Macro International Awarded ABLEDATA Contract

Published Oct 14th, 2008 by Business Wire

CALVERTON, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)----Macro today announced that it was awarded the ABLEDATA contract by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. The $3.9 million, 5-year contract enables Macro to continue operation of the premier information resource on assistive devices for people with disabilities.

Macro has operated ABLEDATA since 1992, taking it from a relatively small database of assistive technology with a limited customer base to an internationally renowned source of comprehensive, objective information about assistive products and other disability-related issues that serves more than 5 million people annually. On its award-winning website, abledata.com, and by phone, e-mail, and fax, the ABLEDATA staff provides a wide variety of information, products, and services at no cost directly to the consumers of assistive technology--people with disabilities--and the other populations that are directly connected to them, including family members and caregivers; therapists and others in the rehabilitation field; assistive technology businesses and researchers; disability organizations, service providers, and advocates; policymakers at all levels of government; healthcare professionals; and third-party payers.

"Under Macro's stewardship, ABLEDATA has grown to be a one-stop resource for information on assistive products and disability issues, providing people in need with information they can use to improve their quality of life," said Katherine Belknap, ABLEDATA's project director since 2000.

Macro delivers research-based solutions to complex problems, combining a high level of expertise and state-of-the-art tools and techniques to provide answers that are on time and on target. We work with clients to develop the right questions and the right tools for the job, whether they are surveys, focus groups, onsite investigations, or tightly controlled comparative studies. The collective knowledge and expertise of our staff span virtually every area of public policy and social concern.