FY2020 Known Respondent Focus Groups

WBA COMPANY PROFILE

Experience and Qualifications

Widener-Burrows & Associates, Inc, (dba WBA Research) is a full-service for-profit market research firm, serving clients in a wide range of industries including, but not limited to, transportation, health care, higher education, associations & non-profits, travel & tourism, financial services and utilities. WBA prides itself on being a firm that is large enough to serve any market research need a client might have, but still small enough to provide consistent, personalized service. We do not have standard solutions to any problems or issues brought to us—we work individually with each client to determine the research approach that would best meet their needs.

WBA Research was founded in 1987 and is currently in its 32^nd year as a national market research company. In 2017, 23-year company veteran Renée Henley purchased majority ownership of WBA Research and was named President and CEO. Former President, Steve Markenson, who now serves as a part-time Research Consultant, and Executive Vice President Allison Booker share the remaining minority ownership.

The company is registered as a C Corporation in the State of Maryland, and as a woman-owned small business, WBA Research is certified as follows:

• Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) – MBE/DBE/SBE

• Washington Metropolitan Transportation Authority (WMATA) – DBE/SBE

• Virginia Department of Small Business & Supplier Diversity – SBE

• District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) – DBE/SBE

• New York State Division of Minority and Women’s Business Development
  (DMWBD) – WBE

• New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) – DBE

• Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) – DBE

• Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) – DBE

• Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) – DBE

• California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) - DBE

• Washington State Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises
  (OMWBE) – DBE
  
  

Our experience in the healthcare industry and high standards of quality were first recognized in 1999 by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), as WBA was certified to conduct HEDIS®¹/CAHPS®² Surveys. WBA continues to be one of a limited number of research firms to be certified by NCQA. WBA has also been awarded a GSA Professional Service Schedule Contract (PSS) and is registered in the SAM database, Cage Code 337V6. The company’s DUNS number is 36-150-2537 and its NAICS Code is 541910. WBA Research’s federal tax identification number is 52-2066294.

WBA has an in-house full-time staff of 25 professionals; this includes a project management team of 11,
3 Professional Focus Group Moderators, a Data Management Director and 2 Programmers, a Field Director, Telephone Center Director, and Coding Director. In addition, our field staff includes more than 100 professional telephone and in-person interviewers. Based between Baltimore and Washington D.C., the firm conducts research on a national basis for a wide variety of clients.

Affiliations, Memberships and Sponsorships

• American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) - Project Management and Data Processing staff membership

• CASRO – WBA adheres to the Code of Standards and Ethics for Survey Research

• Insights Association (IA) – Project Management and Data Processing staff membership

• American Marketing Association (AMA), Baltimore Chapter – Corporate membership and Corporate sponsor since 2002

• American Public Transportation Association (APTA) – Corporate membership

• The Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (MSHSMD) – Executive Vice President Allison Booker, member

What does “full-service, custom market research” mean for our clients?

WBA can provide any and all functions for both qualitative and quantitative market research engagements. This includes:

• Selection of the best methodology/approach based on your research needs

• Questionnaire development

• Identification of target audience and the best means of reaching them to conduct research

• Data collection

• Data processing (including coding/categorizing open-ended responses)

• Analysis of results

• Reporting/Presentation

WBA offers custom research services, including:

• Customer satisfaction and needs assessment studies

• Advertising tracking

• Copy and logo testing

• Image studies

• New product and service development

• Demographic profiling studies

I n providing these services to our clients, WBA is capable of utilizing a full
range of qualitative and quantitative market research techniques, including:

• On-Site Intercept/Exit Interviews

• T elephone Surveys

• M ail Surveys

• Self-Administered Surveys

• Web/Online Surveys

• Multi-Modal Surveys

• Focus Groups

• M ini-Groups

• In-depth Telephone Interviews (IDIs)

• One-on-One Personal Interviews

• Online Qualitative Studies

Overall, our company has extensive experience in the areas of transportation, health care, higher education, associations, and utilities, among others. Some of WBA’s clients include:

• AAA

• Amtrak

• Art & Science Group

• BlueCross of Idaho

• BGE/Exelon

• Consumer Product Safety Commission

• Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care, Inc.

• Department of Vermont Health Access

• Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd)

• Highmark Health

• ICMA Retirement Corporation (ICMA-RC)

• Johns Hopkins Medicine

• Maryland Aviation Administration (BWI Marshall Airport)

• Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

• Maryland Health Care Commission

• Maryland Independent College and University Association (MICUA)

• MedStar Health

• Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)

• Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)/NYC Transit

• Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG)

• New Jersey Transit

• Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)

• U.S. Census Bureau

• University of Maryland Medicine (UMM)

• Universities Space Research Association (USRA)

• Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)

Service and Quality

WBA regularly compiles research data and information for a wide array of clients who have varied knowledge of market research. WBA partners with its clients to deliver “research that’s meaningful in the real world.” For typical projects, the data collection is only the beginning. WBA excels in helping clients make sense of the data and information collected. That means user-friendly reports, tailored to deliver the best information in the best format for the ultimate user. As one of our clients recently noted, “Studies were always completed on time, within budget, with the final product being a report that all members of management found readable and useful.”

WBA is bound by the professional standards and ethics of the survey research industry held by the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) and the Council for Marketing and Opinion Research (CMOR), as well as state, federal, and international laws that require us to respect and protect respondent privacy, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

Data Security

WBA’s Overall Privacy Policy can be found at www.WBAresearch.com/privacy policy. Beyond this, WBA has documented and published security policies establishing the procedures for information security. This includes: Acceptable Use Policy, Guidelines on Anti-Virus Process, Vulnerability Audit Policy, Email Use Policy, Ethics Policy, Information Sensitivity Policy, Password Policy, Mobile Computing and Storage Policy, Remote Access/VPN Policy, Wireless Communication Policy and Termination of Employment Policy.

WBA takes a very pro-active approach to data security. Although WBA has never experienced any security breach or loss of data, since 2008 we regularly conduct on-site audits of our security procedures. As a result, increased measures for data access and storage have been implemented. In addition, WBA has annual electronic scans of our networks and firewalls conducted by outside security experts. This audit ensures the integrity and confidentiality of information and resources.

WBA has met the stringent data security/audits of the following organizations in order to do business with them: American Automobile Association, Exelon, Con Edison, PNC, and Fidelity Investments.

1 HEDIS^® is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

2 CAHPS^® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).