About Blaise

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) , was established in 1899. Since then, it has grown into an innovative knowledge institution, often working with other organizations on innovation projects. One of these projects was Blaise.

In the 1980s, CBS began adapting new technologies by developing Blaise®, a Computer-Assisted Interviewing (CAI) system and survey processing tool. The desire to make data editing more efficient resulted in a groundbreaking development. At first, Blaise introduced software for intelligent and interactive data entry and editing (also known as Computer-Assisted Data Input, CADI). Soon after, it established Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) and Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) as modes for collecting data. For the first time, statistical offices could use a structured language to describe a questionnaire's questions, answers, ranges, and consistency checks. With Blaise, they gained a tool to help them transition away from pure paper form surveying and towards the future of handheld devices.

Today, Blaise is a software platform for data collection and survey processing specifically designed to handle government and scientific surveys. National Statistical Institutes worldwide use Blaise for both economic and social studies, making Blaise the market leader for complex surveys. CBS invests resources into extending Blaise's functionality, ensuring the software platform fulfills the requirements continuously of CBS' survey program and those of the modern survey world.

Stationed at the CBS offices in Heerlen, a team of dedicated software engineers and survey specialists make up the heart of Team Blaise. Together with CBS' methodologists, data analysts, questionnaire developers and survey managers, they continuously work on improving Blaise® while supporting its vibrant user community.

For more information about licenses, please contact Team Blaise or Westat , Blaise's official distributor for North-, Central and South America.

westat

Westat is an employee-owned research corporation serving agencies of the US Government, as well as businesses, foundations, and state and local governments. In addition to our capabilities as a leading statistical survey research organization, Westat has developed skills and experience in custom research and program evaluation studies across a broad range of subject areas. Westat also has the technical expertise in survey and analytical methods, computer systems technology, biomedical science, and clinical trials to sustain a leadership position in all our research endeavors. Visit Westat