What Ordinata does

Ordinata Sàrl is a Swiss boutique consulting, training, and coaching firm headquartered in Domdidier (Canton of Fribourg), founded in 2001 by Stefan Merckelbach, a philosophie-trained practitioner who self-describes as a 'philosophe manager.' The firm specializes in three intertwined domains: participative organizational governance via the proprietary Dynamique Participative methodology (co-developed since 2006 with Martine Marenne); source-aligned leadership development via the Principes Source framework (influenced by mentor Peter John Koenig since 2013); and, most recently, the integration of generative AI into collective-intelligence practices. Core deliverables are organized in four pillars: multi-day Formations (notably the 10-day Parcours Dynamique Participative, the 4-day Parcours Implémenter, and the 2-day Pilote IA), immersive Workshops (charter and values, AI-themed team workshops, board workshops, annual management reviews), individual Coaching (Source Person coaching and the 2026 Coaching Master Prompt Dirigeant), and Books published through the wholly-owned Éditions Aquilae subsidiary. The underlying 'technology' is methodological rather than software — proprietary frameworks, visual tools such as the Fusée (rocket) concept, and facilitator-led curricula — delivered through a core team of five employees plus a network of associated facilitators operating across Switzerland, Belgium, France, and Japan.

Revenue is generated entirely through professional-services streams: per-participant training fees (e.g., CHF 1,750 per participant for the 4-day Implémenter program), inquiry-based custom workshop and transformation pricing, ongoing coaching engagements typically beginning with a free exploratory interview, and modest book-publishing revenue through French-language retail distribution (Fnac, Amazon, Eyrolles, Cultura, Librel, Furet, BoD). Go-to-market is enterprise field sales and sales-led outreach, with Stefan Merckelbach as the principal client-facing figure, supported by a content-marketing engine centered on the website, a quarterly newsletter ('La Grenouille'), LinkedIn, and a library of published client testimonials. Customers are predominantly Swiss cantonal and communal public institutions, French-speaking NGOs/social-service organizations, and a small set of private enterprises seeking participative-governance transformation; the company remains wholly founder-owned with no external funding, no parent entity, and no public listing.

Name

Ordinata

Legal name

Ordinata Sàrl

Website

https://ordinata.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ordinata is a Swiss boutique consulting and training firm, founded in 2001, that helps public institutions, NGOs, and enterprises implement participatory governance, develop source-aligned leadership, and integrate generative AI into collective-intelligence practices through workshops, multi-day formations, executive coaching, and published methodologies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) & Belonging Consulting (BPAHAGAJ)

Keywords

• Participative governance consulting
• Collective intelligence facilitation
• Leadership development training
• Executive coaching services
• Organizational culture workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Domdidier

HQ country

Switzerland

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. Formations (Professional Training): Structured training programs delivered over multiple days, including the Parcours Dynamique Participative for responsible persons (10 days), Parcours Implémenter la DP (4 days), and Intervision parcours (4 days). Training is offered both as open enrollment cohorts and as customized internal workshops for client organizations.
2. Workshops: Immersive workshop experiences for teams and leadership groups, including implementations of Participative Dynamic, Board workshops, AI and collective intelligence workshops, and executive review sessions. Delivered either at Ordinata's Domdidier location or on-site at client organizations.
3. Executive Coaching: Individualized coaching programs for executives and organizational leaders, including Source Person Coaching and Master Prompt coaching for AI integration. Coaching is delivered as structured series of sessions, typically beginning with a free exploratory interview.
4. Book Publishing (Éditions Aquilae): Publishing house producing inspirational and practical books on participative governance, collective intelligence, and organizational culture. Titles include 'Au coeur de la Dynamique Participative' (EUR 22), 'Jouons collectif!' (EUR 15), 'Un petit livre rouge sur la source', 'IA et intelligence collective', and 'Le dit d'Ordinata'. Available in print and ebook formats through major distributors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ordinata delivers participative-governance and collective-intelligence consulting to organizations, structured across four pillars: immersive workshops and seminars, multi-day training programs (Formations) for managers and facilitators, individualized executive coaching, and books published by its in-house publishing arm Éditions Aquilae. Offerings are anchored in two proprietary methodologies — Dynamique Participative and Principes Source — and increasingly address AI integration through a Coaching Master Prompt Dirigeant service.

Product overview

Ordinata is a consulting and training company specializing in collective intelligence and AI integration for enterprises. The company offers a portfolio of services organized around four main pillars: Workshops (immersive experiential sessions), Formations (structured training programs), Coachings (individual executive accompaniment), and Livres (books published by Editions Aquilae). Core methodologies include the Dynamique Participative (Participatory Dynamics), Principes Source (Source Principles), and more recently, AI integration services. The product portfolio includes training programs like Parcours Dynamique Participative (10 days), Parcours Découvrir et vivre (4 days), and Parcours Implémenter (4 days); workshops such as Workshop IA et intelligence collective and Workshop Charte et Valeurs; individual coaching services including Coaching Master Prompt Dirigeant and Coaching de personne source; and published books covering collective intelligence, participatory dynamics, and AI. The company is headquartered in Domdidier, Switzerland, and has been operating since 2001.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Parcours Dynamique Participative pour responsables Ten-day training program to learn how to pilot Participative Dynamics and transform organizational culture, designed for managers, executives, and facilitators.
• Parcours Découvrir et vivre la Dynamique Participative Four-day program exploring human foundations of collaboration and learning to embody source by giving life to responsibilities and initiatives.
• Parcours Implémenter la Dynamique Participative Four-day program (2 modules of 2 days) to prepare and conduct the durable anchoring of Participatory Dynamics in organizations.
• Parcours Intervision en Dynamique Participative Four-day continuing education program to maintain proficiency in Participatory Dynamics through drill exercises, peer intervision, and co-development.
• Formation Pilote IA: faciliter l'intelligence collective avec l'IA Two-day training program to help participants orchestrate dialogue between human intelligence and artificial intelligence.
• Atelier d'initiation à la Dynamique Participative pour Conseil d'Administration One-day workshop to discover the unique role of the Board in dynamic and collaborative governance.
• Workshop IA et intelligence collective pour équipe de Direction Workshop helping executive teams integrate AI as a collective intelligence tool for decision-making and governance, addressing perceptions, ethics, and shared frameworks for AI use.
• Workshop Implémenter la Dynamique Participative Team workshop to prepare and conduct the durable anchoring of Participatory Dynamics, done in two sessions of two days each.
• Workshop Charte et Valeurs d'entreprise Workshop to anchor company culture in an inspiring and shared charter, using the 'rocket' concept to structure Mission, Ambitions, Values, and Principles.
• Revue de direction Strategic review workshop transforming the annual management review into a strategic meeting for aligning strategies, evaluating actions, and defining next steps.
• Workshop Redéfinir nos métiers au temps de l'IA Workshop to anticipate AI's impact on professions and evolve serenely with technological change.
• Coaching Master Prompt Dirigeant Individualized coaching helping executives build a personal AI environment and create a Master Prompt that translates their professional identity into usable instructions for AI platforms.
• Coaching de personne source Individual coaching to clarify one's impulses, responsibilities, and choices in light of Source Principles, helping identify source fields and discern next steps.
• Éditions Aquilae (Publishing House) In-house publishing arm producing books on participative governance, collective intelligence, and organizational culture — including 'Au coeur de la Dynamique Participative' (EUR 22), 'Jouons collectif!' (EUR 15), 'Un petit livre rouge sur la source', 'IA et intelligence collective', and 'Le dit d'Ordinata'.

Quantifiable outcome

• Organizations report that exchanges become more fluid, stakeholders support decisions, creativity opens up, and mutual assistance strengthens within months of implementing Participative Dynamic practices
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Peter John KoenigcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Peter John Koenig is referenced as the second mentor of Stefan Merckelbach, who developed and deployed the Source Principles framework. This partnership influenced Ordinata's approach to coaching and organizational development through source-awareness.
• Martine MarennecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Martine Marenne is the founder of the Dynamique Participative methodology. Since 2006, Stefan Merckelbach has developed this methodology alongside her, incorporating it into Ordinata's service offerings. Marenne continues as the 'source' of the methodology, with Ordinata serving as a primary transmission channel for her work. Ordinata publishes her book 'Au coeur de la Dynamique Participative' through Éditions Aquilae.
• Pierre HemmerminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2001Pierre Hemmer was the first professional mentor of Stefan Merckelbach during his early career in a technology company at the beginnings of the Internet. Hemmer (Wikipedia-referenced figure) introduced Merckelbach to diverse organizational realities and influenced his approach to connecting technology and humanity.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bain & Company: Top-tier global management consultancy with an Organization practice that competes for the same enterprise transformation budgets; broad incumbent alternative to Ordinata's bespoke participative governance work.
• McKinsey & Company: Global management consultancy with organizational and leadership practices serving large enterprises on transformation, governance, and culture; competes for executive mindshare Ordinata targets.
• Center for Creative Leadership: Global leadership development organization offering executive coaching, training programs, and organizational leadership research; directly comparable to Ordinata's executive coaching and leadership formation offerings, but at much greater scale.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm offering leadership development, executive coaching, and talent management services; addresses the same enterprise executive development needs as Ordinata at a much larger scale.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Executive search and leadership advisory firm with significant coaching and leadership development capabilities; comparable to Ordinata's executive coaching services but at vastly greater scale and global reach.

Direct peers

• HolacracyOne: Brian Robertson's firm pioneering the Holacracy governance framework; offers practitioner training, licensing, and consulting similar in spirit to Ordinata's participative governance offerings.
• Sociocracy30: The reference consultancy for the Sociocracy 3.0 governance methodology, offering training, certification, and organizational implementation services — directly comparable to Ordinata's Dynamique Participative training and consulting practice.
• The Ready: Aaron Dignan's organizational design firm specializing in self-management and Teal/next-stage organization transformation; comparable to Ordinata in helping companies evolve beyond hierarchical management.

Emerging players

• Reinventing Organizations (Frédéric Laloux): Author and consultancy built around Frédéric Laloux's 'Reinventing Organizations' framework on self-management and evolutionary purpose; competes in the same conceptual space as Ordinata's participative governance methodology.

Others

• Berrett-Koehler Publishers: Publisher of books on business agility, self-management, and organizational transformation (including Laloux's 'Reinventing Organizations'); comparable to Éditions Aquilae as an ecosystem participant in the participative-governance content space.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ordinata

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Ordinata