本网站使用cookie,以便我们能够为您提供最佳的用户体验. Cookie信息存储在您的浏览器中,并执行一些功能,例如在您返回我们的网站时识别您,并帮助我们的团队了解您对网站的哪些部分最感兴趣和最有用.
Our History
60 Years of Improving Lives Through Research
Over 60 years, 趣赢平台已经从一个起源于怀俄明州的三人统计咨询公司发展成为美国最大的私营研究公司之一,拥有国际影响力和跨越多个学科的广泛工作组合. 我们的项目从小型统计抽样任务发展到设计和实施一些大型调查. Our client base expanded, and so did the types of work and areas of expertise.
Along the way, 韦斯特吸引并留住了一批杰出的专家,他们开创了新的方法, adopted new technologies, and continuously found new ways to help clients solve problems. Here are just a few highlights from our history.
1960s
趣赢平台于1961年由怀俄明大学的三位统计学家edward C. Bryant, James M. Daley, and Donald W. King. The company was incorporated in January 1963 with a PO box in Laramie, Wyoming. The 趣赢平台 name was a nod to the founders’ Western roots and statistical expertise.
After a rocky start, the company’s first big contract involved helping the U.S. Patent Office with information retrieval challenges. In 1963, 趣赢平台 helped design a survey to gauge the receptivity of Washington, D.C.该研究最终促成了华盛顿地铁系统的发展. 后来,趣赢平台承担了样品设计、数据称重、制表和报告工作.S. Department of Transportation’s groundbreaking Automobile Insurance and Compensation Study.
1967年,韦斯特在马里兰州的贝塞斯达开设了办事处,以便更接近主要的联邦客户. Morris Hansen, 他在统计学界以革新公共信息的产生方式而闻名, retired from the U.S. Census Bureau and joined 趣赢平台 in 1968. The company conducted a survey of school principals for the U.S. Department Education in 1969 and achieved an 85% response rate.
Professional integrity underlies the reputation that has made 趣赢平台 successful. In the short run it may be tempting to tell clients what they want to hear, but in the long run it is better policy to tell them what they need to know. It is part of what we get paid for and has become a tradition within the company.
趣赢平台 Co-Founder Edward Bryant
1970s
The 1970s saw the growth of 趣赢平台’s survey business with its first longitudinal study, the evaluation of the Public Employment Program; its first national household survey, the National Survey of Family Growth; and its first large health study, the Health Maintenance Organization Evaluation Study. 趣赢平台 helped pioneer a technique for sample selection, developed by Joseph Waksberg and Warren Mitofsky, which significantly reduced the cost of such surveys.
In 1970, 趣赢平台 was acquired by American Can Company (ACC), which provided financial support for new projects and infrastructure investments. 1978年,我们购买了第一台独立的个人电脑——一台带有统计软件包的泰克4051图形电脑. 趣赢平台’s first telephone research center (TRC) was established in 1979.
约瑟夫·亨特(Joseph Hunt)从ACC来到韦斯特,为公司带来了新的管理专业知识. He would go on to serve as President from 1978 to 2011, leaving a lasting impact on our collaborative culture.
In 1979, 趣赢平台的领导人建立了员工持股计划(ESOP),以汇集他们的资源,并从ACC获得独立性. 员工持股计划允许员工拥有公司的股份,并分享公司的财务成功. The transition to employee ownership has been a key factor in the company’s success, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and commitment to quality that is reflected in all aspects of our work.
Women Leaders at 趣赢平台
Women leaders have played a critical role in our success. In 1979, when the ESOP was established, 40% of senior managers were women. Among these leaders were pioneers such as Doris Krug Northrup, 一位擅长问卷设计的心理学家,1972年成为第一位女性副总统. Nancy Caldwell, who joined in 1969, led the National Assessment of Educational Progress, while Carla Maffeo, a medical sociologist, became a leader in health studies after joining in 1973. Renee Slobasky, who joined in 1974, 指导全国家庭成长调查的仪器设计和培训,并继续领导公司的大型调查工作. 她自2006年起担任董事会成员,并于2023年担任主席,直到2024年退休. Patricia Smith and Patricia Cunningham joined in 1975 and 1977, 史密斯担任人力资源总监,坎宁安担任第一任电话研究中心主任.
1980s
In the 1980s, 趣赢平台 moved to our current headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, and further developed specialization in all phases of surveys: sample design, instrument design, data collection (via mail, phone, web, personal interview), data processing and management, statistical analysis, and report writing. 1986年引入了自动调查控制系统(ASCS),并成为CATI(计算机辅助电话访谈)的基础。, CAPI (computer-assisted personal interviewing), and similar automated systems used in a range of field projects.
趣赢平台 began work with many important new clients, including the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the National Center for Health Statistics.
在此期间,我们增加了现场数据采集人员,并在越来越广泛的领域和前所未有的规模和难度的项目上开展工作. Key projects included the Employment Opportunity Pilot Project for the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS).
In 1982, 通过中美科学研究交流,我们的研究具有了国际视野.S. 趣赢平台员工访问了中国,并进行了一系列癌症研究和营养研究.
1990s-2000s
In the 1990s and 2000s, 趣赢平台 grew its workforce, expanded its headquarters, built a state-of-the-art internal network, and further developed in-house capabilities for data management, graphic design, high-volume reproduction, information security, library services, and more. 20世纪90年代,韦斯特在全国各地开设了电话研究中心,并于2007年开始让电话采访者在家工作.
趣赢平台 continued to innovate in the area of survey research with web-based surveys, the use of mobile technology, and multimode approaches. At the same time, we diversified our work into new areas such as epidemiological studies, clinical trials, technical assistance, program evaluation, and transportation safety.
2010s-Present
James Smith, who became President and CEO in 2010, and Scott Royal, who became President and CEO in 2020, oversaw a tremendous period of growth and diversification for 趣赢平台. 趣赢平台于2015年收购了教育研究和技术援助专家advance research, information technology solutions company Fenestra in 2015, healthcare data analytics firm JEN Associates in 2018, and Insight Policy Research in 2022.
In 2011 趣赢平台 began work on the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, a prospective, longitudinal cohort study to assess tobacco use behaviors and health across the nation. 这项正在进行的研究继续为食品和药物管理局围绕烟草的监管活动提供坚实的证据基础.
The capabilities and expertise developed in the areas of health, education, and social policy in the 2010s, helped position 趣赢平台 to support our clients through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, 趣赢平台将其在流行病学和管理协调中心和网络方面的专业知识应用于支持red - iv - p等健康研究, VISION, and TopMed. 在教育领域,韦斯特开始管理美国国家综合中心.S. Department of Education.
Looking to the future, 趣赢平台 is poised to continue its growth and expansion, 以其卓越的研究传统和对社会产生积极影响的承诺为基础.
Over the past 60 years, the people of 趣赢平台, both past and present, have worked tirelessly to achieve our mission of Improving Lives Through Research. 我们长寿和成功的秘诀可归功于每一位员工日复一日,年复一年的贡献.
Scott Royal, President and CEO