Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln (IW-Rehadat)

Founded in 1951, the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln (Cologne Institute for Economic Research) www.iwkoeln.de, is a private non-profit organisation whose membership consists of industrial and employer’s associations. The IW has 145 employees. The Institute carries out research in all areas of educational, social, economic and media policy; it also publicises the results, particularly for specific target groups in the fields of economics, science, politics and education.

In response to a publication issued by the Institute (1988) on the problems relating to the professional rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs commissioned the Institute to create an information system on matters of rehabilitation. Since then, the Institute has gained expert knowledge in the development and maintenance of a comprehensive Information System - REHADAT - that centrally documents information on vocational rehabilitation and associated topics.REHADAT (www.rehadat.de) is the German national information system supporting the vocational integration of people with disabilities. It is funded by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

Detailed information about various aspects of vocational rehabilitation is available from eight databases designed for use by people with disabilities, elderly people and professionals. The Assistive Products database is the most comprehensive and mostly used database in the REHADAT System. Well known by end users, experts and the AT industry. Documenting more than 23,000 products, the database contains most assistive products that are available on the German market. The range of technical aids in this database covers IS0 9999 “Assistive products for persons with disability"- Classification and terminology. The products are described in detail. In additional to this market overview, information such as test reports and jurisdiction are provided. The database is bilingual and provides the information in German and English. At a technical level REHADAT provides a service oriented architecture (SOA) and offers standardised interfaces via web services.

To Rehadat website