Univation - Institut für Evaluation - Dr. Beywl & Associates GmbH

What Univation - Institut für Evaluation - Dr. Beywl & Associates GmbH does

Univation - Institut für Evaluation - Dr. Beywl & Associates GmbH is a German evaluation consultancy headquartered in Cologne (Köln), founded in 1998 as a spinoff from the University of Cologne's evaluation research unit and formally incorporated as a GmbH in 2003. The firm provides impact-oriented program and project evaluation services, evaluation consulting, and scientific accompaniment (Begleitforschung) to German federal ministries, major foundations, NGOs, and public institutions across the labor market, education, healthcare, environment, and social welfare sectors. Its signature methodology is the proprietary "Programmbaum" (Program Tree), a logical modeling instrument for impact-oriented planning, steering, and evaluation introduced in 2004 and continuously developed since.

The firm complements its consulting practice with co-maintained public knowledge assets including the Eval-Wiki glossary (425 evaluation terminology terms, jointly operated with PH FHNW) and the Selbstevaluation.de portal (jointly operated with Socialnet), as well as training products such as Luuise/LLSM based on John Hattie's Visible Learning research. The core team comprises 8 employees, supplemented by a network of freelance collaborators and academic partners, with senior leadership including founding shareholders Berthold Schobert, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Beywl, Melanie Niestroj, Dr. Susanne Giel, and Katharina Klockgether. Service delivery is shifting toward web- and video-based qualitative and quantitative survey capabilities alongside traditional in-person consulting.

The business operates on project-based professional services revenue from public-sector procurement and foundation contracts, with a sales-led go-to-market focused on direct consulting engagements across Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The firm is privately held with no external funding, no parent company, and no disclosed revenue. Notable clients include the Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (BMFSFJ), Bertelsmann Stiftung, Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung (BZgA), Aktion Mensch, Deutsche Bundesbank, Goethe-Institut, Verband der Privaten Krankenversicherung (PKV), and Deutsche Alzheimer Gesellschaft.

Name

Univation - Institut für Evaluation - Dr. Beywl & Associates GmbH

Legal name

Univation Institut für Evaluation GmbH

Website

https://univation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Univation is a Cologne-based evaluation consultancy providing impact-oriented program evaluation, evaluation consulting, and training to German government ministries, foundations, and NGOs, using its proprietary Programmbaum methodology across DACH markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Köln

HQ country

Germany

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. Evaluation Consulting Services: Professional evaluation services for government ministries, foundations, NGOs, and educational institutions. Project-based consulting engagements including program evaluations, scientific accompaniment, and formative/summative evaluations.
2. Training and Professional Development: Continuing education and professional development programs in evaluation, including workshops, seminars, and qualification programs for practitioners.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Univation is a German evaluation consultancy that conducts independent project and program evaluations, develops evaluation concepts, and delivers capacity-building trainings and certificate courses for the social sector. The firm supports public ministries, foundations, NGOs, and educational institutions with impact assessment, Wirkungsanalyse, and self-evaluation tooling, anchored by its proprietary Programmbaum methodology.

Product overview

Univation is an evaluation institute offering professional evaluation services (project/program evaluation, evaluation consulting, and scientific accompaniment) combined with proprietary methodology tools. The core offerings include the Programmbaum, a logical model instrument for impact-oriented evaluation introduced in 2004; the Eval-Wiki glossary of evaluation terminology with 425 publicly accessible terms; and the Selbstevaluation.de online knowledge platform. Training offerings include Luuise/LLSM for formative classroom evaluation based on John Hattie's Visible Learning research. The portfolio also encompasses Weiterbildung (further education and consulting) services delivered both in-person and via web- and video-based formats.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Evaluation Consulting and Program Evaluations Independent evaluation studies, project and program evaluations, and impact assessments for ministries, foundations, NGOs, and educational institutions in the German-speaking social sector.
• Evaluation Training and Professional Development Workshops, seminars, and certificate programs that build evaluation capacity for practitioners, taught in cooperation with higher-education and professional training partners.
• Programmbaum (Program Tree) Methodology Proprietary planning and evaluation framework that supports structuring intervention logic, indicators, and outcomes for social programs.

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DeGEval (Gesellschaft für Evaluation)coreOthersUnivation maintains active membership in DeGEval, the German Evaluation Society. The company's managing director Berthold Schobert previously coordinated the DeGEval office for several years. This membership represents core professional standing in the evaluation community.
• SocialnetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint operation of the Selbstevaluation.de portal, which provides a knowledge base on self-evaluation methodology and application practice for practitioners. Both Univation and Socialnet co-maintain this resource.
• Lavaetz-StiftungminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Univation on the XENOS - Integration und Vielfalt evaluation project as a co-evaluation partner.
• e-fect dialog evaluation consulting eGminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Univation for the process evaluation of Zukunftswettbewerb Mobilität #mobilwandel2035.
• Camino gGmbHminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on evaluation of Kiezorientierte Gewaltprävention Berlin and other projects.
• g2 Organisationsentwicklung GmbH HannoverminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-implementation partner in the Qualitätssiegel Lebensort Vielfalt program evaluation, with g2 responsible for migration dimension.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CEval – Centrum für Evaluation, Universität des Saarlandes: Academic evaluation center providing evaluation services, training and method development, with strong overlap to Univation in terms of methodology development (CEval has its own standardized tools) and DACH academic training pipelines.
• DEval – Deutsches Evaluierungsinstitut der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit: Germany's federal institute for development evaluation, conducting independent evaluations of German development cooperation. Highly comparable to Univation in its focus on program-level impact evaluation for public clients, though at significantly larger scale and with full public funding.
• PPMI (Public Policy and Management Institute): European research and evaluation consultancy with deep expertise in labor-market, education and social-policy evaluation. Directly comparable to Univation in methodology, client types (EU institutions, ministries, foundations) and project-based delivery model.
• IZT – Institut für Zukunftsstudien und Technologiebewertung: Berlin-based research institute conducting technology, sustainability and policy evaluations for German federal ministries and EU clients. Overlaps with Univation in evidence-based evaluation methodology and federal public-sector engagement.

Regional players

• econcept – Forschung und Beratung in Wirtschaft und Politik: Swiss research and consulting firm with strong evaluation practice in education, labor-market and innovation policy. Closely comparable to Univation in methodology, public-sector orientation and DACH academic affiliations, including cooperation with PH FHNW.
• GEFRA – Gesellschaft für Finanz- und Regionalanalysen: German consulting firm with an evaluation practice focused on public-sector labor-market and structural-policy programs. Operates in the same DACH niche as Univation and competes for similar federal and state evaluation mandates.
• BASS – Büro für arbeits- und sozialpolitische Studien: Swiss policy-evaluation consultancy covering labor market, social policy and education programs. Comparable in client base, methodology and project size to Univation, with overlap in cross-border DACH evaluation engagements.

Others

• Socialnet: Operator of knowledge platforms for the German social sector and co-operator of Selbstevaluation.de with Univation. An ecosystem partner rather than direct competitor, but adjacent in providing evaluation-related content and tools to social-sector professionals.

Broad incumbents

• ICF International: Large international advisory firm with an established evaluation and impact-measurement practice serving governments, multilaterals and foundations. Overlaps with Univation on social-policy, health and education evaluation engagements, especially for EU and federal clients.
• Ramboll Management Consulting: Global consultancy with a substantial European evaluation practice serving governments and foundations. Competes for similar program evaluation mandates as Univation but offers much broader advisory capabilities and international reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/univation-institut-fuer-evaluation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 →

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