Our Purpose Is to Improve Lives
Applied Survey Research (ASR) was started in 1980 with a singular goal. We wanted to create a social research organization that would provide reliable insights to help people improve their communities and their lives.
Since that time, we have provided expertise and insights to help many cities, counties, and organizations measure and advance the quality of life for the people they serve. That includes helping them reduce violence, address social equity, provide services to people without shelter, improve early childhood education, and find solutions for other common challenges.
This has become a source of personal fulfillment for us because, ultimately, we help to create better lives for everyone.
Our Expertise Helps You Improve Communities
A great many people in our communities live below the poverty line, have limited access to health care, lack proper job training, or face other barriers to a fulfilling life. The resulting problems can negatively affect quality of life for everyone. ASR’s expertise in survey design, data collection, and analysis provides vital insights about these conditions.
In turn, our clients can use that information to create targeted programs and solutions to assist young children, teen mothers, seniors, low-income families, at-risk youth, veterans, people without shelter, and other vulnerable groups. Further, we provide follow-up surveys that help communities measure their progress and make necessary adjustments.
We also can tell you what your community is doing well—and how to build on that success.
Among our repeat clients and partners are public and private agencies, federal and state governments, health and human service organizations, city and county offices, school districts, colleges and universities, and charitable foundations. Many of them have relied on ASR for many years because they know that our insights are accurate and dependable.
Our Approach Ensures Reliability
Results Based Accountability — ASR applies the Results Based Accountability framework, which uses a data-driven decision-making process. This helps communities and organizations move beyond simply talking about problems. Rather, it spurs them to action by envisioning end results and taking measurable steps to achieve them.
Institutional Review Board — ASR's Institutional Review Board ensures that our research adheres to the highest standards of protection for human subjects. It also helps to ensure that vulnerable and overlooked populations are valued and included in our work.
Participatory Evaluation and Facilitation — ASR is a leader in participatory evaluation and an expert facilitator for diverse populations. In fact, we have facilitated large and small community meetings, focus groups, program collaborations, and town hall meetings.
Involvement at All Levels — ASR is an expert in many levels of community change. We have deep experience working with partners at local, state, national, and international levels. We have been an invited guest at global community impact events in South Africa, India, Turkey, Israel, and the United Kingdom. Our ASR team also has been invited to speak at many professional conferences, we have contributed chapters to professional books, and our work has been cited in journals and research papers.
Turning Data into Action — ASR helps its partners understand data and then transform it into action. In this way, communities and other stakeholders can access pure numbers, leverage it into accurate insights, determine how to apply it to planning and programs, and then implement the action steps necessary to create meaningful and lasting change.
In short, our partners can expect to work with a team that expertly blends academic research practices with the practical knowledge held by our study populations and partners. We are delighted that more than 90% of ASR's consulting contracts come from repeat clients or client referrals. Undeniably, this is testament to ASR's ability to help improve quality of life with our research services.