Westat is an employee-owned corporation providing research services to agencies of the U.S. Government, as well as businesses, foundations, and state and local governments. In addition to their capabilities as a leading statistical survey research organization, Westat has developed skills and experience in custom research and program evaluation studies across a broad range of subject areas. Westat also has the technical expertise in survey and analytical methods, computer systems technology, biomedical science, and clinical trials to sustain a leadership position in all their research endeavors.

Westat's research, technical, and administrative staff of more than 2,000 is located at their headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, near Washington, DC. Depending on the number of active projects at any time, up to several thousand data collection and processing staff work at Westat's survey processing facilities, at their Telephone Research Center facilities, and at data collection sites throughout the nation. Westat also maintains research offices near their clients in Bethesda, Maryland; Raleigh, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; and Houston, Texas.

Demonstrating technical and managerial excellence since 1963, Westat has emerged as one of the foremost contract research organizations in the United States. 

RESEARCH AREAS

Health and Medical Studies

Westat has conducted or supported health research for numerous public and private sector clients. These projects use mail and telephone surveys, in-person interviewing, record abstracting, physical examinations, nutrition assessments, and other methods for descriptive studies. Experimental studies include trials of therapeutic agents and diagnostic tests, as well as clinical and community disease prevention studies. Their involvement ranges from short-term support to long-range planning and design for multiyear, multicenter projects.

Education

Westat contributes to the design, implementation, and analysis of research ranging from small, quick-turnaround surveys to major academic assessment studies involving thousands of students.

International Research

Westat is one of the foremost statistical, health, and social science research organizations in the world. Their mission is to design and support research that will advance the well-being of people worldwide. For more than 30 years, they have collaborated with government agencies, medical centers, universities, nongovernmental organizations, and international agencies on international studies. Their global portfolio includes projects in more than 60 countries; 40 of them are developing nations.

Employment, Training, and National Service

Westat has extensive experience evaluating major employment, training, and national service programs for adults and youth. They have also conducted studies of employment service programs, including unemployment insurance and various forms of worker assistance.

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Studies

Westat's experience in alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) research encompasses a range of topics and approaches, including need assessments, health services research, program and policy evaluations, field experiments, and surveillance systems.

Social Services

Westat addresses a range of social services issues by program evaluations and reviews, providing policymakers with up-to-date analysis and performance material on meeting the needs of special populations.

Housing

Westat offers a wide range of survey research, program evaluation, and technical assistance services to help their clients select and implement effective housing programs that make the best use of available resources. They have designed and implemented studies of public housing and rental assistance, supportive services for special-needs populations, environmental risk assessment, neighborhood and community revitalization, and home ownership programs.

Energy

Westat's capabilities in survey design, nationwide field data collection, information systems, and statistical analysis have played a vital part in major studies for organizations and agencies that administer energy programs.

Science and Technology

Westat is active in assessing and describing scientific resources and educational programs. They assist their clients in evaluating programs, monitoring their implementation, and determining the adequacy of existing scientific resources and facilities.

Transportation

Westat combines strong study design and statistical skills with national survey data collection capabilities and the experience of nationally recognized transportation and human factors researchers. They have applied these resources successfully over 5 decades to research on traffic safety, vehicle design, travel surveys, enforcement, impaired driving, transit needs analysis, and intelligent transportation systems.

Environmental Protection

Westat has applied their strong statistical, environmental, and data collection skills to design, conduct, and analyze environmental studies for more than 25 years. They have applied national field resources to the collection of environmental samples in homes, schools, and industrial facilities and coordinated analyses at specialized laboratories, following EPA's and their own quality assurance specifications.

Military Human Resources

Westat has significant experience in studies that support the military's human resource needs—particularly in the areas of personnel recruitment and retention, quality of life, and programs for military members and their families. The results of these studies are used to shape many of the human resources policies and practices of the military services.

Customer Satisfaction Surveys

Westat draws on its long experience in survey research to design, conduct, and analyze customized surveys to assess satisfaction among the users of government programs. This research helps Federal and state agencies to determine the usefulness of existing services, identify unmet service needs, and allocate resources more efficiently.

Organizational and Personnel Studies

Westat conducts qualitative and quantitative investigations and consults with Federal agencies, state and local governments, major corporations, utility companies, and labor unions. Their work has focused on organizational assessment and effectiveness, change management, job analysis, test development and validation, performance appraisal, training, and systems evaluation.

Consulting Services and Marketing Research

Westat has a reputation for thoughtful and innovative design, high quality data collection, and expert statistical and interpretive analysis. Their staff specialists offer a wide and expanding variety of market research and consulting services to businesses, as well as to Federal, state, and local governments.