U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Challenges

The VA Innovation Initiative (VAi2) is a flagship program designed to tap the talent and expertise of individuals both inside and outside government to contribute new ideas that ultimately produce new, innovative solutions that advance VA’s ability to meet the challenges of becoming a 21st-century organization.

VAi2 invites employees, private sector companies, entrepreneurs, and academic leaders to contribute their best ideas for innovations that increase Veterans’ access to VA services, improve the quality of services delivered, enhance the performance of VA operations, and reduce or control the cost of delivering those services that Veterans and their families receive. VAi2 will identify, prioritize, fund, test, and deploy the most promising solutions to the VA’s most important challenges.

ACCESS:
VAi2 invests in solutions that better ensure that Veterans and their families receive the benefits that they need and have earned. Access supports seamless, convenient, and effective interaction between VA and our Veterans, providing the right care at the right time and in the right place. Improving access is a central component of VA transformation because it serves as an enabler of improved service to Veterans.

QUALITY:
Programs focused on quality improvements span the entire VA mission, from health care to benefits delivery to Veteran employment. VAi2 enables VA employees to investigate creative technologies, processes, and practices that offer an opportunity to improve health outcomes, increase patient care satisfaction, and enhance the benefits services Veterans receive.

PERFORMANCE:
21st-century transformation calls on VA to continually find the tools to serve more Veterans in more ways, with better results. VAi2 programs target innovations that can seamlessly integrate into VA and generate dramatically improved outcomes. By identifying industry-leading solutions, VAi2 gives VA the ability to improve services by increasing reliability, speed, and accuracy.

COST:
VA is and always will be committed to the best system of delivering quality care and benefits to Veterans. Continually finding cost-effective ways to deliver services allows VA to maintain that high level of service on a long-term basis. VAi2 plays an important role by enabling the use of promising technologies in the design of cost-effective solutions.