Institut für Sozialforschung und Sozialwirtschaft e.V.

What Institut für Sozialforschung und Sozialwirtschaft e.V. does

The Institut für Sozialforschung und Sozialwirtschaft e.V. (iso) is a registered non-profit research institute (eingetragener Verein) based in Saarbrücken, Germany, founded in 1969. It conducts applied social research and consulting across four thematic areas: healthy work environments, innovative technology-based services, care innovations in health and nursing, and sustainable employment policy with workforce/skilled-labor security. The institute employs approximately 8 people comprising sociologists, nursing scientists, gerontologists, cultural scientists, and political scientists, and operates primarily through competitively acquired research and evaluation mandates.

The institute's core "technology" consists of empirical social science methodology, evaluation studies, policy analysis, and intervention research applied to labor, healthcare, and social welfare domains. Its deliverables include the iso-Reports publication series, evaluations (e.g., the Saarland Collective Bargaining Compliance Act evaluation), practice guidelines (e.g., dementia-sensitive hospital guidelines commissioned by Robert Bosch Stiftung), and operational models such as the KOMATRA competence center. Distribution occurs via direct project contracting with government ministries, EU programs, statutory health insurance funds, and foundations, supported by an academic publication and conference network.

The business model is project-based grant funding from federal and state government ministries (BMBF, BMG, BMWi, BMAS), the GKV-Spitzenverband, EU programs, and foundations such as Hans-Böckler-Stiftung and Robert Bosch Stiftung. Project sizes vary widely, from €800K (MentoS) to €10M (KOMATRA consortium), with the institute typically serving as lead or co-lead partner in multi-stakeholder research consortia. The organization has no shareholders, is governed by its members, and operates under the direction of Prof. Dr. Volker Hielscher (Managing and Scientific Director since 2020) and Dr. Sabine Kirchen-Peters (Deputy Managing Director).

Name

Institut für Sozialforschung und Sozialwirtschaft e.V.

Legal name

Institut für Sozialforschung und Sozialwirtschaft e.V.

Website

https://iso-institut.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Institut für Sozialforschung und Sozialwirtschaft e.V. (iso) is a German non-profit research institute founded in 1969 in Saarbrücken that conducts applied social research and evaluations for federal and state government ministries, health insurance funds, and foundations across labor, healthcare, and social policy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Research and Policy Consulting

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Policy, Regulatory & Public Affairs Research (BPAHALAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations (HLAJAKAN), Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)

Keywords

• Applied social research
• Policy evaluation services
• Healthcare research consulting
• Labor market research
• Program evaluation

Headquarters

HQ city

Saarbrücken

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Government-Funded Research Projects: The institute operates primarily through competitively acquired research projects funded by federal and state government ministries, European Union programs, public foundations, and statutory health insurance funds. Projects range from evaluations of legislation to development of healthcare and labor market interventions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The institute conducts applied social research and provides evaluation, policy analysis and organizational consulting for public and private clients in Germany, focused on healthy working environments, innovative technology-based services, care innovations in health/nursing and sustainable employment policy. Deliverables include commissioned research studies, legislative and program evaluations, practice guidelines, intervention research and the iso-Reports publication series, funded primarily through government grants and contracts with ministries, the EU and statutory health insurance funds.

Product overview

The Institut für Sozialforschung und Sozialwirtschaft e.V. (iso) is a research institute offering applied social research and consultancy services rather than a commercial product company. Its core offerings include a publication series (iso-Reports), applied research projects in four thematic areas (healthy work environments, innovative technology-based services, care innovations in health and nursing, and sustainable employment policy), professional consultancy services, and knowledge transfer events. The iso-Institute operates as a research organization conducting funded studies and evaluations for government ministries, EU programs, and statutory health insurance funds, with findings disseminated through publications and professional events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Forschungsprojekte (Applied Research Projects)
• Beratungsleistungen (Consultancy Services)

Quantifiable outcome

• Evaluation of Saarländisches Tariftreuegesetz showing regulation functions without negative effects on procurement.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 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

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 14 Industry and Research Partners (KOMATRA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2023Competence Center for Labor Research (KOMATRA) founded together with 14 industry and research partners. Funded with 10 million euros by BMBF to shape transformation in automotive and medical technology sectors in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate.
• EurokeycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner for Skills4Dem developing an innovative multilingual learning and support system for hospital staff dealing with challenging behavior in dementia patients.
• Arbeitskammer des SaarlandescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Labor Chamber of Saarland on MentoS project developing collegial mentoring approach for continuing education in SMEs.
• Medical and IT Technology PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners from medicine and IT technology collaborating on GenDurance project studying gender-sensitive therapy approaches for hypertension and diabetes.
• GKV-SpitzenverbandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on evaluation of Kompetenzzentrum Digitalisierung und Pflege (Competence Center for Digitalization and Care) at the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds.
• saarland.innovation&standort (saaris)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint implementation of Demografie Netzwerk Saar supporting SMEs with skilled labor securing and demographic change management. Cooperation extended until end of 2028.
• Alltagshilfe4youminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCare service provider accompanying first patient in SEBDem project for cross-sectoral dementia care during hospital stays.
• Regionalverband SaarbrückenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in NetWORK.RVS project developing regional strategies for skilled labor securing in cooperation with regional companies and stakeholders.
• Universitätsklinikum DüsseldorfminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership on European-wide ESENER study examining how occupational safety and health management deals with psychosocial workloads and digitalization challenges.
• VHS des Regionalverbandes SaarbrückenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint public lecture series (Ringvorlesung) presenting institute's research work to broader public audience over six sessions in autumn 2019.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB): Berlin-based social science research institute conducting applied empirical research on labor markets, healthcare, and social policy. Directly comparable to iso as a publicly funded applied social research organization, though much larger in scale.
• infas Institut für angewandte Sozialwissenschaft: Bonn-based applied social research institute conducting surveys, evaluations, and policy research for federal ministries and EU institutions. Closely comparable to iso in business model, customer base (government ministries), and applied social research methodology.
• IGES Institut: Berlin-based research and consulting institute specializing in healthcare research, health economics, and care innovation. Direct overlap with iso's Versorgungsinnovationen thematic area and similar GKV/ministry client base.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin): One of Germany's leading economic research institutes, part of the Leibniz Association. Conducts applied economic and social policy research with similar ministry clients (BMBF, BMAS, BMG) but at much greater scale across broader research domains.
• ifo Institut – Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung an der Universität München e.V. Munich-based economic research institute providing policy advice on labor markets, social policy, and healthcare. Compares as a broad incumbent in applied economic/social research for German ministries with significantly larger scale and brand recognition.
• Frauhofer IAO / Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering: Stuttgart-based Fraunhofer institute conducting applied research on work organization, demographic change, and care innovation — direct thematic overlap with iso's Gesunde Arbeitswelten and Versorgungsinnovationen areas, with a much larger research staff and federal/state funding footprint.
• Prognos AG: Basel/Berlin-based research and consulting firm providing studies, evaluations, and policy advice for German federal and state ministries, EU institutions, and foundations. Comparable client base and applied research/consulting model, with broader commercial consulting reach.
• Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI): Essen-based Leibniz economic research institute conducting applied research on labor markets, healthcare, and education policy. Comparable in applied research methodology and government client base, though with a stronger quantitative economic focus.

Others

• Hans-Böckler-Stiftung: Hans-Böckler-Stiftung is a co-funding partner on many of the same labor and employment policy research topics iso addresses, and is cited as a stakeholder in the institute's customer ecosystem. Functions as an adjacent funding/knowledge partner rather than direct competitor.
• ISO - International Organization for Standardization (NOT a peer): Note: the common abbreviation 'iso' causes confusion; ISO is a standards body, not a peer. Not included as a true peer due to lack of comparable activities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/isoInstitut
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institut-f%C3%BCr-sozialforschung-und-sozialwirtschaft-e-v

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institut für Sozialforschung und Sozialwirtschaft e.V.