Westat
Company typeEmployee-owned
IndustryProfessional services
Founded1963
Headquarters
Rockville, Maryland
,
United States
Number of locations
13
Key people
James E. Smith (Chairman of the Board)
Scott Royal (CEO and President)
ProductsWesVar, Blaise
ServicesResearch in the fields of health, education, social policy, and transportation[1]
Revenue500.7 million USD (FY2016)[1]
Number of employees
Over 1,900[2]
Websitewww.westat.com

Westat is an employee-owned professional services corporation located in Rockville, Maryland, US.[1] It provides research services to government agencies and businesses. The corporation conducts research studies in behavioral health & health policy, clinical trials, education, public health & epidemiology, social policy & economics and transportation.

History

Westat Inc. began as a partnership in 1961 with co-founders Edward C. Bryant, a University of Wyoming statistics professor and two former students, James Daley and Donald King. In 1963, the company was incorporated. Bryant served as the company's first president until 1978, when Joseph Hunt took over as president for the next 32 years. In 1981, Westat moved to its present location in Rockville, Maryland.[3]

In May 2011, James E. Smith, became president and CEO of the company.[4] Graham Kalton, stepped down as chairman of the board in 2019, and was replaced by Smith. Scott Royal, became the CEO and President of the company in March 2020.[5]

Recent acquisitions

In 2015, Westat acquired education research and technical assistance specialist, Edvance Research, and information technology solutions company Fenestra. Healthcare data analytics firm, JEN Associates, was acquired in February 2018. The acquisitions were for an undisclosed amount.[6][7]

In June 2022, the company acquired Insight Policy Research (Insight) which operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Westat, known as 'Westat Insight'.[8]

Research activities

Westat conducts studies on respondent knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors,[9][10] program evaluation,[11] physical, mental, and behavioral health,[12] academic achievement and literacy,[13] early childhood longitudinal studies,[14] child abuse and neglect,[15] medical treatments and outcomes,[16] exposure assessments,[17][18] and information management and communications solutions.[19][20] The company supports two software packages, WesVar and Blaise. The former is a variance estimation software while the latter is a survey processing system.[21]

The company also has a life sciences division that focuses on supporting clinical trials and research on vaccines, pediatric studies, rare and emerging disease, oncology, and infectious diseases for the biopharmaceutical industry.[22] The company also conducts research on COVID-19 and vaccines.[23] The company also conducted an analysis on pedestrian deaths in association with Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), in April 2022.[24]

Corporate structure

Westat is employee-owned. All employees can earn a share of ownership through the Westat Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Since the introduction of the plan in 1977, the value of employee holdings has grown.[25]

Recognition and claims

Westat was the recipient of the Policy Impact Award by the American Association for Public Opinion Research in 2011 and 2014, for survey work that informed the Senate debate which led to the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and for the National Prison Rape Statistics Program as one of the contractors to U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), respectively.[26]

In September 2014, Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs discovered, during a scheduled audit of Westat, that the company systematically failed to provide equal employment opportunities to women applicants and applicants with other ethnicities for various positions between the period of October 2008 to September 2009. Under the terms of the settlement, Westat paid $1,500,000 in back wages and interest to all affected applicants, made 113 job offers to the original class members as positions become available, corrected record-keeping violations and conducted internal audits.[27][28]

References

  1. ^ a b c "The 2017 Honomichl Top 50 Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2017-09-21.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Staff. "Westat: 50 Years Young". Amstat News. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  4. ^ Smith leads Rockville’s Westat with a head for numbers and people Archived 2015-02-24 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2015-02-24
  5. ^ McCormick, William (25 June 2020). "Executive Spotlight". www.executivebiz.com.
  6. ^ "Westat Acquires Edvance Research". Cision. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  7. ^ "Westat Acquires JEN Associates, Inc". Cision. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  8. ^ McCormick, William (22 June 2022). "Westat to Acquire Insight Policy Research". executivegov.com.
  9. ^ William H. McMichael, July 8, 2010. Pentagon sends out survey on gay troops. Army Times. Retrieved 2010-08-03
  10. ^ "The CAHPS Program". Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
  11. ^ Ryan Grim, September 7, 2006.A White House Drug Deal Gone Bad Slate. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  12. ^ "MEPS - Your Role in Shaping the Nation's Health". U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
  13. ^ Jay Mathews, July 19, 2010. Better data needed to accurately rate school systems. Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  14. ^ McDaniel, Darwin (7 January 2019). "Westat Gets $94M Contract to Help Education Dept Conduct Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies". Executive Biz. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  15. ^ "National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4), 2004-2009". Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation.
  16. ^ November 4, 2010. Lung cancer trial results show mortality benefit with low-dose CT Archived 2010-11-07 at the Wayback Machine. National Cancer Institute. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  17. ^ NICHD Announces Contracts to First Research Centers for Planned National Children's Study NICHD Website. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  18. ^ "Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN)". Govtribe.com.
  19. ^ Westat, Inc. Wins $1.09 Million Federal Contract. Bloomberg Business Week. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  20. ^ Wham! Pow! The CDC Goes to Comic-Con. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
  21. ^ Westat USA is the distributor of the Blaise system for North, Central and South America. Blaise Contact Information Archived 2010-08-17 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2010-08-03
  22. ^ McCormick, William (14 December 2021). "Westat Launches Westat CLS to Provide CRO Services for Commercial Clients; Nancy Dianis Quoted". executivegov.com.
  23. ^ Sybert, Sarah (20 May 2020). "Westat to Help Clients Conduct Research Projects on COVID-19". GovCon Wire.
  24. ^ Druga, Melina (12 April 2022). "Pedestrians deaths in auto accidents continue to rise, report finds". Transportation Today.
  25. ^ Westat Website: Benefits Retrieved 2015-02-24.
  26. ^ "Past Policy Impact Award Winners". American Association for Public Opinion Research. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  27. ^ Marshall, Ryan (12 September 2014). "Rockville company pays $1.5M in discrimination claim". Rockville Gazette. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  28. ^ McGinnis, Laura; Trupo, Michael. "OFCCP News Release: 09/10/2014; Data mining giant Westat to pay $1.5M to settle discrimination case with US Labor Department". Department of Labor. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.

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