Four major care federations (Zorgnet-Icuro, Vlaams Welzijnsverbond, Zorggezind and SOM) announced last autumn that they would join forces to form a single umbrella organization for the social profit sector in care and welfare. Together, they represent more than 1,880 organizations and over 275,000 employees in Flanders, with the aim of pooling expertise and speaking with one voice, while safeguarding the autonomy of the individual sectors. 1
Pressure is a signal
It is a textbook example of a question that is present throughout the non-profit and social-profit sector, albeit often on a somewhat smaller scale. When is a merger the right step? The answer that I, as an adviser, see confirmed time and again is soberingly simple: a merger is never too early or too late in itself. The problem is rarely in the timing. It lies in the quality of the assessment and preparation that precede the actual merger.
Merger processes rarely arise in a vacuum. A government that uses scaling up as a policy mantra, a subsidy provider that demands efficiency, a sector in which funding increasingly rewards cooperation. That pressure is real and is often based on reasonable arguments. The problem only arises when that pressure becomes the sole driving force, without an organization thoroughly testing it for itself. Policy pressure may be a reason to ask the question. It must never replace the answer.
Three conditions that really matter
From processes that succeeded as well as those that failed, three conditions consistently emerge. If one is missing, that is usually enough to cause a merger to fail or to perform below expectations.
The first condition is strategic alignment: a sufficiently shared mission, vision, and intended impact. The second condition is operational logic: real economies of scale whose realization is credible, shareable resources across the merged entities, and knowledge and added value in operations. The third condition, often underestimated, is governance capacity: does the organization itself have the governance and leadership capacity to carry the process? A management team that has to combine too many roles or a board that lacks the right mix of expertise and/or decisiveness are quite often the real reasons why and how an organization considers collaboration and a possible merger.
Which condition carries the most weight differs from case to case. What does consistently recur, however, is a fourth, underlying factor.
The human factor is decisive
Strategy, figures and governance strength may be highly convincing. Ultimately, it is people who make a merger succeed or fail. In my experience, cultural differences in decision-making, pace and interpersonal ways of working are the most common reason why mergers that looked perfect on paper run aground in practice before they are implemented, or later turn out not to be successful after all. Anyone who only takes this seriously after the merger is too late. The human factor deserves its place from the exploratory discussions onward.
Not every collaboration has to be a merger
Between full legal merger and doing nothing lies a spectrum: from limited, project-based agreements to intensive collaboration without a legal merger. The umbrella merger in the healthcare sector deliberately illustrates this; there you see a pooling of expertise and influence, while retaining sectoral autonomy. The rule of thumb is, the more intensive the collaboration, the greater the need for common ground. Even in lighter forms of collaboration, clear governance remains indispensable.
Objections that keep coming back
Small scale has value and should not simply be sacrificed. The importance of that spectrum of forms of cooperation deserves full attention. A well-considered process takes time, which you do not always have in an acute crisis. That argues for starting early. Organizations would do well, apart from any concrete need or requirement, to make ample time for an exercise in which they map out their needs and opportunities for cooperation, up to and including a possible merger. This gives them a considerable head start once that cooperation or merger truly becomes relevant. The fear of losing one’s own identity is not removed by ignoring it. It is advisable to explicitly address that concern about one’s own identity in the governance and culture discussion.
Start in good time, take a critical look
A merger is the right step when strategic alignment, operational logic, governance strength and cultural compatibility come together. The organisations involved must also effectively be “merger-ready”. Being merger-ready means having clear figures, sound governance and sufficient internal trust to share information. You do not build that readiness in a few weeks.
My appeal to every board considering a merger: take a critical look at the real reason, start in good time and do not hesitate to seek external advice.
Davy De Laeter
Consultant and interim manager S&L
1Zorggezind, “Four federations join forces for one strong umbrella organization in care and welfare”, press release, October 13, 2025, www.zorggezind.be/post/nieuwe-koepelorganisatie.
Get in touch with Siska Van Houtte, Christel Smedts or Davy De Laeter for a conversation.
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