What Dansk Socialrådgiverforening does

Dansk Socialrådgiverforening (DS), also known as the Danish Association of Social Workers, is a Copenhagen-based professional association and trade union founded in 1938. It represents approximately 18,000 professional social workers and social work students in Denmark, equivalent to roughly 90% of the country's credentialed social work profession. DS operates with full collective bargaining powers at both national and local levels, providing members with wage and working-condition representation, professional development, ethical guidance, and social-policy advocacy. The organization is a member of FH (Fagbevægelsens Hovedorganisation), the Danish white-collar TUC confederation, and participates in international bodies including the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), where it runs the secretariat for the Liaison Committee for Social Workers in the European Union.

DS's product and service portfolio centers on three publications — Socialrådgiveren (a biweekly professional magazine published since 1941), Uden for Nummer (a biannual academic journal launched in 2000 and co-produced with six Danish social work education institutions), and Offentlig Ledelse (a public-sector leadership magazine jointly published with HK/Kommunal). Digital services include the MitDS member portal, the TR-univers resource hub for elected employee representatives, a suite of online calculators (Lønberegner salary, Barselsberegner parental leave, Ferieberegner vacation), and the zExpense mobile app for travel expense reporting. The technical platform is a conventional website-and-portal stack; no proprietary AI or machine-learning capabilities are evidenced. Distribution is direct to members via the website, regional DS offices across Denmark, and self-service portals, with no intermediary channels.

Revenue is generated primarily through recurring membership dues (~18,000 individual subscriptions) plus ancillary fees tied to the A-kasse (unemployment insurance) and supplementary services. Financial figures are not publicly disclosed. The customer base is fully diversified at the individual level, with no enterprise customer concentration, and churn risk is structurally low due to the near-monopoly position within the profession and the statutory role in collective bargaining.

Name

Dansk Socialrådgiverforening

Legal name

Dansk Socialrådgiverforening

Website

https://socialraadgiverne.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1938

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Dansk Socialrådgiverforening is a Copenhagen-based professional association and trade union founded in 1938, representing approximately 18,000 professional social workers (~90% of Denmark's credentialed social work profession) through collective bargaining, professional publications, member portals, and digital career tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: The association generates revenue through membership fees from approximately 18,000 professional social workers and students. Members receive benefits including collective bargaining representation, professional development, publications, and access to member services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Dansk Socialrådgiverforening is a nonprofit professional association and trade union that represents approximately 18,000 professional social workers in Denmark, providing collective bargaining representation at national and local levels. The association delivers membership services including professional development, ethical guidance, career counseling, and three regular publications — the biweekly magazine Socialrådgiveren, the biannual academic journal Uden for Nummer, and the joint leadership magazine Offentlig Ledelse. Members access services through the socialraadgiverne.dk website, the MitDS member portal, and online calculators covering salary, maternity leave, and vacation planning.

Product overview

Dansk Socialrådgiverforening operates a professional association and trade union platform primarily consisting of publications, member services, and online tools. The core offering includes three major publications: Socialrådgiveren (biweekly professional magazine), Uden for Nummer (biannual academic journal), and Offentlig Ledelse (quarterly leadership magazine). Supporting member services include the MitDS member portal, the TR-univers resource hub for employee representatives, and online calculators (Lønberegner, Barselsberegner, Ferieberegner) for salary and benefits planning. The organization also supports zExpense for travel expense management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Socialrådgiveren: The bimonthly professional magazine of Dansk Socialrådgiverforening, published since 1941.
• Uden for Nummer
• Offentlig Ledelse

Products and services

• Socialrådgiveren (Magazine) The official professional magazine of Dansk Socialrådgiverforening, published every two weeks. Contains news, debate, and professional articles for social workers in Denmark, serving as the association's flagship member publication.
• Uden for Nummer (Journal) A journal for practice, development, and research in social work, published twice yearly in collaboration with Danish social work education institutions. Features peer-reviewed articles and thematic issues for practicing social workers, educators, and researchers.
• Offentlig Ledelse (Magazine) A magazine focused on public sector leadership issues, published jointly by Ledersektionen in Dansk Socialrådgiverforening and Chefgruppen, HK/Kommunal, targeting manager members of the association.
• Lønberegner (Salary Calculator) Online calculator allowing members to compare their salary against other social workers in their field, covering municipal and regional sectors. Provides individual members with sector-specific compensation benchmarking.
• Barselsberegner (Maternity Leave Calculator) Calculator helping members plan maternity leave, covering entitlements to salary, maternity benefits, leave periods, and important dates. Available to all members to support family-related leave planning.
• Ferieberegner (Vacation Calculator) Calculator allowing members to plan vacation by showing how vacation days are earned and spent based on entered dates. Supports members in managing their leave entitlements.
• MitDS (Member Portal) Online member portal providing authenticated access to individual member services, resources, and account management for the ~18,000 members of Dansk Socialrådgiverforening.
• TR-univers (Employee Representative Portal) Online resource portal providing guides and hands-on practical tools for employee representatives (tillidsrepræsentanter) to manage their TR responsibilities. Supports workplace representation activities for elected member representatives.

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, regional and minor.

• EASSW (European Association of Schools of Social Work)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003In 2003, The Danish Coordination Body hosted IFSW European Conference together with EASSW, The Schools of Social Work in Europe.
• International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1938DS has been a member of IFSW for many years. The association participates in the European Region and runs a secretariat for the Liaison Committee for Social Workers in the European Union. Together with The National Federation of Social Educators and The Social Intermediary, DS constitutes The Danish Coordination Body for membership of IFSW.
• FH (Fagbevægelsens Hovedorganisation - Danish White Collar TUC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1938The Danish Association of Social Workers is a member of the Danish 'white collar' TUC: FH, which provides collective bargaining framework and labor market representation.
• Coordinating Committee for Nordic Associations of Social WorkersregionalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1938DS is a dedicated member of the Coordinating Committee for Nordic Associations of Social Workers. The association has hosted events including the global conference on HIV/AIDS & Social Work in Copenhagen, August 1995.
• Socialrådgiveruddannelserne (Danish Social Work Education Institutions)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUden for nummer is published by Dansk Socialrådgiverforening in collaboration with social work education programs at University College Syddanmark, Aalborg Universitet, VIA University College, Professionshøjskolen Absalon, Københavns Professionshøjskole, and UCL Erhvervsakademi og Professionshøjskole.
• HK/Kommunal (for Offentlig Ledelse magazine)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe magazine 'Offentlig Ledelse' is published jointly by Ledersektionen in Dansk Socialrådgiverforening and Chefgruppen, HK/Kommunal.
• Private employers and organizations (collective agreements)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDS has negotiated collective agreements with private sector employers including Danish Erhverv, vikarbureauer, Danish Refugee Aid, Cancer Society, AIDS-Fondet, Mødrehjælpen, Børns Vilkår, and various 3F local branches.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Dansk Psykolog Forening: Danish professional association and union for psychologists — operates the same membership-dues revenue model, collective bargaining rights, and Danish welfare-sector footprint as DS, with similar publications and advisory services.
• FO (Fellesorganisasjonen): Norwegian trade union for social workers, social educators, and health personnel — operates an almost identical member services and collective bargaining model in a Nordic welfare system, making it one of DS's most structurally comparable counterparts.
• Sveriges Socialarbetareförbund (Swedish Association of Social Workers): The Swedish trade and professional association for social workers, sharing Nordic welfare model context, collective bargaining mandate, and publication/journal member engagement with DS.
• Dansk Sygeplejeråd (Danish Nurses Organisation): Denmark's national trade union and professional association for nurses, with a comparable membership-based dues model, collective bargaining mandate, and member services portfolio (publications, portal, advisory). Closely analogous to DS in scale, governance, and Danish welfare-sector positioning.
• Talentia ry: Finnish trade union for social work and higher-education professionals, offering the closest cross-Nordic mirror to DS in terms of dues-funded representation, professional development, and member journals.

Broad incumbents

• Akademikerne: Danish confederation of academic and professional unions, with a member-services and collective bargaining profile similar to DS but spanning 25+ profession-specific unions rather than focusing on social work alone.
• HK/Danmark: One of Denmark's largest private-sector unions, covering commercial and technical employees including some social work-adjacent roles. Comparable in operating model (dues-funded, collective bargaining, member portal) but with a far broader scope than DS.

Others

• International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW): The global professional body of which DS is a national member, coordinating policy, ethics, and training standards across social worker associations worldwide — comparable to DS in mission and content orientation, though without a national bargaining mandate.

Regional players

• British Association of Social Workers (BASW): UK professional association for social workers offering the same member-representation, publications, and CPD services as DS, but operating under a different regulatory and bargaining environment outside Denmark.
• National Association of Social Workers (NASW): The largest US professional association for social workers, with a comparable membership dues model, journals, advocacy mandate, and member service tools — though operating at significantly larger scale and in a different labor-market context than DS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/dansksocialraadgiverforening
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dansksocialr%C3%A5dgiverforening

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Dansk Socialrådgiverforening