FOGS

What FOGS does

FOGS GmbH – Gesellschaft für Forschung und Beratung im Gesundheits- und Sozialbereich mbH is a Cologne-based, privately-held research and consulting institute founded in 1988 by Prof. Dr. Rudolf Schmid and specializing exclusively in the German health and social sector. Since 2022 it has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Evangelisches Johanneswerk gGmbH, a Bielefeld-based church-affiliated non-profit. The firm delivers four core service lines – applied research and evaluation, consulting, expert opinions, and social planning – across nine thematic work fields spanning labor and education, disability inclusion, youth and family, health and rehabilitation, psychiatry and psychotherapy, aging, migration, addiction, and welfare policy.

FOGS serves a public-sector and non-profit client base that includes German federal and state ministries (BMAS, Saarland MASFG, Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Soziales), municipalities (Stadt Köln, Stadt Leipzig), statutory benefit providers (Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund, LWL-Inklusionsamt), and welfare associations (BAGSO, Evangelisches Johanneswerk). Engagements are won through competitive public procurement or direct commissioning and are typically multi-month to multi-year projects with defined deliverables, often tied to statutory mandates such as state psychiatric plans (§9 PsychKHG), state disability plans, or BMAS rehapro program funding. Notable engagements include the KiT coordination project across nine German pension insurance providers, the power project on female labor participation of women with disabilities, and ongoing evaluations in addiction services, child and adolescent psychotherapy training, and inclusive labor markets.

The firm operates with approximately 14 named team members and a 14-person core staff led since October 2024 by Prof. Dr. Nicole Stollenwerk as Managing Director, with Miriam Martin joining institute leadership. Service delivery is built on empirical social research methodologies – quantitative surveys, qualitative expert interviews, focus groups, document analysis, secondary data analysis, participatory methods, and mixed-methods designs – executed by academic researchers, often in co-development partnerships with universities such as Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg and peer institutes. FOGS has no proprietary technology platform or software product; the underlying asset is domain expertise, methodological rigor, and multi-decade client relationships in the German public sector.

Name

FOGS

Legal name

FOGS – Gesellschaft für Forschung und Beratung im Gesundheits- und Sozialbereich mbH

Website

https://fogs-gmbh.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

FOGS GmbH is a Cologne-based research and consulting institute, founded 1988 and owned by Evangelisches Johanneswerk, that delivers applied research, evaluation, consulting, and social planning services to German federal and state ministries, municipalities, pension and rehabilitation providers, and welfare associations across health and social policy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research and Evaluation Contracts: FOGS generates revenue through commissioned research and evaluation projects funded by government ministries, municipalities, rehabilitation providers, associations, and public institutions. Projects are awarded through procurement processes and typically have defined timelines and deliverables. Revenue is project-based and recurring as public-sector clients regularly commission new studies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

FOGS (Gesellschaft für Forschung und Beratung im Gesundheits- und Sozialbereich mbH) is a German research and consulting institute that delivers applied research, program evaluation, consulting, expert opinions, and social planning to public-sector clients in the health and social sectors. It conducts empirical studies using quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, focus groups, document analysis, and mixed-methods designs across nine thematic fields including rehabilitation, disability inclusion, psychiatry, migration, addiction, youth and family, aging, and social welfare.

Product overview

FOGS GmbH – Gesellschaft für Forschung und Beratung im Gesundheits- und Sozialbereich (Society for Research and Consulting in Health and Social Affairs) is a research and consulting institute offering applied research/evaluation, consulting, expert opinions, and social planning services in the health and social sector. The company serves federal and state ministries, municipalities, associations, and companies across nine thematic work fields: Work and Education, Inclusion and Participation of People with Disabilities, Youth and Family, Health and Rehabilitation, Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Participation and Care of Elderly People, Migration and Integration, Addiction and Addiction Prevention, and Social State and Welfare. FOGS operates as a project-based service organization rather than a software product company, delivering specialized research projects including KiT (case management coordination), KiZ (children's rehabilitation navigation), power (women with disabilities in the workplace), KLASSE KITA evaluation, and various state planning projects. The company was founded in 1988 and is currently led by Prof. Dr. Nicole Stollenwerk as Managing Director since October 2024. The sole shareholder is Ev. Johanneswerk gGmbH in Bielefeld.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Forschung/Evaluation (Research and Evaluation) Applied research and program evaluation services for federal and state ministries, municipalities, associations, and organizations in the health and social sectors, using quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, focus groups, document analysis, and mixed-methods designs.
• Beratung (Consulting) Advisory services for ministries, municipalities, associations, and companies on health and social policy matters, social planning, and program design.
• Gutachten/Expertisen (Expert Opinions) Preparation of expert reports and expert opinions on health and social policy issues for public-sector clients.
• Planung (Social Planning) Social planning services including needs assessments and structural planning for health and social services for municipalities and public institutions.
• Qualitätsmanagement (Quality Management) Quality management services integrated within consulting and evaluation offerings for health and social service providers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported BAGSO in publishing the final report on 'Älterwerden in Deutschland – ein aktuelles Stimmungsbild als Beitrag zur internationalen Altenpolitik' (February 2026)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 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.

• Ministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit, Frauen und Familie (Saarland)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2026FOGS is commissioned to create the 7th State Disability Plan (Landesbehindertenplan) for Saarland (February–December 2026), involving secondary data analysis and focus groups with stakeholders.
• Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit und Gesellschaftlichen ZusammenhaltcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2026FOGS evaluates the child and adolescent psychotherapy training program at SIMKI (March–July 2026) to fulfill statutory reporting requirements under § 27 Abs. 2a PsychThG.
• Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg (H-BRS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025FOGS and H-BRS jointly conduct the I-AM project analyzing employer support structures for hiring people with disabilities across all German states, funded through the BMAS compensation fund (2025–2028).
• Evangelisches Johanneswerk gGmbHminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2025FOGS conducted a participatory stock-taking of participation support (Teilhabebegleitung) in special housing forms of the Evangelisches Johanneswerk (January–May 2025), analyzing documents and conducting interviews with staff.
• Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL), LWL-InklusionsamtcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2025FOGS conducts the 'power' research project (June 2025 – September 2027) investigating factors influencing labor market participation of women with disabilities, commissioned by LWL-Inklusionsamt and funded by LWL Sozialstiftung.
• Ministerium für Arbeit, Soziales, Frauen und Gesundheit (MASFG) des SaarlandescoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2025FOGS is developing the State Psychiatry Plan (Landespsychiatrieplan) for Saarland (April 2025 – March 2026) pursuant to § 9 PsychKHG, including supply analysis, expert interviews, and written surveys.
• KIKS UP e.V.coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2025FOGS evaluates the KLASSE KITA prevention program for day-care centers (July 2025 – February 2026), assessing educator training and the implementation of a prevention game covering psychosocial health, physical activity, and nutrition education.
• BAGSO – Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der SeniorenorganisationencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024FOGS supports BAGSO in a participation procedure on 'Älterwerden in Deutschland' (October 2024 – May 2025), helping identify future topics around aging through surveys and a World Café at the 14th German Senior Day 2025.
• Delphi GesellschaftminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024FOGS and Delphi Gesellschaft jointly evaluate the implementation of the Psychiatrieentwicklungsprogramm (PEP) Berlin (since July 2024), assessing psychiatric care reform initiated in 1997.
• Stadt Leipzig, GesundheitsamtcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2023FOGS conducted a feasibility study on mobile drug consumption rooms in Leipzig on commission of the city's health department (September 2023 – February 2024), including surveys of 101 drug users and stakeholder consultations.
• Deutsche Rentenversicherung BundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020FOGS serves as project coordinator and scientific evaluator for the KiT (Koordination individueller Teilhabe) project, a rehapro-funded initiative involving nine German pension insurance providers. The project develops and tests person-centered case management across organizational boundaries for people with complex health-related support needs.
• ISR – Institut für Stadt- und Regionalentwicklung, Frankfurt University of Applied SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020FOGS and ISR jointly provided scientific monitoring of Kommunales Integrationsmanagement NRW (KIM) and Teilhabemanagement NRW projects (2020–2023), working with municipalities and the state government of NRW.
• Stadt KölncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2019FOGS provided scientific monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of Cologne's drug aid concept (Drogenhilfekonzept) from 2019 to 2022, involving multiple stakeholder groups, participatory mapping workshops, and data analysis.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Prognos AG: Basel/Berlin-based research institute providing applied research, evaluation, and consulting on social, education, health, and labor-market topics to public-sector clients. Comparable to FOGS in delivering commissioned evaluations and policy studies for German ministries.
• IGES Institut: Berlin-based research and consulting firm specializing in health and social policy research, evaluation, and expert opinions for German and European public-sector clients. Directly comparable to FOGS in health/social research focus and ministry-level client relationships.
• iso - Institut für Sozialforschung und Sozialwirtschaft: Saarbrücken-based research and consulting institute working on social welfare, labor market, and health policy evaluations for German federal and state ministries. Highly comparable to FOGS in mission, client base, and project-based revenue model.
• Sinus Markt- und Sozialforschung GmbH: Heidelberg-based social research institute providing applied social and market research for public institutions, ministries, and associations. Comparable to FOGS in delivering commissioned social research and evaluations for German public-sector clients.
• SOKO Institut GmbH: Bielefeld-based social science research and consulting firm working on inclusion, participation, and social policy for German public-sector clients. Comparable to FOGS in size, methodological mix, and ministry-level project portfolio.
• empirica Gesellschaft für Kommunikations- und Technologieforschung mbH: Bonn-based research institute delivering applied research and evaluations in social, health, and labor-market policy for German public-sector clients. Comparable to FOGS in consulting/research service mix and ministry-driven demand.

Emerging players

• Zentrum für Planung und Evaluation Sozialer Dienste (ZPE): University of Siegen-affiliated center delivering social planning and evaluation services to municipalities and welfare organizations. Comparable niche focus to FOGS in social planning and program evaluation, though smaller and academic-affiliated.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsches Jugendinstitut (DJI): Federal German research institute for child, youth, and family policy. Adjacent to FOGS's youth/family and social-state work fields and competes for similar ministry-commissioned studies, though with much larger headcount and statutory mandate.
• Kantar Public Germany: Public-sector research and consulting arm of Kantar serving German ministries and EU institutions on social and policy research. Comparable to FOGS in public-sector evaluation work, but at significantly larger scale and broader scope.
• Ramboll Management Consulting (Germany): Global consultancy with a German practice delivering social policy, health, and inclusion advisory to federal and state governments. Overlaps with FOGS in disability, rehabilitation, and inclusion mandates, but offers a much broader service portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fogs-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about FOGS