This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognizing you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Advanced Technologies
Westat uses the most advanced technologies in infrastructure, software, and security. We support clients’ needs with powerful computer-assisted interviewing systems, survey processing tools, and innovative statistical software.
Overview
Fast, precise, efficient research is essential to delivering “cannot wait” solutions. By harnessing our powerful, state-of-the-art information technologies (IT), Westat provides the high-performance research needed to meet today’s urgent challenges while maximizing cost-effectiveness. Our innovative IT capabilities mean we can accelerate survey processing, support computer-assisted interviewing systems, solve complex research tasks with creative statistical software, and rapidly establish infrastructures to securely receive and review massive amounts of data and analyze and report trends. Whatever the challenge, Westat’s IT tools, software, and applications are critical components of our work in generating the indispensable findings needed to inform smart decisions.
Our Expertise
Data Science and Analytics
Westat’s data science team includes experts from statistics, computer science, and communications. We work with clients to determine where machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) can be applied to expand data utility and discovery as well as to maximize the efficiency and quality of project operations. We develop innovative solutions that inform decisions using dashboards at critical phases in project lifecycles. Our goal is to reduce operations costs and increase the speed with which stakeholders receive information they need to make decisions and be responsive in a dynamic project environment. We have experience in both open source and proprietary platforms to design, prototype, and roll out AI and ML solutions for clients. With an aim to create data solutions that meet higher standards of quality, our data scientists deliver effective and reproducible tools that are innovative, rigorous, and reliable.
Learn More About Westat’s Data Science ExpertiseRead More on Data Science and Analytics Technologies
Geospatial Data Processing and Analytics
Westat offers solutions that help researchers to discover new trends in data, increase workflow efficiency, and reduce project task costs. Providing technical assistance, cartographic design and map production, survey sampling support (sample frame development, field staff travel optimization, GPS-enabled data collection), and geocoding services are just a few examples of what our team can do. Interpreting geographic data via GIS processes can be straightforward, for example, geocoding, buffer analysis, and spatial assignments, to more advanced spatial statistics like spatial regression, spatial autocorrelation, as well as satellite and aerial image analysis. Our GIS team uses both commercial and open-source data, tools, libraries, and database management systems to build reproducible workflows and data pipelines. We provide geographic visualization support, ranging from maps in reports to online dashboards, and we use Python and R to automate these visualizations.
Read More on Geospatial Data Processing and Analytics
Infrastructure and Security
Westat provides a robust hybrid infrastructure for hosting systems, websites, applications, and computing workspaces. We operate our on-premise data center at a FISMA moderate level and operate solutions in multiple FedRAMP ATO-certified cloud environments, including AWS, Azure, and Google. We can offer our clients a variety of options for hosting and operating the systems that support their projects that include developing and supporting hybrid (cloud and on premise) solutions.
Read More on Infrastructure and Security
Innovative Data Collection and Management Tools
With a focus on innovation, Westat offers right-sized data acquisition, operations, management, and discovery solutions that emphasize automation, quality, and security. Through harmonization, use of common data models and standards, integration, data science, and deriving data, we can enhance data utility and promote deeper analytics, and wider data pooling and sharing. Our proven data governance framework is powered by modern data architectures and processes, and ensures data are trusted, timely, and enriched. We access tools made up of best-in-class technologies among open source, SaaS, and commercial products, Westat enterprise capabilities, and custom development to meet clients’ diverse and complex data engineering and computing requirements.
Read More on Innovative Tools for Data Collection and Management
Blaise
Blaise is a powerful CAI system and survey processing tool for the Windows operating system and the Internet. It’s developed by Statistics Netherlands and licensed and supported in North and South America by Westat. Blaise includes many advanced capabilities that meet the high demands of today’s CAI surveys.
Software Engineering
Westat performs software development to incorporate advanced technologies such as multimode data collection, cloud-native data processing and aggregation platforms for epidemiological data, bring your own device (BYOD) approaches, cloud-based voice communications, and integrated research platforms into our research initiatives. We deliver open and secure architectures while ensuring privacy protections to participants. Our engineers are experienced in scalable platforms, tools, and technologies ranging from traditional on-premises web applications backed by relational databases to containerized, cloud-native, open-sourced, distributed, and horizontally scalable research solutions. Finally, we bring world-class user interface and experience designs that engage study participants and clearly communicate study objectives while ensuring accessibility and 508 compliance. Our team of user experience and interface designers ensures that our products combine design, functionality and intuitive behaviors.
Read More on Software Engineering
Website Design and Development
Westat builds websites and web applications to support data collection and analysis, collaboration, training, and information and data dissemination. We deliver study information and recruitment sites, and survey interfaces to study participants, data visualization dashboards, including interactive maps, communities of practice, data portals, field interviewer tools, and team collaboration and content management sites. We have expertise in all leading technologies. Our design capabilities include web and mobile interface design, digital branding and illustration, interactive infographics, and web animation. Quality design and code are crafted to produce extensible, accessible, responsive, and mobile-adaptive websites and applications.
More on Website Design and Development
WesVar
Westat developed WesVar to help you compute estimates, replicate variance estimates, and more. WesVar has a number of helpful features, from importing and exporting data to creating weights, generating statistics, and obtaining regression output.
Learn more about our WesVar capabilitiesExperts
Meet the Team
-
Dwight Feanny
Vice President & Chief Information Officer
-
Beth Mittl
Vice President
-
Christine de los Santos
Associate Vice President
-
Emily Burkhardt
Senior Research Associate
-
Jane Shepherd
Vice President & Director, Research Operations
-
Keith Umbel
Associate Vice President
-
Kevin Wilson
Vice President
-
Marcelo Simas
Associate Vice President
-
Peter C. Stegehuis
Associate Vice President
-
Ravi Rajaram
Vice President
-
Richard C. Dulaney
Vice President
-
Rick Rogers
Vice President
-
Stephen Bernas
Associate Vice President
-
Taylor Cooper
Associate Vice President
-
Tom Nicholson
Principal IT Associate
-
Caroline Porter
Associate Vice President
Insights
Deep Dive with Our Experts
-
Perspective
Westat Work Shines at 2024 APHSA EMWB ConferenceSeptember 2024
Westat human services experts recently presented at the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)’s Economic Mobility and Well-Being (EMWB) Conference in Portland, Oregon. At the…
-
Perspective
Westat Tools Help Protect Child PassengersSeptember 2024
Vehicle crashes are a major cause of injuries and fatalities among children, a problem safety advocates in the U.S. acknowledge and work to minimize by…
-
Perspective
International Overdose Awareness Day: August 31, 2024August 2024
Overdose continues to impact the lives of so many around the world. The theme of the 2024 International Overdose Awareness Day, August 31, 2024, is…
Projects
Keep Reading
-
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
How can we grow the nurse supply in underserved areas? -
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
How do we enhance research in disease prevention and health promotion?