, KADOC-KU Leuven, Liberas — and six additional partners including AMVB, CAVA, PARCUM, and others). ODIS was originally built in 2000-2003 with FWO-Max Wildiers funding, modernized as ODIS-2 in 2009-2014 with Hercules Foundation support, and is currently undergoing a comprehensive transition (2022-2027) funded by FWO Vlaanderen. There is no API, no mobile application, and no AI/ML layer; the platform is accessed directly via odis.be.
ODIS is grant-funded and does not generate commercial revenue. The database is free to use under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license, with commercial use requiring explicit prior permission. The primary customer segments are academic researchers and historians, cultural heritage organizations, and heritage enthusiasts. There is no traditional sales or marketing motion; the organization relies on academic channels (conferences, workshops, annual partner meetings, scholarly publications) and direct web access. Operating costs are covered by research grants, with 25 employees housed at the Leuven headquarters hosted by KADOC-KU Leuven.
ODIS firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ODIS
- Legal name
- ODIS vzw
- Website
- https://odis.be
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- ODIS is a Belgian non-profit association operating a free, multilingual web database for studying 19th-20th century European civil society organizations, serving academic researchers, cultural heritage institutions, and heritage enthusiasts with a validated 319,422-record corpus maintained by ten partner archives.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ODIS industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Historical Research Database
- NAICS
- Libraries and Archives (51921), Libraries and Archives (519210), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Reference Data Management (RDM) (HDAEADAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Data Virtualization & Federation (HDAEACAH)
Keywords
Where ODIS is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Leuven
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
ODIS business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Research funding and grants: ODIS vzw is a non-profit association funded through research grants and institutional support. Initial construction (2000-2003) was funded by FWO-Max Wildiers. Major modernization (2009-2014) funded by the Hercules Foundation. Current renewal (2022-2027) funded by FWO Vlaanderen.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
ODIS product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ODIS vzw operates a dynamic contextual web database (ODIS-databank) for studying intermediate structures (civil society organizations) in 19th and 20th century European history. The database integrates cross-referenced data series on organizations, persons, families, publications, archives, buildings, and events, validated and continuously updated by a consortium of Flemish heritage and research institutions. Access is provided through a multilingual (Dutch/English) web platform at odis.be, with content licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Product overview
ODIS is a single unified product - the ODIS-databank (ODIS-webdatabank) - a web-based contextual database for studying civil society history. The database integrates multiple data series (organizations, persons, families, events, buildings, periodicals, and archives) into one technical environment, allowing researchers to cross-reference and analyze historical civil society data with multilingual support and spatial mapping capabilities. Multiple partner organizations contribute data through separate input groups within the shared platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- ODIS-databank (ODIS-webdatabank) A dynamic contextual web database for studying intermediate structures (civil society organizations) in 19th and 20th century European history. It integrates cross-referenced data series on organizations, persons, families, events, buildings, periodicals, and archives, with multilingual (Dutch/English) access, spatial analysis capabilities, and content licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. It is designed for academic researchers, historians, and cultural heritage professionals.
Companies that use ODIS
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ODIS technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
ODIS partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.
- ADVN (Archief en Documentatiecentrum voor het Vlaams-Nationalisme)coreFounding partner of ODIS vzw. ADVN contributes archival expertise on Flemish nationalism and related civil society movements to the database.
- Amsab-Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis (Amsab-ISG)coreFounding partner providing expertise on social history and socialist/social democratic movements in Belgium. Contributes to data series on labor movement organizations.
- KADOC-KU LeuvencoreFounding partner and host institution of ODIS. Provides expertise on religious and Catholic civil society organizations and houses the ODIS office.
- Liberas (formerly Liberaal Archief)coreFounding partner contributing expertise on liberal civil society organizations and archives. Currently hosting the ODIS meeting day 2026.
- Archief en Museum voor het Vlaams Leven te Brussel (AMVB)secondaryPartner organization contributing to the database with archives related to Flemish life and culture in Brussels.
- Centrum voor Academische en Vrijzinnige Archieven (CAVA)secondaryPartner contributing archives related to academic and secular/free-thinking civil society.
- Digitaal Archief Vlaanderen (DAV) - Het Facilitair BedrijfsecondaryPartner from the Flemish government contributing digital archiving expertise and infrastructure.
- PARCUMsecondaryPartner focused on ecclesiastical heritage and church-related archives.
- Protestants-Evangelisch Archief- en Documentatiecentrum (Evadoc)secondaryPartner contributing archives related to Protestant and evangelical civil society organizations.
- Provinciaal Archief West-VlaanderensecondaryRegional partner contributing archives from West Flanders province.
- Universiteitsarchief KU LeuvensecondaryUniversity archive partner contributing academic and institutional records.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ODIS competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Wikidata: Wikidata is a large-scale, open linked-data knowledge base used widely in digital humanities research. ODIS shares the linked-data philosophy and open-access model but focuses on a curated, expert-validated slice of Flemish civil society history rather than general knowledge.
- Europeana Foundation: Europeana is the EU's flagship digital cultural-heritage platform, aggregating millions of records from European libraries, archives and museums. ODIS is comparable in mission (cross-institutional European cultural heritage data) but operates at a much smaller, more specialized (civil society history) scale.
- Delpher: Delpher is the Dutch national platform for digitized historical books, newspapers and periodicals. Comparable to ODIS in mission (open access to historical Dutch-language content) but much broader in scope and content type.
Others
- Clio-online: Clio-online is a German hub for historical sciences, providing article databases, reviews and links to digital history resources. Comparable to ODIS in serving as a discovery layer and information hub for academic historical research, though at a different national scale.
Direct peers
- Archiefbank Vlaanderen: Archiefbank is a Flemish public archive discovery layer that indexes archival institutions and their collections. ODIS is a direct peer in the Flemish cultural-heritage data space, with overlap on archival and organizational metadata.
- meemoo (Flemish Institute for Archiving): meemoo is a Flemish non-profit that provides digital archiving services and infrastructure to cultural heritage organizations. ODIS is a direct peer as a Flemish heritage data consortium, with overlapping partner institutions and infrastructure funding streams.
Regional players
- BONAS (Belgian Online Available Newspapers): BONAS aggregates digitized Belgian newspapers for academic research. Comparable to ODIS as a Belgian heritage-research platform that links periodicals and organizational references, though with a different primary content type (press vs. civil society).
- RKD (Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie): The Netherlands Institute for Art History operates standardized web databases (RKDartists, RKDimages) for cultural heritage research. Comparable in being a curated, partner-fed, multilingual linked-data platform for humanities research, though focused on art history rather than civil society.
- Centrum voor Familiegeschiedenis (CBG|Centrum voor familiegeschiedenis): A Dutch/Belgian genealogical and family-history research center with open online databases comparable to ODIS's person- and family-level data series. Peer overlap is on biographical and genealogical use cases in the Low Countries.
- DBNL (Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren): DBNL is a Dutch-language digital library for literary texts and biographical/critical resources. Comparable to ODIS as a curated, academically validated Low Countries humanities database with thematic biographical and organizational metadata.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
ODIS social profiles
Digital presenceODIS financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ODIS leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
ODIS funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ODIS M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ODIS
What does ODIS do?
ODIS vzw operates a dynamic contextual web database (ODIS-databank) for studying intermediate structures (civil society organizations) in 19th and 20th century European history. The database integrates cross-referenced data series on organizations, persons, families, publications, archives, buildings, and events, validated and continuously updated by a consortium of Flemish heritage and research institutions. Access is provided through a multilingual (Dutch/English) web platform at odis.be, with content licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Is ODIS a public or private company?
ODIS is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was ODIS founded?
ODIS was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ODIS based?
ODIS is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does ODIS make money?
One revenue line is on record: research funding and grants.
Who are ODIS's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Wikidata, Europeana Foundation and Delpher. Clio-online is listed as an others. Direct peers are Archiefbank Vlaanderen and meemoo (Flemish Institute for Archiving). Regional players are BONAS (Belgian Online Available Newspapers), RKD (Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie), Centrum voor Familiegeschiedenis (CBG|Centrum voor familiegeschiedenis) and DBNL (Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren).
Does ODIS have an API?
No public API is recorded for ODIS.
What industry is ODIS in?
ODIS's product category is Historical Research Database. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEADAE, Reference Data Management (RDM), with a secondary code of HDAEACAH, Data Virtualization & Federation. Its NAICS code is 51921 and its SIC code is 7370.