Co-Savoir

What Co-Savoir does

Co-Savoir (Centre de documentation sur l'éducation des adultes et la formation continue, CDÉACF) is a non-profit francophone documentation organization founded in 1983 and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It serves practitioners, researchers, students, and community organizations working in adult education, literacy, feminist studies, and community action, providing bibliographic search, document lending, research directories, and curated thematic collections. Its public-facing product surface centers on a Koha-based online library catalog at biblio.co-savoir.ca and a Drupal content management system at cdeacf.ca, with thematic portals covering women's conditions, literacy, and adult education, and a sub-brand research platform called COMPAS.

The business model is predominantly institutional: the organization is primarily funded by the Government of Quebec through the Direction éducation des adultes et formation continue, supplemented by membership-based lending privileges that grant remote document borrowing to individual and organizational members. There is no disclosed revenue, no commercial pricing model, and no investor backing; Co-Savoir operates as a public-purpose reference and resource hub rather than a revenue-generating enterprise.

The underlying technology stack is conventional and non-proprietary: Koha (open-source integrated library system) for cataloging, circulation, and remote lending, and Drupal as the web content layer. There is no evidence of AI/ML capability, proprietary data products, or differentiated technical infrastructure — the value proposition rests on the curated depth of the French-language bibliographic collection and its recognized position within Quebec's adult-education ecosystem. In May 2025, the organization publicly disclosed that a historic funding request had been refused, with the SDI and Espace Alpha services explicitly identified as at risk, materially elevating the operating outlook.

Name

Co-Savoir

Legal name

CDÉACF

Website

https://co-savoir.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Co-Savoir (CDÉACF) is a Montreal-based francophone non-profit documentation center, founded in 1983, serving adult-education, literacy, and feminist-studies practitioners and researchers in Quebec via a Koha/Drupal library catalog and curated thematic collections.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Documentation Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (519210), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAJAMAN

Library/Media Center & Digital Resource Management Systems

Education/K–12 / Primary & Secondary Education/K–12 Educational Technology Solutions

Keywords

• Adult education documentation
• Library catalog services
• Literacy research resources
• Feminist studies documentation
• Community education archives

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Co-Savoir operates a francophone documentation center providing specialized resources, library lending services, and training in adult education, literacy, and feminist issues. Its core offering is a Koha-based online library catalog (biblio.co-savoir.ca) granting members access to a curated collection of research reports, educational publications, and thematic resource lists, complemented by a Drupal-powered institutional website delivering news, events, and research directories.

Product overview

Co-Savoir (CDÉACF) operates primarily as a documentation and information center serving the Francophone community in Quebec. Its core offering is the Koha-based online library catalog (biblio.co-savoir.ca) which provides access to a collection focused on literacy, adult education, feminist studies, and community action. The organization also maintains thematic resource lists, research directories, and serves as a reference center for these domains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• COMPAS: Research platform on literacy and adult education

Products and services

• Koha Online Catalog An open-source Koha-based online library catalog providing public access to the CDÉACF document collection on adult education, literacy, and feminist studies. Features advanced search, member user accounts, reading lists, document reservations, and PDF access. Targeted at adult education practitioners, literacy workers, community organizations, and feminist researchers in Quebec's French-language sector.
• COMPAS Research Platform A research platform (sub-brand of Co-Savoir) offering a directory of researchers, research reports, and ongoing research projects in the field of literacy and adult education. Targeted at scholars, researchers, and adult education professionals.
• RéQEF Research Directory A directory of researchers and faculty resources from the Réseau québécois en études féministes (RéQEF), providing access to feminist studies scholars and academic resources. Targeted at feminist researchers, academics, and community organizations.
• Co-Savoir Training Programs Training and educational programming services offered by Co-Savoir to adult education practitioners, community workers, and continuing education professionals in Quebec's francophone sector.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Gouvernement du Québec (Direction éducation des adultes et formation continue)coreOthersCo-Savoir is partially funded by the Government of Quebec through the Direction de l'éducation des adultes et de la formation continue. This government body provides operational funding to support the organization's mission as a documentation center for adult education.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU): Quebec coalition of community groups on housing and urban issues. Tangentially comparable as a francophone Quebec community-sector organization whose materials and constituency overlap with Co-Savoir's 'community action' catalog shelves.
• Centre de documentation sur la santé (CDS) /类似 centres de documentation communautaires au Québec: Community documentation centers in Quebec on specialized social themes. Comparable as fellow small francophone community documentation hubs with library-style operations funded in part by government grants.

Direct peers

• Institut de coopération pour l'éducation des adultes (ICÉA): Quebec institute dedicated to adult education and continuing formation. Directly comparable in mission (adult education advocacy and resources) and in being a francophone Quebec organization serving practitioners in the same sector.
• Relais-femmes: Quebec feminist resource center offering documentation, training, and support to women's groups. Directly comparable as another francophone Quebec documentation/training hub focused specifically on feminist issues — overlapping with Co-Savoir's 'Condition des femmes' vertical.
• Association québécoise d'alphabétisation (AQAQA / AQAA): Quebec association representing literacy groups and practitioners. Comparable as a francophone provincial body supporting adult literacy workers — the same primary user segment that uses Co-Savoir's documentation services.
• Regroupement des groupes populaires en alphabétisation du Québec (RGPAQ): Quebec-based francophone network focused on popular and community-based adult literacy. Highly comparable as both organizations serve the same population of adult literacy practitioners and community organizations in Quebec and frequently intersect on shared thematic content.
• Réseau québécois en études féministes (RéQEF): Quebec research network on feminist studies. Co-Savoir already hosts a research directory linked to RéQEF, evidencing close operational ties; comparable as a francophone Quebec knowledge-infrastructure player in feminist scholarship.

Regional players

• Coalition des groupes populaires en alphabétisation: Federation of Quebec popular literacy groups. Comparable in serving the adult literacy workforce, with a slightly more advocacy-oriented role relative to Co-Savoir's documentation focus.
• Literacy Quebec: Provincial literacy network in Quebec (English-language focus). Comparable in serving the same adult literacy practitioner community, but operates primarily in English rather than French, making it a regional/linguistic counterpart rather than a direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ): Quebec's national library and archives. Comparable as a government-backed francophone documentation institution, but operates at vastly broader scale across all subjects rather than specializing in adult education and feminist studies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/cdeacfofficiel
• Facebookfacebook.com/co.savoir
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/co-savoir
• Xx.com/co_savoir

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 Co-Savoir