Qualicatedu

Name

Qualicatedu

Legal name

Associació Catalana per a l'Excel·lència

Website

https://qualicatedu.cat

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

QualicatEdu (Associació Catalana per a l'Excel·lència) is a Barcelona-based non-profit association that helps Catalan educational centers pursue educational excellence through the e2cat model — a participatory framework adapted from EFQM — offering self-assessment tools, external evaluation, certification (+300 to +500), training, webinars, benchmarking, and the annual Premi Xavier Batlle awards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Quality Management Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations (EDADACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

National/Institutional Accreditors (Career, Faith-Based, Distance, etc.) (EDADACAB), Learning Outcomes & Competency Framework Authorities (EDADAEAC)

Keywords

• Educational excellence model
• School quality assessment
• Continuous improvement methodology
• Educational certification services
• School benchmarking tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Barcelona

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees (Fes-te soci): QualicatEdu operates as an association (Associació Catalana per a l'Excel·lència) and collects membership fees from member schools and individuals.
2. Training courses and workshops: Organizes periodic workshops for developing e2cat excellence reports and training courses for e2cat evaluators, conducted jointly with the Departament d'Educació i FP.
3. Assessment and certification services: Provides assessment, consulting, and accompaniment services for schools pursuing e2cat recognition and excellence certification levels (+300 to +500).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

QualicatEdu offers the e2cat educational excellence model — a participatory, universal framework adapted from the EFQM model specifically for Catalan schools. The organization provides advisory and assessment services, external evaluation, certification recognition at five levels (+300 to +500), evaluator training courses, webinars, the Premi Xavier Batlle awards program, benchmarking tools, and the APLEC self-assessment application for member educational centers.

Product overview

QualicatEdu (Associació Catalana per a l'Excel·lència) is an educational excellence association that offers a suite of services centered around the e2cat Model, an educational excellence framework adapted from the EFQM model for Catalan schools. The core offering is the e2cat Model and its associated self-assessment tools (checklists, templates, APLEC application), which enable schools to evaluate and improve their quality management practices. QualicatEdu provides advisory services, conducts formal evaluations, and issues recognition certifications at five levels (+300 through +500+). Complementing the model are training courses for e2cat evaluators, annual webinar programs on educational topics (AI, sustainability, restorative approaches), the Premi Xavier Batlle awards for best educational practices, annual Excellence Days conferences, and benchmarking tools for participating centers to compare their performance indicators. The organization also developed the REDAR continuous improvement wheel as a foundational tool within the e2cat framework.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• e2cat: An educational excellence model developed by QualicatEdu, based on the EFQM model, adapted specifically for educational institutions in Catalonia.
• Premi Xavier Batlle
• Premi QualicatEdu

Products and services

• e2cat Excellence Model An educational excellence framework adapted from the EFQM model, designed specifically for Catalan educational centers. It provides a structured approach to continuous improvement through self-assessment, memory documentation, and external evaluation, with scoring levels from 300 to 500+ points across axes including leadership, strategy, people management, partnerships, processes, and results.
• Advisory and Assessment Services QualicatEdu provides consulting and accompaniment services for educational centers undertaking self-assessment, memory elaboration, and formal e2cat evaluation. Services include assigning accredited consultants and conducting on-site evaluations at schools.
• Centre d'Excel·lència Recognition and Certification Formal recognition program granting excellence certifications at five progressive levels (+300 through +500) to educational centers that pass e2cat evaluation. Includes public award ceremonies, diplomas, and accreditation seals valid for up to 4 years.
• e2cat Evaluator Training Courses Periodic training courses organized by QualicatEdu and the Catalan Department of Education for e2cat evaluators and center coordinators, conducted in semi-presential format with four in-person sessions at ESCI-UPF Barcelona.
• Webinar Program A recurring series of online seminar sessions covering educational topics including AI in education, sustainability, restorative approaches, conflict resolution, interdisciplinary knowledge, student values, and communication. Sessions are conducted via Zoom and recordings are published on YouTube.
• Premi Xavier Batlle Award Program Annual award recognizing best educational practices and innovation among e2cat member schools, named after one of the association's founders. The award includes a €2,000 prize for the winning center, public presentation of finalist projects, and a popular vote component.
• Benchmarking Tools Comparison tools enabling participating centers to anonymously compare their performance indicators with similar schools, helping identify best practices. Includes benchmarking reports, deviation analysis, cause-effect analysis, and comparisons.
• Jornades d'Excel·lència a l'Educació (Excellence in Education Days) Annual public conferences bringing together e2cat-recognized centers to celebrate excellence achievements, present the Premi Xavier Batlle awards, and share best practices, featuring keynote speakers on educational topics.

Quantifiable outcome

• Schools recognized at +500 level have demonstrated excellence across all model axes including leadership, strategy, people management, partnerships, processes, and results.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Departament d'Educació i FP (Catalan Department of Education)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Departament d'Educació i FP collaborates with QualicatEdu in developing and promoting the e2cat model. They jointly organize evaluator training courses (Curs d'avaluadors e2cat) and courses on the e2cat model for educational centers. This institutional partnership provides the e2cat model with official recognition within the Catalan public education system.
• ESCI-UPF (Escola Superior de Comerç Internacional, Universitat Pompeu Fabra)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerESCI-UPF serves as the venue for the semi-presential Curs d'avaluadors e2cat (e2cat evaluator training course). The course consists of 4 in-person sessions at ESCI-UPF, Passeig Pujades 1, Barcelona.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management): The European quality management foundation whose EFQM model is the parent framework adapted for e2cat. It offers the broader 'Recognised by EFQM' program across industries and geographies, representing a larger incumbent version of QualicatEdu's specialized educational offering.
• ISO (International Organization for Standardization): Global standards organization whose ISO 9001 quality management standard is one of the most widely used frameworks in schools worldwide. ISO represents a broader incumbent alternative that competes with e2cat for school quality certification wallets.

Direct peers

• EFMD (European Foundation for Management Development): European association providing quality accreditation and assessment for management education, including the EQUIS and EPAS programs for business schools. It is a direct peer in educational quality accreditation, with a comparable framework-based certification model.
• EQAVET (European Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training): European framework for quality assurance in vocational education and training, directly comparable in mission to e2cat's school-focused quality assurance. It addresses VET providers that overlap with the secondary and vocational training centers QualicatEdu serves in Catalonia.
• Club Excelencia en Gestión: Spain's national business and organizational excellence association, which runs EFQM-based quality assessment and recognition programs. It serves as a direct peer in the Spanish market for organizational quality certification, with overlapping member audiences and methodology.
• AENOR (Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación): Spain's primary national standards and certification body, which certifies schools against ISO 9001 and other quality standards. Schools seeking a recognized quality certification can pursue ISO 9001 through AENOR as a direct alternative to the e2cat pathway.
• IB (International Baccalaureate): Global organization providing school authorization and quality assurance through its IB programmes. It operates a comparable model of certifying schools against defined quality and curriculum standards, making it a direct peer in school-level accreditation.

Emerging players

• ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education): European-level agency for quality assurance in higher education, with a comparable mission of evaluating and accrediting educational providers. It represents an emerging adjacent player whose methodology and stakeholder base partially overlap with QualicatEdu's quality assurance work.

Regional players

• AQU Catalunya (Agència per a la Qualitat del Sistema Universitari de Catalunya): Catalan agency for higher education quality assurance, operating in the same regional market as QualicatEdu with a similar quality assurance mandate. While focused on universities rather than K-12 schools, it represents the most direct regional peer in educational quality assessment.
• ANECA (Agencia Nacional de Evaluación de la Calidad y Acreditación): Spain's national agency for higher education quality assessment and accreditation. While operating at a different educational level (universities), it performs a comparable accreditation and quality assessment role at national scope and represents a regional peer in educational quality.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/_QUALIcatEdu
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@qualicatedu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Qualicatedu