CAPS has developed a unique tool for analytics called the Critical Analysis Reporting Environment (CARE), which has the goal of enabling decision-makers to mine information out of their data without requiring the assistance of sophisticated databases or statistical experts. The software components encapsulated within CARE to accomplish this goal include the most useful analytical functions (e.g., frequency distributions, cross-tabulations, information mining, statistical significance tests, etc.). It also encapsulates the software components required for data enrichment and various output display capabilities (e.g., dashboards, mapping functions, etc.).

The Information Mining for Performance Analysis and Control Technology (IMPACT) tool is a unique feature of CARE. It mines valuable information out of otherwise relatively useless raw data sitting in a database. It does this for the purposes of Performance Analysis by comparing the performance of one subset of data against another in terms of all of the potential variables that could demonstrate performance differentials. Essentially, it does this for the purposes of Control, the essence of which requires that measurements be made against some standards and improvements be made when those measurements determine the aspects by which the standards can better be met.

The CARE software exists in both desktop Windows and Web versions. You can download CARE to your desktop from our website or analyze highway safety data online at the CARE Online Analysis site. The Windows version offers additional features that the online version doesn’t have. CARE has traditionally been used with crash data, but it has also been used for citation date and weather data, among others. CARE can be used for almost any type of data.