Stiftung Zentrum Für Türkeistudien

What Stiftung Zentrum Für Türkeistudien does

Stiftung Zentrum für Türkeistudien und Integrationsforschung (ZfTI) is a non-profit research foundation headquartered at Altendorfer Str. 3a, Essen, Germany. Founded in 1985 as the Zentrum für Türkeistudien at the Wissenschaftszentrum Bonn by Faruk Şen together with the Freudenberg Stiftung and Stifterverband für die deutsche Wissenschaft, it relocated to Essen in 2008 and was reconstituted under its current legal name. ZfTI is a foundation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, an institute at the University of Duisburg-Essen, and a member of the Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft. Its mission covers German, Turkish, and European migration and integration research, scientific exchange with Turkey, and policy-relevant analysis of Turkish-German relations.

The foundation operates five program areas: Education, Health and Migration; Social Structure and Cohesion; Participation in Economy and Municipality; Migration-related Organizations; and Transnational Germany-Turkey Connections. Its core outputs include a Policy Paper series (14 papers published 2013–2026), the ZfTI-aktuell current-affairs publication series (20 publications), annual Mikrozensus statistical analyses on populations with migration background since 2005, SOEP-based living-situation studies, language support programs (griffbereitMINI, Griffbereit, Rucksack KiTa), civic participation projects (MitStimmen, Wahldemokratie vor Ort), the START AB advisory service for refugee entrepreneurs, and the PATIKA feasibility study on German-language nursing education in Turkey.

ZfTI is funded entirely through institutional grants from Land Nordrhein-Westphalia and project-based funding from state ministries (MKJFGFI NRW, MWIKE NRW, Landeszentrale für politische Bildung NRW), private foundations (Auridis Stiftung), and EU programs (AMIF). Its primary customers are state and federal government policy bodies and academic research institutions; secondary audiences include civil society organizations and the general public. Distribution occurs via the ZfTI website, LinkedIn, academic publishers (Nomos, Springer, Budrich), and events such as the Antalya Science Forum. With a core team of approximately 7 employees and no disclosed revenue, ZfTI functions as a research-to-policy institution rather than a commercial enterprise.

Name

Stiftung Zentrum Für Türkeistudien

Legal name

Stiftung Zentrum für Türkeistudien und Integrationsforschung

Website

https://zfti.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Stiftung Zentrum für Türkeistudien und Integrationsforschung (ZfTI) is a state-funded German research foundation in Essen specializing in Turkish-German migration and integration research, providing policy papers, statistical analyses, language programs, and civic engagement projects to government, academic, and civil-society audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Migration and Integration Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee, Migration & Displacement Support (BPAGABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Asylum & Refugee Status Determination (RSD) Support (BPADAHAB), Resettlement, Relocation & Repatriation Support (BPADAHAD)

Keywords

• Migration research
• Integration studies
• Policy analysis
• Turkish-German relations
• Social cohesion research

Headquarters

HQ city

Essen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Institutional Funding: As a foundation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and member of the Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft, ZfTI receives institutional funding from the Land NRW. The institutes of the JRF are institutionally funded by the state of NRW.
2. Project-based Funding: ZfTI conducts funded research projects supported by various governmental bodies including the Landeszentrale für politische Bildung NRW, Ministry for Children, Family, Integration NRW (MKJFGFI), Ministry of Economics NRW (MWIKE), and European Union funds (AMIF).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ZfTI is a non-profit research foundation that conducts applied social-science research on German, Turkish, and European migration and integration. Its deliverables include Policy Papers and ZfTI-aktuell current-affairs analyses, Mikrozensus and SOEP-based statistical services, multi-topic surveys, civic-participation projects (MitStimmen), entrepreneurship counseling for refugees (START AB), language-support programmes for families (GriffbereitMINI, Griffbereit, Rucksack KiTa), and feasibility studies on transnational skilled-worker migration (PATIKA). Outputs are provided free of charge to government bodies, academic institutions, civil society, and the public.

Product overview

ZfTI is a research foundation providing research publications, data services, and civic engagement programs focused on German-Turkish migration and integration. The organization offers Policy Papers and ZfTI-aktuell publications for policy analysis, Mikrozensus data processing services, language support programs (griffbereit, Rucksack KiTa), consulting services for refugee entrepreneurs (START AB), and civic participation projects (MitStimmen, Wahldemokratie vor Ort). ZfTI functions as a research-to-policy institution rather than a commercial product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ZfTI-aktuell (Current-Affairs Publication Series)

Quantifiable outcome

• Since 2005, ZfTI has prepared annual statistical reports on population with migration background from the German Federal Statistical Office
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IHK NRW (Chamber of Industry and Commerce NRW)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025IHK NRW partnered with ZfTI for the Gründungsreport NRW 2025, focusing on migrant entrepreneurship. ZfTI provided expertise for the survey on business foundations by people with immigration history.
• Stiftung ZollvereinminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Co-organized the symposium commemorating 65 years of the German-Turkish recruitment agreement and 60 years of the Turkish Consulate in Essen.
• Generalkonsulat der Republik Türkei in EssencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025The Turkish Consulate in Essen collaborates with ZfTI on events and research related to Turkish-German relations, migration, and integration topics.
• BICC (Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024ZfTI collaborates with BICC on the PATIKA project regarding German-language nursing education in Turkey, analyzing structural opportunities and risks in migration dynamics for skilled workers.
• Universität BambergminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Collaborates with ZfTI and Universität Duisburg-Essen on the 'MitStimmen' project for the 2027 NRW state election.
• Universität MünsterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Long-standing cooperation with the Institute for Political Science at Münster, dating back to the first survey of migration organizations in 1999.
• Landeszentrale für politische Bildung NRWcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022The Landeszentrale für politische Bildung NRW funds ZfTI projects on voter participation and democratic education, including Wahldemokratie vor Ort and MitStimmen projects aimed at increasing electoral participation among migrants.
• Farida e.V. (Farida Global Organization)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Following the conclusion of the START AB project, Farida e.V. continued the counseling services as the START AB Beratungsstelle from January 2024, while ZfTI provides academic accompaniment.
• Steinheim-InstitutminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022ZfTI is developing a funding proposal with the Steinheim-Institut within the JRF theme 'Globalization and Integration' regarding the situation of Jewish communities in Germany in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war.
• Deutsche Sporthochschule KölnminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Part of the project consortium for 'Demokratiefähigkeit bilden' (Building Democratic Capability), focusing on democratic competence education in the digitized transcultural society.
• Föderation Türkischer Elternvereine Niedersachsen (FöTEV-Nds)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partner in the 'Demokratiefähigkeit bilden' project consortium, contributing expertise on Turkish-German community perspectives.
• Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft (JRF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015ZfTI is a member of the Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft, the research association of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. The JRF coordinates 16 research institutes and provides institutional support. ZfTI participates in JRF theme days, annual celebrations, and joint publications.
• University of Duisburg-EssencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1985ZfTI is an institute at the University of Duisburg-Essen. It collaborates with the Institute for Political Science on joint research projects, including studies on political participation and migration. The institute maintains close academic ties with various departments.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB): Major German social science research center producing R&D on migration, integration and diversity among many other topics. A larger incumbent whose work overlaps substantively with ZfTI's social-cohesion program area.
• Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF) – Research Unit: German federal agency producing large-scale migration and integration research (e.g., its own Mikrozensus analyses). A much larger incumbent with overlapping outputs on German migration statistics.
• Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity: Max Planck Institute researching migration, religious diversity and ethnic relations. Broader in scope and larger in scale than ZfTI, but operates in an overlapping R&D space with similar methodologies.
• Hamburger Institut für Sozialforschung (HIS): Established German social science research institute with thematic overlap on democracy, social cohesion and migration-related analysis, though operating with a broader remit than ZfTI.

Regional players

• Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare (MIM): Swedish university-affiliated research center on migration, diversity and welfare. Operates in a comparable Nordic/European research space with overlapping social-science methodologies but serves a different national policy market.
• Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), UCL: UK-based economics-leaning migration research center. Comparable in its focus on rigorous R&D on migration outcomes, but primarily serves UK/European academic and policy commissioning rather than German state-level work.

Direct peers

• Europäisches Forum für Migrationsstudien (efms), Universität Bamberg: University-based research center at the University of Bamberg focused on European migration studies. Highly comparable as a German academic research unit producing policy-relevant migration R&D.
• Institut für interdisziplinäre Konflikt- und Gewaltforschung (IKG), Universität Bielefeld: Bielefeld-based university research institute producing social science R&D on integration, group-focused conflict and democratic attitudes — overlapping methodology and policy relevance with ZfTI.
• Deutsches Zentrum für Integrations- und Migrationsforschung (DeZIM): Berlin-based federally funded German research center on integration and migration. Directly comparable in mission, R&D output on social science migration topics, and policy-facing research.

Emerging players

• Sachverständigenrat deutscher Stiftungen für Integration und Migration (SVR): Independent expert council producing annual integration reports and policy briefs for Germany. Smaller in research depth than ZfTI but comparable as a policy-facing integration R&D actor that competes for the same funder and policy-maker attention.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stiftung-zentrum-f%C3%BCr-t%C3%BCrkeistudien

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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