Science and Technology
Westat is active in assessing and describing scientific resources and educational programs. We assist our clients in evaluating programs, monitoring their implementation, and determining the adequacy of existing scientific resources and facilities.
- Westat provides support for evaluation of science, mathematics, and technology projects to NSF's
Education and Human Resources Directorate. The support includes the following:
- Designing and delivering workshops on project evaluation;
- Developing guides to assist in evaluation;
- Providing technical assistance to projects in conducting their evaluations;
- Developing a web site containing evaluation resources and descriptions of program requirements; and
- Synthesizing results of major evaluation investments.
- We are working with NSF to develop online monitoring systems for several of the Foundation's
educational reform initiatives, including the following:
- Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program, and
- Informal Science Education (ISE).
These web-based systems enhance the capacity of program officers to assess the extent to which
grant recipients are meeting their implementation and impact objectives. They will also enable staff to examine trends
within and across projects. The ultimate goal is to devise systems that enhance the ongoing monitoring of
individual grant recipients and enable NSF to share information about promising educational
practices with current and future projects.
- Westat has provided analytical and technical support to NSF's Division of Science Resources Studies.
This work has included the following:
- Assistance in the sample design and content of NSF's science, engineering, and technical
workforce data system;
- Reports on doctoral scientists and engineers;
- Statistics concerning scientists and engineers in the Federal workforce;
- Comparisons of the taxonomies used by NSF in its surveys and reports on science and engineering;
- Preparation of materials on the postdoctoral experience;
- Analyses of U.S. Census data on U.S. trade in advanced technology products; and
- Analyses and comparisons of the education and employment of individuals in the social and
behavioral sciences, the natural and physical sciences, and the engineering sciences.
- Westat is conducting the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities for NSF's Division
of Science Resources Statistics. This survey examines the nature of the U.S. infrastructure for scientific research by
collecting information about "bricks and mortar" (e.g., the amount of space available for research,
the condition of the space, and repair, renovation, and new construction) and about computing and networking
(e.g., the speed of network connections, computation speeds, and wireless technology). Westat staff designed the original
survey, assisted NSF in the redesign of the questionnaire, and are performing the 2003 and 2005 surveys.
- For 10 successive years, Westat has surveyed public and private elementary and secondary schools and public
school teachers about their access to the Internet and their other Internet activities such as
maintaining school web sites. Several other fast response surveys have also looked at the topic of distance
education by postsecondary institutions and public school districts, including the technology used to deliver distance education.
For more information about the Science and Technology Research Area,
please send us a message.
