Our History

Analytic Services Inc. is an independent public service institute incorporated in California in 1958 as a not-for-profit corporation. We quickly became known as ANSER, which is the current designation of our primary operating unit. Other Analytic Services units include the Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute, a federally funded research and development center operated on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security, and the Applied Systems Thinking (ASysT) Institute. The company is governed by a diverse and active Board of Trustees from both the public and private sectors.

The corporation was originally established to support the Air Force, which needed a technically qualified unbiased organization close to the Pentagon that could rapidly provide analysis for identified and evolving mission requirements. Shortly after it was established, Analytic Services became a Federal Contract Research Center (FCRC), one of nine such organizations including RAND, Aerospace, MITRE, CNA, and Lincoln Laboratory. As an FCRC, the corporation was bound to serve a single client by way of the Air Force Director of Development Planning, later reorganized as the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition.

After releasing its FCRC designation in 1976, Analytic Services began to work for numerous Air Force tenants, other Department of Defense components, and select federal agencies. On the occasion of the corporation’s 25^th anniversary in 1983, the late Secretary of the Air Force Verne Orr wrote, “ANSER studies and technical approaches have served to illuminate ... issues related to the research, development and acquisition of almost every major Air Force weapon system over the past quarter of a century. ANSER’s work has been marked by quality, responsiveness, and objectivity.”

As we have moved forward over the subsequent 25 years to our 50^th anniversary in 2008, we have continued to consistently provide unbiased, timely, and innovative advice to our clients. Due to our outstanding performance over the last 50 years, we have expanded our analytic and technical support to government agencies throughout the national security, homeland security, and public safety mission areas. This expansion hit new heights with the establishment of the Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute. 

Today Analytic Services still adheres to the principles that we established in 1958:

• Striving for excellence in everything that we do, with an uncompromising commitment to integrity and the highest ethical standards
• Service-oriented culture tailored to each client’s needs
• Dedicated to creative thinking, clear communication, and operational flexibility
• Devoted to continuous learning as we serve while maintaining a base of employees who are undeterred by the challenges associated with enhancing their professional standing

Aside from performing duties at our clients' sites, Analytic Services and its operating units reside at our headquarters in Falls Church, VA, Colorado Springs, CO, and Hampton, VA.