people‐centric Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015 results‐driven forward‐lookingPage A

Strategic 

Plan 

Refresh

FY 2011‐2015

Department of Veterans Affairs

Office of the Secretary

Washington, DC 20420

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Strategic Plan Refresh

Fiscal Year (FY) 2011‐2015

Office of the Secretary

Washington, DC 20420

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015 Page i

Table of Contents

LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY................................................................................................................... 1

VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015 ................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 5

LIST OF ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................................................... 8

CHAPTER 1: FRAMING THE PLAN............................................................................................................ 11

VA: yesterday, today, and tomorrow............................................................................................................11

Yesterday ..........................................................................................................................................................................................11

Today.................................................................................................................................................................................................11

Tomorrow.........................................................................................................................................................................................12

VA’s operating environment..........................................................................................................................12

A changing Veteran population .................................................................................................................................................12

Opportunities to improve performance ...................................................................................................................................16

CHAPTER 2: THE STRATEGIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK ..................................................................... 19

Navigating the VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015......................................................................19

Guiding principles...........................................................................................................................................21

Strategic goals .................................................................................................................................................21

Integrated objectives .....................................................................................................................................21

Integrated objective 1: Make it easier for Veterans and their families to receive the right benefits, meeting their 

expectations for quality, timeliness, and responsiveness.....................................................................................................22

Integrated strategies to achieve objective 1 .....................................................................................................22

Integrated objective 2: Educate and empower Veterans and their families through proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy..........................................................................................................................................................................23

Integrated strategies to achieve objective 2 .....................................................................................................23

Integrated objective 3: Build our internal capacity to serve Veterans, their families, our employees, and other 

stakeholders efficiently and effectively.....................................................................................................................................24

Integrated strategies to achieve objective 3......................................................................................................24

Major Initiatives...............................................................................................................................................25

Supporting Initiatives.....................................................................................................................................25

VA’s approach to execution ...........................................................................................................................26

Major Initiatives .............................................................................................................................................................................27

Composite Model of Strategic Goals, Integrated Objectives and Strategies ...................................................................35
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Department of Veterans Affairs

CHAPTER 3: EXECUTING THE PLAN ....................................................................................................... 37

Major Initiatives...............................................................................................................................................37

Eliminate Veteran homelessness. ...............................................................................................................................................38

Enable 21st century benefits delivery and services..................................................................................................................40

Automate GI Bill benefits. .............................................................................................................................................................42

Create Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record by 2012. ................................................................................................................43

Improve Veterans’ mental health. ..............................................................................................................................................46

Build VRM capability to enable convenient, seamless interactions...................................................................................48

Design a Veteran-centric health care model to help Veterans navigate the health care delivery system and 

receive coordinated care. .............................................................................................................................................................50

Enhance the Veteran experience and access to health care. ...............................................................................................52

Ensure preparedness to meet emergent national needs. ....................................................................................................54

Develop capabilities and enabling systems to drive performance and outcomes. .......................................................56

Establish strong VA management infrastructure and integrated operating model. ....................................................57

Transform human capital management..................................................................................................................................59

Perform research and development to enhance the long-term health and well-being of Veterans. ........................61

Optimize the utilization of VA’s Capital Portfolio by implementing and executing the Strategic Capital 

Investment Planning (SCIP) process...........................................................................................................................................62

Health Care Efficiency: Improve the quality of health care while reducing cost............................................................63

Transform health care delivery through health informatics................................................................................................64

CHAPTER 3: EXECUTING THE PLAN ....................................................................................................... 66

Supporting Initiatives.....................................................................................................................................67

Directory of Objective 1 Supporting Initiatives.......................................................................................................................69

Directory of Objective 2 Supporting Initiatives.......................................................................................................................79

Directory of Objective 3 Supporting Initiatives.......................................................................................................................89

APPENDICES ...............................................................................................................................................101

Appendix A: VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015....................................................................... 103

Appendix B: SCIP Performance Measures and Supporting Data ........................................................105
Page iii

VA Strategic Plan FY 2010 – 2014
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Department of Veterans Affairs

Table of Contents |
Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015 Page 1

Letter from the Secretary

VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015

Since my first day in office, my overriding challenge has been to fulfill President Obama’s 

charter to transform the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) into a high‐performing 21st

century organization focused on our Nation’s Veterans as its clients. President Obama 

is fully committed to the vision of a transformed VA to better serve Veterans. His strong 

leadership, support, and full commitment is clearly evident in the FY 2011 President’s 

Budget request. The 21st century VA will be built around three guiding principles: We 

will be people-centric, results-driven and forward-looking. VA will be an advocate for its 

clients - the Veterans we serve, their families, their loved ones, and their caregivers. VA will 

anticipate the needs of Veterans, and be proactive in meeting those needs.

We will transform VA through positive leadership, teamwork, dedication, and the 

commitment of VA’s talented workforce. We will ingrain a sense of advocacy for Veterans 

into our organizational culture and our business processes – to sustain momentum into 

the future and enable VA to meet the ever-changing needs of Veterans and their families.

I intend to make bold and comprehensive changes to transform VA for the 21st century. 

These changes will directly benefit Veterans, and indirectly, all Americans. VA’s 

transformation will leverage the power of 21st century technology and know-how.

This VA Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011-2015 is the cornerstone of our transformation 

effort. It lays out our goals and strategies for working together over the next 5 years to 

accomplish them, consistent with our guiding principles. We have articulated a strategy 

aimed at the accomplishment of four key strategic goals. The strategy is made up of 

three integrated objectives through which VA will deliver on its highest priorities. These 

integrated objectives are complemented by a series of integrated strategies, which will 

define our approach to achieve each objective. 

For this VA Strategic Plan Refresh, we have identified three additional Major Initiatives, 

giving VA 16 major crosscutting initiatives, which represent the areas of highest 

importance to the organization and exemplify how we intend to execute our integrated 

strategy. VA’s three new Major Initiatives will focus on optimizing the utilization of our 

capital investment portfolio, improving the quality of health care while reducing cost, 

and transforming health care delivery through health informatics. In addition, we have 

consolidated and reduced the total number of Supporting Initiatives in the plan from 34 

to 20. The Strategic Plan calls for a relentless focus on our clients—Veterans and their 

families—in everything we do, while maximizing value and efficiency.
Page 2 Letter from the S ecretar y | VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015

Department of Veterans Affairs

As we transform VA, we will closely monitor our progress in achieving our strategic goals 

and integrated objectives. We will continue developing an annual performance plan 

which we submit with the President’s budget each year. We will report to Congress and 

other stakeholders each year in our VA Performance and Accountability Report. We will 

monitor each of the 16 Major Initiatives through a quarterly Operational Management 

Review team, chaired by the Deputy Secretary, to ensure that cost, schedule, and 

performance targets are being met, and that corrective action is taken where necessary, 

and with Monthly Performance Review meetings to monitor progress in meeting our 

annual performance plan.

The transformation of VA is well underway, and gains momentum every day. As the leader 

of VA and its 300,000 employees, it is my responsibility to ensure that we sustain our 

momentum. The feedback of all VA stakeholders has been invaluable to me in guiding the 

Department through the initial stages of transformation, and I look forward to working 

with all of those stakeholders and VA employees to ensure we achieve the strategic goals 

and objectives of this plan. 

Secretary

Department of Veterans Affairs
Page 3

VA Strategic Plan FY 2010 – 2014
Page 4 Letter from the S ecretar y | VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015

Department of Veterans Affairs

“Our mission at VA is to serve 

Veterans by increasing their 

access to our benefits and 

services, to provide them the 

highest quality of health care 

available, and to control costs to 

the best of our abilities.” 

Secretary Eric K. Shinseki

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FACILITIES

VA Facilities (FY 2010 2nd Quarter)

Source: VAST Q2FY10

VA Office of Policy and Planning – National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics (008A3)

Hawaii

Alaska

Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands

Guam Phillippines

VA Medical Center

Vet Center

Community-Based Outpatient Clinic

VA Community Living Center

Independent Outpatient Clinic

Residental Rehabilitation Center

Regional Office

National and State Cemeteries

The map below shows the breadth of VA facilities spanning the United States, as 

well as the U.S. territories and the Philippines. VA has an extensive field structure, 

particularly in health care delivery, which includes 153 Medical Centers and 

773 Community-Based Outpatient Clinics, in addition to 57 Regional Offices, 

260 Vet Centers, and 131 National Cemeteries. 
Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015 Page 5

Introduction

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is responsible for a timeless mission: To fulfill 

President Lincoln’s promise – 

“to care for him who shall have borne the battle, 

and for his widow, and his orphan”

 – by serving and honoring the men and women who are America’s Veterans. In the 

context of this enduring mission, President Barack Obama and Secretary Eric K. Shinseki 

have issued a compelling charge: to transform the Department to meet the emerging 

challenges of the 21st century, so we may continue to repay the debt of honor owed to the 

men and women, and their families, who have “borne the battle.” 

Our vision is of a Department of Veterans Affairs transformed into a high‐performing 21st

century organization – one that adapts to new realities, leverages new technologies, and 

serves a changing population of Veterans with renewed commitment. We will build our 

institution around three guiding principles: we will be people-centric, results-driven, and, by 

necessity, forward-looking.

This strategic plan lays out how our organization will work together over the next 5 years 

to achieve this transformation, consistent with our guiding principles. We framed the 

plan by ensuring that we understood the environment in which we operate and our own 

starting point. We looked carefully at complex changes underway among the community 

of Veterans and their families, at the external environment, and at the internal operations 

of VA.

VA employees throughout the organization participated in developing this strategy. Over 

10,000 employees responded to a comprehensive organizational survey that helped us 

identify changes to our work that will make this plan a success. We engaged in numerous 

internal governance deliberations; independent and joint working sessions among 

administrations and staff offices; and integrated strategic, operational, budget, and 

performance planning sessions. VA leaders also solicited input on the main priorities for 

the Department from Congressional committees, Veterans Service Organizations (VSO), 

State Veterans Affairs offices, the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Labor 

(DOL), and other key partners.
Page 6 I ntroduc tion | VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015

Department of Veterans Affairs

Through this work, we have articulated a strategy aimed at the accomplishment of four 

strategic goals:

• Improve the quality and accessibility of health care, benefits, and memorial 

services while optimizing value.

• Increase Veteran client satisfaction with health, education, training, counseling, 

financial, and burial benefits and services.

• Raise readiness to provide services and protect people and assets continuously 

and in time of crisis.

• Improve internal customer satisfaction with management systems and support 

services to achieve mission performance and make VA an employer of choice 

by investing in human capital.

This transformation has already begun. We have undertaken a comprehensive review 

of our organization, processes, and technology to prepare for new times and new 

demographic realities. We have initiated new efforts to improve the quality, access, 

and value of services and benefits provided to Veterans through each of the three VA 

administrations. We have implemented new governance processes. We have engaged 

employees throughout the organization in identifying opportunities for improvement 

and involved them in the development and implementation of changes. We have also 

reorganized the Office of the Secretary to ensure unified direction and accountability.

In the remainder of this plan, we review in more detail the trends upon which the work 

is based, describe the strategy, and discuss our approach to implementation. The 

description of implementation will include how we will transform culture, mindsets and 

behaviors; measure performance and evaluate our programs; mitigate risk; and manage 

accountability. It also contains a description of the balanced and ambitious portfolio of 

initiatives that will drive implementation from every part of the organization.
Page 7

VA Strategic Plan FY 2010 – 2014
Page 8 List of Acronyms | VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015

Department of Veterans Affairs

AMAS Automated Monument Application System

BVA Board of Veterans’ Appeals

BOSS Burial Operations Support System

CDC Center for Disease Control

CFBNP Center for Faith-based and 

Neighborhood Partnerships 

CBOC Community‐Based Outpatient Clinic

CMV Center for Minority Veterans

CRM Client Relationship Management

CWV Center for Women Veterans

DoD Department of Defense

DOL Department of Labor

ECA Expedited Claims Adjudication

EHR Electronic Health Record

EPMO Enterprise Program Management Office

EUL Enhanced Use Lease

FM Financial Management

GHG Greenhouse Gas

GSA General Services Administration

HHS Department of Health and Human Services

HPPG High Priority Performance Goals

HUD Department of Housing and 

Urban Development

IOC Integrated Operations Center

IOM Integrated Operating Model

IT Information Technology

MCCF Medical Care Collections Fund

NCA National Cemetery Administration

OALC Office of Acquisition, Logistics, 

and Construction

OAEM Office of Asset Enterprise Management

OCLA Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs

OEF/OIF Operation ENDURING FREEDOM/Operation 

IRAQI FREEDOM

OGC Office of General Counsel

OHRA Office of Human Resources 

and Administration

List of Acronyms
List of Acronyms | VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015 Page 9

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

OIT Office of Information and Technology

OM Office of Management

OMB Office of Management and Budget

OPIA Office of Public and 

Intergovernmental Affairs

OPP Office of Policy and Planning

OSA Office of Survivors Assistance

OSDBU Office of Small and Disadvantaged 

Business Utilization

OSP Office of Operations, Security, 

and Preparedness 

OSVA Office of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

PACT Patient Aligned Care Team

PPBE Planning, Programming, Budgeting and 

Evaluation

PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

SBA Small Business Administration

SCIP Strategic Capital Investment Planning

SDVOSB Service Disabled Veteran‐Owned 

Small Business

SES Senior Executive Service

SHEP Survey of Health Experience of Veterans

TBI Traumatic Brain Injury

VA Department of Veterans Affairs

VASRD Veterans Affairs Schedule 

for Rating Disabilities

VBA Veterans Benefits Administration

VBMS Veterans Benefit Management System 

VCAA Veterans Claims Assistance Act

VHA Veterans Health Administration

VIP Vendor Information Pages

VISN Veterans Integrated Service Network

VLER Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record

VOSB Veteran‐Owned Small Business

VR&E Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment

VRM Veterans Relationship Management

VSO Veterans Service Organization
Page 10 |

Department of Veterans Affairs
Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015 Page 11

Chapter 1: Framing the Plan

The Department’s approach to transformation has been developed in the context of our 

long history of taking care of our Nation’s Veterans and a tradition of innovation. However, 

there are significant changes underway in our operating environment which require 

fundamental change in the ways we do business.

VA: yesterday, today, and tomorrow

Yesterday

VA has a long history of caring for the Nation’s Veterans and their families (and a culture where 

caring for Veterans is deeply embedded). Congress established a new system of Veterans 

benefits when the United States entered World War I in 1917. Included were programs 

for disability compensation, insurance for Servicemembers and Veterans, and vocational 

rehabilitation for the disabled. By the 1920s, the various benefits were administered by 

three different Federal agencies: the Veterans Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior 

Department, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The establishment of the 

Veterans Administration came in 1930 when Congress authorized the President to “consolidate 

and coordinate Government activities affecting war Veterans.” The three separate agencies 

became bureaus within the Veterans Administration. In 1989, legislation was enacted to make 

the Department of Veterans Affairs a cabinet-level agency. From that time, VA’s workforce has 

grown to almost 300,000 employees – the second largest agency in the Federal Government.

Today

We are currently providing high-quality benefits and services to Veterans. In FY 2010, 

VA maintained its status as the largest integrated health care system in America. The VA 

health care system has grown from 54 hospitals in 1930 to 153 hospitals today; more than 

773 community-based outpatient clinics (CBOC); and 260 Vet Centers. VA health care 

facilities provide a broad spectrum of medical, surgical and rehabilitative care. Throughout 

the year, VA implemented new innovative practices to improve Veterans’ access to health 

care, such as telemedicine and mobile clinics to provide care to more than 5.6 million 

unique patients. Our commitment to delivering timely, high-quality health care to 

America’s Veterans, while controlling costs, remains a top priority.

VA provides compensation and pension benefits to nearly four million Veterans and 

beneficiaries. In 2010, VA received more than 1,000,000 claims for disability benefits and 

processed more than 975,000 of these claims. Despite a 14 percent increase in workload from 

last year, VA achieved a number of significant positive performance results in the benefits 

delivery area.

VA honors the service and sacrifices of America’s Veterans through the construction and 

maintenance of national cemeteries as national shrines. In 2009, VA maintained nearly 

3 million gravesites at 164 properties, including 131 national cemeteries and 33 other 

cemetery installations.
Page 12 Chapter 1: Framing the Plan | VA’s operating environment

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Tomorrow

VA has long been a leader in innovation related to Veteran issues, including the 

development of one of the most advanced and effective electronic health records in the 

world. VA has a long record of tracking performance and results in each of its health care, 

benefits, and memorial affairs program areas. VA is renowned for its treatment of Veterans 

in special emphasis areas, such as prosthetics, spinal cord injury, post-traumatic stress 

disorder (PTSD), rehabilitation, and more recently, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) – one of 

the signature injuries of the Operation ENDURING FREEDOM/Operation IRAQI FREEDOM 

(OEF/OIF) conflict. As we continue into the 21st century, we will build on this tradition 

of innovation to continue to seek opportunities to better meet the needs of Veterans 

and their families. In order to continue providing Veterans with “cutting-edge” care and 

services, VA must adapt to and thrive within today’s challenging operating environment.

VA’s operating environment

VA faces an increasingly challenging operating environment. Demand for services, in 

terms of claims and services per client, is growing in volume and complexity, while the 

economic, legislative, and national security contexts all present significant uncertainties. 

Understanding these changes – and their implications for VA – is critical to ensuring that 

our strategic plan will be effective and endure over the next 5 years.

A changing Veteran population

The population of Veterans and their families whom we serve is changing. Overall, 

Veterans and their families are developing new, more complex needs and new 

expectations for the care VA should provide them.

The aging of America’s citizens will affect VA. Vietnam Veterans, a significant percentage 

of the total Veteran population, are beginning to face changing health risks as they age 

(e.g. prostate cancer and diabetes), thereby increasing their needs for benefits and health 

care services. Overall, the number of aging Veterans who may need extended care is 

growing rapidly: the number of enrolled Veterans 85 or older is projected to increase 

20 percent from 657,477 to 709,523 between 2010 and 2019. This group accounts for the 

highest usage of long-term care services. Though not all aging Veterans will require our 

care, the growth in this population is highly likely to increase the demand for the extended 

and specialized services the elderly require.

The aging of the Veteran population will also require VA to provide benefits and services 

to surviving spouses. As of the beginning of FY 2011, approximately 40.5 percent of 

the Veteran population was 65 or older. At age 65, the average American male can 

expect to live an additional 17 years, and the average American female can expect to 

live an additional 19.7 years (Social Security Administration, 2006), indicating that VA 

will be responsible for survivor benefits for many people, well into their later years of life. 

Approximately 75 percent of Veterans are married, according to the most recent National 
Chapter 1: Framing the Plan | VA’s operating environment Page 13

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Survey of Veterans,1] and as of March 2010, 326,052 spouses were receiving Dependents 

Indemnity Compensation payments (VetPop).

Significant and growing numbers of Veterans live in rural areas.2] Rural areas present 

challenges to providing services, particularly health care. In FY 2006, 36 percent of 

Veterans enrolled in VA health care resided in rural areas and an additional 1.5 percent 

resided in highly rural areas which include many parts of the West, such as Wyoming and 

Montana. By comparison, only 20 percent of the overall U.S. population resides in rural 

areas. Practitioner shortages are more acute in these very sparsely populated areas.

Though the overall population of Veterans has been shrinking, there continues to be 

a significant increase in the number of women Veterans. Women Veterans comprise 

7.5 percent of the total Veteran population and nearly 5.5 percent of all Veterans who use 

VA health care services. By 2020, women Veterans will constitute at least 10 percent of the 

Veteran population and 9.5 percent of VA patients. In 2007, 52.8 percent of DoD enlisted 

women and 35.3 percent of women officers were minorities.3]

The American population is also becoming more diverse, and the Veteran population 

reflects that change. The Census Bureau predicts that the majority of the working age 

population, defined as the age group from 18 through 64, will be made up of racial/

ethnic minorities as early as 2039. In 2006, minorities composed 15 percent of the Veteran 

population (American Community Survey), and by September 2009, the number had 

increased to approximately 20 percent (VetPop). OEF/OIF users of VA benefits and services 

in FY 2008 were approximately 40 percent minority Veterans (VetPop). These changes in 

Veteran demographics will require the Department to continually develop a culturally 

sensitive and competent workforce.

Disability compensation has changed in recent years as the nature of combat related 

wounds and service‐connected injuries has changed. Many of the disabilities that are 

increasing most rapidly in the Veteran population are those that are more complex and 

where documentation can be difficult to get, such as conditions of the musculoskeletal 

system and PTSD. On August 31, 2010, VA published new regulations that simplified the 

standards for verifying an in-service stressor. This new regulation allows for expedited 

processing of PTSD claims. New linkages to Agent Orange – prostate cancer in 1996, 

Type II diabetes in 2001, chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2003, and amyloidosis in 2009 

– have contributed to the upward trend of disability ratings. VA has also issued the final 

regulation to add Parkinson’s disease, hairy cell leukemia, other chronic B-cell leukemias, 

and ischemic heart disease to the list of presumptive diseases based on Agent Orange 

1] The 2010 National Survey of Veterans will be published in 2011, and may reflect an updated number. 

2] VHA uses the Census Bureau definitions to classify Veterans by population areas as follows – Urban: Any 

enrollee located in a Census defined urbanized area; Rural: Enrollees not designated as urban; Highly Rural: Those 

that are defined as rural and reside in counties with fewer than 7 civilians per square mile.

3] Women’ Research and Education Institute, 2008; Data supplied from U.S. Department of Defense, Defense 

Manpower Data Center, 2007.
Page 14 Chapter 1: Framing the Plan | VA’s operating environment

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exposure. As a result, the average Veteran disability rating rose from approximately 30 

percent in 1995 to 41 percent in 2009, with the percentages of Veterans in the two highest 

disability levels growing at the fastest rates.

In March 2010, Secretary Shinseki announced that the VA Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task 

Force had completed the final draft of a comprehensive report that will redefine how VA 

addressed the concerns of Veterans who deployed during the Gulf War in 1990 and 1991. 

VA has also recently published a rule that will enable VA to grant service connection on a 

presumptive basis for nine specific infectious diseases associated with military service in 

Southwest Asia after August 2, 1990, or in Afghanistan on or after September 19, 2001.

Even advances in care for Servicemembers have implications for VA. Tremendous strides in 

military medicine have led to reduced mortality rates among injured U.S. Servicemembers 

in Iraq and Afghanistan, compared with prior military conflicts. At the same time, and in 

large part due to these higher survival rates, OEF/OIF health needs tend to be different 

from past conflicts. Blast injuries are increasing, adding a new dimension to battlefield 

casualties and their care when battle is over. These wounds often result in multiple severe 

injuries and disabilities requiring extended and highly specialized care, both mental and 

physical. These conditions often pose challenges in anticipating and responding to the 

demand for health care services.4] 

VA must also embrace and exploit opportunities to increase access to services via advances 

in technology. The trend toward the use of home telehealth technologies, including 

videoconferencing, the Internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial 

and wireless communications, will enable patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, 

heart failure, and chronic pulmonary disease to be monitored at home. This will reduce 

hospital admissions, clinic visits, and emergency room visits. Elderly or disabled patients will 

be able to stay in their homes longer and it will become possible to provide cutting-edge 

specialty care even in sparsely populated areas. These programs will be especially beneficial 

for the two to three percent of patients who, in part because they frequently visit hospitals 

and outpatient clinics, account for approximately 30 percent of health care costs.

The challenging external environment

In addition to changes in the Veteran population, Veterans – and VA – face an uncertain 

external environment. For example, Veterans face unique challenges as part of their 

reentry into the workforce. Economic conditions are having a significant negative impact 

on Veterans and a disproportionate impact on recently-separated Veterans compared to 

the average American. 

Veterans continue to suffer disproportionately high homeless rates compared to the 

general population. On any given night in 2009, an estimated 107,000 Veterans were 

4] “Analysis of Health Care Utilization Among U.S. “Global War On Terror” (GWOT) Veterans” from the VHA Office 

of Public Health and Environmental Hazards, January 2009.
Chapter 1: Framing the Plan | VA’s operating environment Page 15

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

homeless, representing every war and generation including current OEF/OIF operations. 

Overall, one in five homeless adults (one in three homeless adult males) in the U.S. is 

a Veteran.5] The Northeast Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC) Health Care Homeless 

Veterans reported for FY 2008-2009 Q3 that minority Veterans were 58.9 percent of the 

homeless Veteran population. This is in contrast to minority Veterans being approximately 

20.7 percent of the overall Veteran population in 2009 (Vetpop).

There is some potential good news. As the economy begins to recover, small firms will be 

the most likely source of new jobs for Veterans. Small firms employ about half of all private 

sector employees, create 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually, and tend to lead the 

way in new employment when the economy improves. In this vein, VA has a longstanding 

commitment to contracting with Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB).

When it comes to health care, that environment is also changing. Several underlying 

trends, such as increasing chronic illness and obesity, are likely to persist and pressure the 

health care delivery system. For example, the average adjusted annual cost of care for the 

obese is $5,500 per capita, compared to $3,950 per capita for the non-obese. Strains on 

health care delivery are made worse by the Nation’s capacity mismatches across regions 

and types of care.

Nationwide, chronic diseases are being diagnosed at earlier ages. This trend will require 

reorientation of U.S. health care away from the acute-care model, and toward a more patientcentered model that focuses on wellness and disease prevention. This model will engage 

patients, such as Veterans, in monitoring and managing their own disease symptoms. This 

change over the long-term will lead to better outcomes for patients and may reduce health 

care costs. In the short term, however, it may lead to shortages of nurses and primary care 

physicians, both in the U.S. generally and in VA’s system.

Additionally, changes in our national security environment have direct impacts on VA 

strategic planning and operations. Prolonged conflict – OEF and OIF have already lasted 

longer than World War II – means that VA must be prepared to accommodate the influx 

of new Veterans requiring our services. The new nature of warfare and the potential for 

future conflicts are likely to create significant demand for VA services and infrastructure.

Finally, preferred methods of customer interaction have been changing in today’s modern 

technological world. There is evidence that the increasingly widespread use of data and 

highly segmented customer service offerings, combined with a proliferation of media 

channels, has connected more people with the information they seek. This high tech trend 

implies that Veterans and their families will better receive information provided through 

technological channels when messages are tailored to their specific needs.

5] U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. “Homeless Veterans: Representing the Needs and Interests of 

Homeless Veterans in State, County, and City 10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness.” Downloaded 

March 5, 2010 from: http://www.ich.gov/library/HomelessVeteransand10-YearPlans.pdf.
Page 16 Chapter 1: Framing the Plan | VA’s operating environment

Department of Veterans Affairs

Opportunities to improve performance

Both our history of service to Veterans and the challenges of the emerging environment 

demand that we seize the opportunity to improve our performance.

To date, our emphasis has been on improving operational performance within each 

administration (e.g., Veterans Health Administration (VHA) quality and access, reduction in 

Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) claims inventory, National Cemetery Administration 

(NCA) client satisfaction). While significant progress has been made, we still have 

some distance to go to better meet the challenges that we face. We, therefore, now 

turn our attention to opportunities that will improve individual performance as well as 

Department‐wide service delivery.

For example, VA is a long time leader in health care information technology, but we are 

looking to do more to manage client data across programs inside and outside VA. Shifts in 

how information is accessed and used by providers, processors, and clients present VA with 

the opportunity to find new ways to improve the experience of Veterans and their families, 

as well as enhance the value we provide them. These innovations will have significant 

implications for how care is organized and delivered in the future as well as for the skill sets 

required to provide the care.

Currently, Veterans with multiple needs must navigate through a complex system 

of contact points throughout VA. VA programs maintain separate and sometimes 

overlapping customer access points and processes. For example, for disability 

compensation, there are three possible touch points – VBA’s central office, VBA’s 

regional offices, and potentially DoD. There are different stops within VBA for disability 

compensation, education, loan guaranty, vocational rehabilitation, and insurance benefits, 

with additional touch points in DoD. A Veteran must file the claim, often undergo 

a medical examination, and wait for VA to determine the rating and compensation. 

Ultimately, the Veteran may appeal if he or she disagrees with the ruling. With central 

information management and improved data sharing, Veterans with multiple health and 

benefit needs could enjoy a much more seamless customer experience.

We must also seize the opportunity to significantly improve our benefits delivery systems. 

The volume of compensation and pension rating-related claims has been steadily 

increasing. In 2009, for the first time, we received over one million claims in a single year. 

The volume of claims received has increased from 578,773 in 2000 to 1,013,712 in 2009 

(a 75 percent increase). Not only is VA receiving substantially more claims, but the claims 

have also increased in complexity. Original disability compensation claims with eight or 

more claimed issues have increased from 21,184 in 2000 to 67,175 in 2009 (over a 200 

percent increase). We expect this level of growth in the number and complexity of claims 

to continue.

Unlike a commercial claims organization, VA also faces statutory and external requirements 

such as VA’s “duty to assist.” The Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA) has significantly 
Chapter 1: Framing the Plan | VA’s operating environment Page 17

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

increased both the length of time and the specific requirements of claims development. 

VCAA requires VA to provide written notice to claimants of the evidence required to 

substantiate a claim and the party (VA or the claimant) responsible for acquiring that 

evidence. Under VCAA, VA’s duty to assist the claimant in perfecting and successfully 

prosecuting his or her claim extends to obtaining Government records, assisting with 

getting private records, and obtaining all necessary medical examinations and medical 

opinions. As a claim progresses, additional notifications to the claimant may be required.

For example, of the 1.1 million OEF/OIF Veterans released from service between 2001 and 

2009, more than 37 percent, or approximately 405,000, have filed for disability benefits. 

Of those, almost 50 percent have filed with incomplete information. VA is compelled by 

both mission and law to assist Veterans in obtaining the evidence needed to process these 

applications which slows processing times.

As a result, VA has experienced substantial increases in claims processing time and 

inventory. Since 2000, the inventory of disability claims pending has increased 83 percent. 

In short, VA needs a comprehensive program for end-to-end claims operations redesign. 

This approach has the potential to deliver substantially more total benefit than a collection 

of individual initiatives would on their own. This builds on some essential strengths: a 

mission-driven workforce; a running start on performance improvements (VA has already 

increased staffing, redistributed workload and implemented fast-track processing pilots); 

and the commitment of outside stakeholder partners, like DoD and the VSOs, to improving 

client service.

Demand for other services – like cemetery/memorial services, is projected to increase 

more than 7 percent from 106,000 annual interments in 2009 to 114,000 interments by 

2011. Since 2006, VA has implemented a host of special programs to create procurement 

opportunities for authorized, Veteran-owned small businesses and recognizes that a 

growing number of applicants are now seeking requisite VA verification to qualify for VA 

procurements under those programs. At the same time, VA faces potential challenges 

in meeting the growing demand. VA, like the rest of the Federal Government, will soon 

face a wave of retirements. Roughly 53 percent of Federal employees will be eligible to 

retire in the next 5 years. While a daunting task, this human capital challenge provides 

the opportunity for significant hiring and the development of the workforce to meet the 

demands of the 21st century. To be successful, this will require the implementation of a 

fundamentally different human capital system, and a focus on continued improvement in 

operations in order to ensure we are meeting Veteran needs.
Page 18 |

Department of Veterans Affairs
Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015 Page 19

Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework

Navigating the VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015

This strategic plan tells the story of how we will transform VA over the next 5 years. It is a 

long-term plan, presenting a deliberate but inspired strategy based upon three guiding 

principles to achieve four strategic goals. We believe that by aspiring to these four 

crosscutting strategic goals, we will further enhance our service to America’s Veterans.

In order to reach our 

strategic destination, 

we must determine 

how we are going 

to go about 

accomplishing our 

strategic goals. Three 

Integrated Objectives provide a common set of 

premises upon which operational strategies and 

initiatives are based. These high‐level, integrated 

objectives are not limited to one particular 

administration, organization or strategic goal. 

They are designed to be used as a foundation on 

which to build strategies and initiatives to collectively achieve VA’s strategic goals.

Three sets of associated strategies correspond to each of the three integrated objectives. 

These 14 total Integrated Strategies are the ways and means, or courses of action, that 

have been designed to realize VA’s objectives. They are to be utilized as the high‐level 

approach to developing departmental and organizational initiatives and programs. 

We have identified 16 Major Initiatives that will serve as a platform from which to launch 

and execute the VA Strategic Plan over the next 5 years. These crosscutting and high‐impact 

priority efforts were designed to address the most visible and urgent issues in VA. 

 Strategic Planning Framework

VA Strategic Plan for FY 2010-2014 

Architecture

Measuring

Success

4 Strategic Goals

(Crosscutting)

20 Supporting

Initiatives

16 Major Initiatives

14 Integrated

Strategies

3 Integrated

Objectives

Performance

Measures

Performance

Measures

Performance

Measures
Page 20 Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | Navigating the VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

The use of the four ambitious, crosscutting Strategic Goals is a deliberate effort to foster 

intensive collaboration among relevant VA organizations in order to achieve the Secretary’s 

Major Initiatives in ways that are different from the traditional ways of doing business within 

VA. These crosscutting goals are intended to assist in breaking down some of the traditional 

organizational “stovepipes.” These goals are transformative in that different organizations 

are challenged to participate in collaborative teams with different skill sets and resources 

being organized and applied in different ways to achieve outcomes that are forward looking 

and more likely to have real impact on the lives of Veterans and their families. For example, 

whether automating GI Bill benefits, expanding health care access for Veterans (including 

women and rural populations), or transforming human capital management, VA will be 

developing more outcome-oriented performance measures and targets that will be used to 

assess progress toward achieving each of the four strategic goals. These measures will be 

multi-dimensional, and at a minimum, will address quality, access, and cost, Veteran client 

satisfaction, preparedness, and internal customer satisfaction.

By taking this more crosscutting approach toward achieving these ambitious Major Initiatives, 

VA is challenging its organizational culture to do things differently. The Major Initiative teams 

continue to evolve, and while they have made significant progress in developing initial 

performance measures (as documented on pages 27 – 32 of the strategic plan), they will further 

mature and improve the measures and the linkage between these measures and the strategic 

goals. VA is committed to improving this linkage.

Furthermore, there are an additional 20 Supporting Initiatives that have been developed, each 

of which is linked with a particular integrated objective and strategy. In this VA Strategic Plan 

Refresh for FY 2011-2015, there are 3 additional Major Initiatives. In addition, the 34 Supporting 

Initiatives that were included in the VA Strategic Plan for FY 2010-2014 have been revised or 

consolidated into a total of 20 Supporting Initiatives. These Supporting Initiatives describe 

in further detail what actions must be undertaken at the organizational level to implement a 

particular integrated strategy. The 16 Major and 20 Supporting Initiatives will be used as the 

origin of departmental and organizational operating plans developed to translate integrated 

strategies into operational terms and to provide a basis for prioritizing resource allocation.

Under the Department’s integrated and crosscutting strategy, implementation of each of 

the Major and Supporting Initiatives will contribute to the achievement of VA’s strategic 

goals and integrated objectives, and in many cases multiple goals at once. As we continue 

to plan and implement, we are analyzing the effect of each initiative on the outcomes 

expressed by our strategic goals. By April 2011, we will publish an update to this plan, 

including outcome-focused performance measures and targets for each strategic goal. 

These measures will be used as indicators of Departmental overall success for achieving 

lasting improvements for the Veterans we serve. For the purposes of compliance with 

the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), and in accordance with Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) Circular Number A-11, VA views this Strategic Plan Refresh 

for FY 2011-2015 as an interim adjustment to the VA Strategic Plan for FY 2010-2014.
Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | I ntegrated objec tives Page 21

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Guiding principles

The Department aspires to be:

• People-centric: Veterans and their families are the centerpiece of our mission 

and of everything we do. Equally essential are the people who are the 

backbone of the Department – our talented and diverse workforce.

• Results-driven: We will be measured by our accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

• Forward-looking: We will seek out opportunities for delivering the best services 

with available resources, continually challenging ourselves to do things smarter 

and more effectively.

Strategic goals

Four strategic goals represent the top priorities of the Department:

• Improve the quality and accessibility of health care, benefits, and memorial 

services while optimizing value.

• Increase Veteran client satisfaction with health, education, training, counseling, 

financial, and burial benefits and services.

• Raise readiness to provide services and protect people and assets continuously 

and in time of crisis.

• Improve internal customer satisfaction with management systems and support 

services to achieve mission performance and make VA an employer of choice 

by investing in human capital.

Integrated objectives 

Our plan for achieving these goals calls for a Departmentwide effort harnessing all talent 

to focus on the needs, expectations, and experience of Veterans and their families, while 

maximizing efficiency and value. To this end, we have committed to three integrated 

objectives for the Department. These objectives are the collective responsibility of the 

entire Department; achieving them will require 

collaboration between administrations and staff 

offices, between field and headquarters, and between 

the leadership and frontline employees. If the goals 

are the “what” of our plan, the integrated objectives 

are the “how.” By working together in this way, and by 

taking a client-centric perspective in everything we do, 

VA will execute on the central mission of the 

Department while transforming VA into an agile and 

responsive 21st century organization.

“At VA, we advocate for 

Veterans – it is our overarching 

philosophy, and in time, it will 

become our culture. If anyone 

asks you what VA stands for, 

you tell them that VA advocates 

for Veterans.” 

Secretary Eric K. Shinseki
Page 22 Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | I ntegrated objec tives 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Integrated objective 1: Make it easier for Veterans and their families to receive the right 

benefits, meeting their expectations for quality, timeliness, and responsiveness

Above all, the perspectives of Veterans and their families must drive the services we 

provide and how we provide them. In pursuing this objective, we will address and 

eliminate complexities and disparities in determining eligibility for and accessing VA 

benefits. We will ensure Veterans and their families are served in a spirit of engagement, 

empathy, and proactive effort to deliver the benefits that they need and have earned.

Specifically, we will focus on building a seamless 

and convenient system for clients and employees 

across physical and virtual “doors,” with tailored 

guidance for Veterans and families. We will also 

develop a 21st century benefits management 

capability, based on transparency, operating 

excellence, and innovations in technology. VA will 

continue to improve its industry‐leading health 

care information technology and services, based 

on principles of access, quality, and efficiency.

As a result, clients with multiple needs will have access to VA offerings and to those of our 

partners in a well integrated manner. From their first point of contact with VA, clients will 

be able to access VA and partner benefits, with fewer required touch points.

Integrated strategies to achieve objective 1 

a. Improve and integrate services across VA to increase reliability, speed, and 

accuracy of delivery.

b. Develop a range of effective delivery methods that are convenient to 

Veterans and their families.

c. Improve VA’s ability to adjust capacity dynamically to meet changing needs, 

including preparedness for emergencies.

d. Provide Veterans and their families with integrated access to the most 

appropriate services from VA and our partners.

e. Enhance our understanding of Veterans’ and their families’ expectations by 

collecting and analyzing client satisfaction data and other key inputs.

“Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record

(VLER) will track each member of our 

military forces – active and reserve 

component from the day they first put 

on the uniform until the day they are 

laid to rest. This will transform our 

Benefits Administration, ensuring faster 

processing, better decisions, fewer 

errors, and no lost records.” 

Secretary Eric K. Shinseki
Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | I ntegrated objec tives Page 23

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Integrated objective 2: Educate and empower Veterans and their families through proactive 

outreach and effective advocacy

To deliver on our goals, VA must engage our clients as people, advocate on their behalf, 

and empower them with clear and consistent information in order to do business with us 

and make decisions for themselves and their loved ones.

VA will distribute comprehensive, actionable information through new and existing 

channels, leverage technology in thoughtful, targeted ways, and improve our ability to 

listen to Veterans and their families to learn more about what works best for them. We 

will establish feedback loops for the continuous improvement of our own programs and 

services and those beyond our walls, while developing the capability to support client 

navigation of these offerings. We will cultivate the ability to articulate our clients’ needs 

and ensure their voices are heard in the forums where we operate in order to become 

more effective advocates on behalf of Veterans and their families.

Integrated strategies to achieve objective 2 

a. Use clear, accurate, consistent, and targeted messages to build awareness 

of VA’s benefits amongst our employees, Veterans and their families, and 

other stakeholders.

b. Leverage technology and partnerships to reach Veterans and their families 

and advocate on their behalf.

c. Reach out proactively and in a timely fashion to communicate with Veterans 

and their families and promote Veteran engagement.

d. Engage in two-way communications with Veterans and their families to 

help them understand available benefits, get feedback on VA programs, and 

build relationships with them as our clients.
Page 24 Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | I ntegrated objec tives 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Integrated objective 3: Build our internal capacity to serve Veterans, their families, our 

employees, and other stakeholders efficiently and effectively

Lastly, VA commits to invest in the renewal of our 

own capabilities and to build a foundation for future 

innovation. Together, VA employees will build a 

first‐rate Department, committed to strategic human 

capital management including the attraction, 

placement, retention, and development of our people. 

The Department will be managed according to data 

and outcomes, with a workforce, infrastructure, and 

partnership network that aligns with current Veteran 

needs and is developing to meet the challenges and 

opportunities of the future. We will create a culture 

and an expectation of continuous improvement in cost, 

productivity, response times, and first-time quality.

Specifically, VA will develop an integrated operating model to unify management of core 

functions, including Information Technology (IT), Human Resources, Acquisitions, Policy 

and Planning, and Financial Management. At the heart of our organizational effort will 

be the training and development of our people, so that they, in turn, can better serve 

Veterans. We will work to improve the management systems that enable top performance. 

Lastly, we will concentrate on delivering value-driven working partnerships with DoD, DOL, 

the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Small Business Administration 

(SBA), VSOs, and other government and non‐government partners.

Integrated strategies to achieve objective 3

a. Anticipate and proactively prepare for the needs of Veterans, their families, 

and our employees.

b. Recruit, hire, train, develop, deploy, and retain a diverse VA workforce to 

meet current and future needs and challenges.

c. Create and maintain an effective, integrated, Departmentwide management 

capability to make data-driven decisions, allocate resources, and manage 

results.

d. Create a collaborative, knowledge‐sharing culture across VA and with 

DoD and other partners to support our ability to be people‐centric, 

results‐driven, and forward‐looking at all times.

e. Manage physical and virtual infrastructure plans and execution to meet 

emerging needs.

“We must and will transform 

VA into the high performing, 

well-disciplined, transparent, 

and accountable organization 

we know it’s capable of being. 

Three hundred thousand good 

people come to work every day 

to serve Veterans. We must 

focus all of their efforts on 

providing Veterans the highest 

quality and safety in benefits 

and services.” 

Secretary Eric K. Shinseki
Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 25

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Major Initiatives

These crosscutting initiatives will require resources from across the Department to execute 

and will, in turn, transform the entire Department. These initiatives are described in detail 

in Chapter 3.

16 Major Initiatives for the VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015

Eliminate Veteran homelessness. 

Enable 21st century benefits delivery and services.

Automate GI Bill benefits.

Create Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record by 2012.

Improve Veterans’ mental health.

Build VRM capability to enable convenient, seamless interactions.

Design a Veteran-centric health care model to help Veterans navigate the health 

care delivery system and receive coordinated care.

Enhance the Veteran experience and access to health care.

Ensure preparedness to meet emergent national needs.

Develop capabilities and enabling systems to drive performance and outcomes.

Establish strong VA management infrastructure and integrated operating model.

Transform human capital management.

Perform research and development to enhance the long-term health and 

well‐being of Veterans.

Optimize the utilization of VA’s Capital Portfolio by implementing and executing 

the Strategic Capital Investment Planning (SCIP) process.

Health Care Efficiency: Improve the quality of health care while reducing cost.

Transform health care delivery through health informatics.

Supporting Initiatives

Twenty Supporting Initiatives have been identified to be executed at the organizational 

level to support the Major Initiatives in the fulfillment of the strategic goals and integrated 

objectives. These Supporting Initiatives are listed and discussed in detail in Chapter 3.
Page 26 Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | VA’s approach to execution

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

VA’s approach to execution

Strategic planning is not a static activity. Strategies need to be refreshed and revised as 

the external environment changes and/or initiatives evolve. Strategic planning is not 

purely an intellectual or analytical exercise. Success depends on human beings – on 

individual mindsets and behaviors being truly aligned with the strategy. Our execution 

approach addresses the dynamic and human nature of strategy by focusing attention on 

the five themes described below.

1. Behaviorally-oriented communication with employees

2. Coordination and accountability

3. Performance management

4. Program evaluation 

5. Risk management

1. Behaviorally-oriented communication with employees

Our strategic communications process will ensure that the strategy and its implications 

are understood throughout the organization and our community of stakeholders. This 

approach will ensure that employees throughout the organization – the people who will 

actually implement the strategy – understand the need for change and what is expected 

of them. In this way, we will build a community invested in the success of the strategy and 

empowered to contribute continuously as we update and improve it.

2. Coordination and accountability

To establish the right level of focus and support for these strategic initiatives, a 

coordinating mechanism has been created to review our progress against annual 

operating plans. It is designed specifically to achieve close alignment on several 

management issues and will identify potential risks or challenges. It will also recognize 

outstanding performance and share underlying best practices. The majority of our 

management capacity will be dedicated to the highest priority initiatives, as outlined in 

this plan.

3. Performance management

We will measure progress toward achieving VA’s strategic goals and integrated 

objectives through performance measures associated with our Major and Supporting 

Initiatives. As we transform, VA continues to develop and evolve performance measures. 

The performance measures and associated target levels of performance, listed 

below for our Major Initiatives, are illustrative of the ones that we are developing to 

promote transformation.
Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | VA’s approach to execution Page 27

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Major Initiatives* 

Eliminate Veteran homelessness.*

• Performance measure: Reduce the homeless Veteran population from a baseline 

of 107,000 at the beginning of FY 2010 to zero in FY 2014. FY 2012 Target: 59,000; 

FY 2014 Strategic Target: 0. Data captured annually by CHALENG1] survey of 

homeless Veterans.

Enable 21st century benefits delivery and services.*

• Performance measure: Implement a 21st century paperless claims processing system 

to eliminate the disability claims backlog by 2015 and ensure no Veteran has to wait 

more than 125 days for a high quality decision.

Create Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record by 2012.*

• Performance measure: Achieve bidirectional information exchange in at least three 

sites between VA, DoD, and the private sector by the end of 2011.

• Performance measure: Complete the prototyping and pilot phases by the end of 

FY 2012. 

Automate GI Bill benefits.*

• Performance measure: Reduce the average number of days to complete original 

education benefit claims. Baseline: 56 days; FY 2011 Target: 19 days; Strategic 

Target:  10 days.

• Performance measure: Reduce the average number of days to complete 

supplemental education claims. Baseline: 28 days; FY 2011 Target: 9 days; Strategic 

Target: 7 days. 

• Performance measure: Improve the accuracy of Education Claims payment 

processing activities. Baseline: 94 percent; FY 2011 Target: 95 percent;

Strategic Target: 97 percent.

* Denotes that this is one of VA’s High Priority Performance Goals (HPPG) as designated in consultation with 

OMB. 

1] Project CHALENG (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups) was 

initiated by VA in 1994 to enhance the continuum of care for homeless Veterans. Each year, CHALENG issues a 

summary report of annual survey responses of local VA staff and community participants regarding progress of 

local homeless Veterans initiatives, VA/community collaboration, and perceptions of homeless Veterans’ needs.
Page 28 Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | VA’s approach to execution

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Improve Veterans’ mental health.*

• Performance measure: Screen 97 percent of all eligible patients at required intervals 

for alcohol misuse; and 96 percent for depression by the end of 2012.

• Performance measure: Provide 96 percent of patients with a mental health (MH)

evaluation within 14 days of their first (Index) MH Encounter by the end of 2012. 

Strategic Target: 96 percent.

• Performance measure: Screen 97 percent of eligible patients at required intervals 

for PTSD by the end of 2012. 

• Performance measure: Increase the percentage of OEF/OIF Veterans with a primary 

diagnosis of PTSD who receive a minimum of 8 psychotherapy sessions within a 

14-week period. FY 2011 Target: 15 percent;

Strategic Target: 60 percent.

• Performance measure: Percent of eligible OEF/OIF PTSD patients evaluated at required 

intervals for symptoms. FY 2011: TBD; Strategic Target: TBD.

Build VRM capability to enable convenient, seamless interactions.*

• Performance measure: Deploy a VRM Program to improve VA clients’ access to VA 

services and benefits by June 2012.

• Performance measure: Increase call center effectiveness and efficiency by reducing the 

national abandoned call rate for the National Call Centers and Health Resource Center. 

Baseline: FY 2011; Strategic Target: 5 percent. 

Design a Veteran-centric health care model to help Veterans navigate the health care 

delivery system and receive coordinated care.

• Performance measure: Improve American College of Physicians (ACP) home builder 

score. Baseline: 69 percent; FY 2010: 79 percent; FY 2011: TBD;

Strategic Target: 100 percent.

• Performance measure: Census of Care Coordination Home Telehealth patients. 

Baseline: 14,921; FY 2011 Target: 59,800; Strategic Target: TBD.

• Performance measure: Increase percent of facilities with health promotion/disease 

prevention committees. Establish facility level interdisciplinary health promotion/

disease prevention committees. Baseline: 59 percent; Strategic Target: 100 percent.

*Denotes that this is one of VA’s High Priority Performance Goals (HPPG) as designated in consultation with OMB.
Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | VA’s approach to execution Page 29

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Enhance the Veteran experience and access to health care.

• Performance measure: Increase the percent of appointments completed within 14 days 

of desired date. FY 2011 Target: TBD; Strategic Target: TBD.

• Performance measure: Increase customer satisfaction with VA health care by increasing 

the responsiveness of hospital staff to the needs of Veterans and their families, 

measured by customer satisfaction based upon Consumer Assessment of Health Care 

Providers and Systems survey. Baseline to be established in FY 2011; Strategic Target: 

84 percent.

Ensure preparedness to meet emergent national needs.

• Performance measure: Reduce the response time for the Integrated Operations Center 

(IOC) to receive Serious Incident Report. Provide leadership with timely, accurate, and 

credible information, while providing predictive analysis for better decision making. 

Strategic Target: 2 hours.

• Performance measure: Full implementation of Homeland Security Presidential 

Directive 12–Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal 

Employees and Contractors. Ensure background investigations, adjudicate 

results, and issue identity credentials to all VA employees, contractors, and 

affiliates that require long-term access to VA controlled facilities and/or 

information systems. Strategic Target: 100 percent compliance.

Develop capabilities and enabling systems to drive performance and outcomes.

• Performance measure: Implement a Web-based Business Intelligence dashboard 

system to support VA management resourcing decisions. FY 2012 Target: 100 percent.
Page 30 Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | VA’s approach to execution

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Establish strong VA management infrastructure and integrated operating model.

• OALC performance measure: Increase the percent of customers satisfied with the 

provision of acquisition, logistics and construction services. Baseline to be established 

in FY 2014. Strategic Target: 75 percent.

• OHRA performance measure: Increase positive response and overall average on Human 

Resources customer satisfaction survey. Baseline: 3.37; Strategic Target: 3.81 (scale of 

1 to 5).

• OIT performance measure: Increase the percent of internal customers satisfied with 

reliability, availability, and responsiveness of IT services. Baseline: 67 percent; Strategic 

Target: 76 percent.

• FM performance measure: Implement a Web‐based time and attendance system to 

better assess and track labor costs related to health care and benefits delivery. FY 2013 

Target: 100 percent.

• OPP performance measure: Percent of internal customers who indicate they are 

satisfied or very satisfied with the VA strategic planning process. Baseline to be 

developed in FY 2011. Strategic Target: 85 percent.

Transform human capital management.

• Performance measure: Reduce hiring cycle times. Percentage of VA title 5 employees 

hired within 60 calendar days. Baseline: 46 percent; Strategic Target: 80 percent.

• Performance measure: Measure the number of managers and employees trained in 

leadership competencies to establish a more robust leadership competency model 

and address gaps in leadership capabilities. Baseline TBD; Strategic Target: 16,500. 

• Performance measure: Measure the number of employees trained in technical 

training/competency based training program to improve professional 

proficiency in core and job specific competencies. Baseline FY 2011: 135,000;

Strategic Target FY 2015: 148,5000.
Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | VA’s approach to execution Page 31

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Perform research and development to enhance the long-term health and well‐being 

of Veterans.*

• Performance measure: Continue assessment of scientific research quality and balance 

of portfolio by the National Research Advisory Council. 

Baseline: Rated at A-level; Targets: Maintain A-level rating.

• Performance measure: Maintain broad recognition of VA research – Number of VA 

publications this period. Baseline: 2,139 (in first quarter); FY 2011 Target: 8,500; 

Strategic Target: 8,400 to 8,600 annually.

Optimize the utilization of VA’s Capital Portfolio by implementing and executing the 

Strategic Capital Investment Planning (SCIP) process.

• Performance measure: Percent Facility Condition Gap Addressed

Target: 38 percent of identified gap addressed by FY 2015.

• Performance measure: Percent Space/Capacity Gap Addressed.

Target: 38 percent of identified gap addressed by 2015.

• Performance measure: Each year the SCIP process will result in a unified, 

comprehensive capital budget request for the Department.

• Performance measure: VA will annually update and/or include external 

stakeholder feedback on the SCIP process, development of decision criteria, 

final rankings and lessons learned. For more information on baseline data, 

estimates, and targets, see Appendix B: SCIP Performance Measures and 

Supporting Data on pages 105-106.

*Denotes that this is one of VA’s High Priority Performance Goals (HPPG) as designated in consultation with OMB.
Page 32 Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | VA’s approach to execution

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Health Care Efficiency: Improve the quality of health care while reducing cost.

• Performance measure: Increased cost savings through consolidated and 

standardized purchasing. FY 2015 Target: 10 percent savings over FY 2011 Baseline.

• Performance measure: Reduce improper payments for non-VA health care.

FY 2015 Target: 2 percent over FY 2011 Baseline (contingent on establishment 

of new claims system).

• Performance measure: Improve timeliness of claims payment for non-VA health 

care. FY 2015 Target: 98 percent of claims paid in 30 days.

• Performance measure: Reduce cost of accreditation preparation by streamlining 

resources and eliminating redundancies in the VHA inspection preparation 

process. FY 2015 Target: 10 percent savings over FY 2011 Baseline.

• Performance measure: Reduce improper and erroneous payments for mileage 

reimbursements. FY 2015 Target: 25 percent reduction in improper payments 

over FY 2011 Baseline.

• Performance measure: Reduce the number of programs funded using specific 

purpose funding. FY 2015 Target: 25 percent reduction in the number of 

programs funded by specific purpose funds over FY 2011 Baseline.

Transform health care delivery through health informatics.

• Performance measure: FY 2011: Define the technical, business, cultural and 

architectural strategy for migrating from current to the future environment.

• Performance measure: FY 2011: Establish a plan for developing new health 

software that extends current functionality for provider-facing, patient-facing 

and population‐based software.

• Performance measure: FY 2011: Define strategies for building/sustaining 

medical informatics capabilities.
Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | VA’s approach to execution Page 33

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

4. Program evaluation

Program evaluation is an essential part of our approach to strategic management, allowing 

VA’s strategy, operations, and results to improve over time by leveraging learning from 

past experience. Study findings and recommendations will be used to refine and improve 

VA services by suggesting policy and operating changes. For example, we have recently 

completed evaluating the Oncology Program and will soon complete the evaluation 

of the Mental Health Program. Both of these evaluations will be completed in FY 2010 

(see details below). A new Medical Research Program evaluation will begin in FY 2011.

Looking forward, we will use our new integrated Departmentwide management capability 

to strategically identify programs for evaluation to maximize the availability of information 

needed to drive resource allocations and promote evidence‐based decision‐making. 

The new Corporate Analysis and Evaluation Service will enhance our current Program 

Evaluation capabilities by enabling us to carry out cost-benefit analyses that will assist in 

identifying program activities that have the greatest value for our Veterans at the lowest 

cost. 

• Mental Health Evaluation: The purpose of the Mental Health Evaluation is to assess 

services for Veterans with diagnoses of schizophrenia, bipolar, major depressive 

disorder, PTSD, and substance use disorder (SUD). These patients have been defined 

by Congress as a special disability group, and they represent high cost, high volume 

care. The study will measure patient-centered outcomes across the continuum of 

care. The study includes two facility surveys used to track the use of mental health 

enhancement funds, along with chart reviews and telephone interviews to obtain 

data about services and outcomes. This evaluation will provide VHA with information 

about the services it provides, the impact on patients, how VA compares with the 

private sector, as well as the gaps and differences in services, patient outcomes, 

and costs. The results will be useful for comparing levels of implementation of 

the Uniform Mental Health Services guidelines across VA sites. Study findings and 

recommendations will be used to refine and improve how VA provides mental health 

care to Veterans. The Program Evaluation of Services for Mentally Ill Veterans in VHA 

will be completed in November 2010.

• Oncology Program Evaluation: The evaluation assessed the level, quality and costs of 

care provided to oncology patients across the continuum of care provided in VA. The 

target population was 100 percent of Veterans diagnosed with one of six types of 

cancer: lung, colorectal, prostate, breast and two types of hematologic cancer. The 

study linked 9 VA data sources and 11 non-VA data sources, conducted 2 nationwide 

facility surveys, and performed about 5,000 patient chart reviews.
Page 34 Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | VA’s approach to execution

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

The results show that VA’s cancer care quality and outcomes are generally 

comparable to that provided under Medicare. VA does a better job of screening for 

colorectal cancer which identifies cancers earlier, and leads to longer survival rates. 

VA has equal or longer survival rates for the other five types of cancer. VA does a 

better job of end-of-life care by appropriately providing less aggressive treatment. 

VA should further investigate its lower rates for certain types of chemotherapy, 

surgery and certain radiation treatments. Harvard Medical School concluded that if 

we could control for unobserved factors, quality and outcomes in the VA would be 

equal or better for nearly all measures studied.

• Medical Research Program Evaluation: Results of the Medical Research Program 

Evaluation will support improvements in research innovation, quality, and safety 

as well as health care delivery services for Veterans and the Nation. The evaluation 

is focused on improving communication of research findings for application, 

identifying best practices through benchmarking, strengthening human subjects 

protections, strengthening the use of research in recruitment of physicians and 

specialists, and clarifying resource or facility limitations that may impede medical 

research progress. The Program Evaluation of Medical Research is expected to be 

awarded in early FY 2011.

5. Risk management

The implementation plan will also involve monitoring and adjusting the strategy according 

to developments in areas beyond the Department’s control, including:

• Global and national socioeconomic conditions will influence competitive salary 

levels, labor availability, program demand, and health insurance coverage.

• Continued interagency collaboration between VA and DoD, as well as with 

other Federal agencies, state and local governments, VSOs and the private 

sector, is critical for a number of aspects of the strategy.

• DoD recruitment and retention variables affect VA’s programs.

• Emerging technologies and advances in medicine are likely to change the 

scope of Veterans’ needs. Development of new technology, equipment, and 

medical interventions is often shaped by economic, scientific, and social 

influences beyond the Department’s control.

• VA’s preparedness role and the outlook for national security both have bearing 

on the requirements of VA programs.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the strategic planning framework includes the crosscutting Strategic Goals, 

and the Integrated Objectives and Strategies encapsulated on page 35.
Chapter 2: The Strategic Planning Framework | VA’s approach to execution Page 35

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Composite Model of Strategic Goals, Integrated Objectives and Strategies

Strategic Goals

� Improve the quality and accessibility of health care, benefits, and memorial services while optimizing value.

� Increase Veteran client2]satisfaction with health, education, training, counseling, financial, and burial benefits and services.

� Raise readiness to provide services and protect people and assets continuously and in time of crisis.

� Improve internal customer3] satisfaction with management systems and support services to make VA an employer of choice by 

investing in human capital.

Integrated Objectives and Strategies

Integrated objectives Integrated strategies

1. Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive 

the right benefits, 

meeting their 

expectations for 

quality, timeliness, 

and responsiveness.

(a) Improve and integrate services across VA to increase reliability, speed, and accuracy 

of delivery.

(b) Develop a range of effective delivery methods that are convenient to Veterans and 

their families.

(c) Improve VA’s ability to adjust capacity dynamically to meet changing needs, including 

preparedness for emergencies.

(d) Provide Veterans and their families with integrated access to the most appropriate services 

from VA and our partners.

(e) Enhance our understanding of Veterans’ and their families’ expectations by collecting and 

analyzing client satisfaction data and other key inputs.

2. Educate and 

empower Veterans 

and their families 

through proactive 

outreach and 

effective advocacy.

(a) Use clear, accurate, consistent, and targeted messages to build awareness of VA’s benefits 

amongst our employees, Veterans and their families, and other stakeholders.

(b) Leverage technology and partnerships to reach Veterans and their families and advocate 

on their behalf. 

(c) Reach out proactively and in a timely fashion to communicate with Veterans and their 

families and promote Veteran engagement. 

(d) Engage in two-way communications with Veterans and their families to help them 

understand available benefits, get feedback on VA programs, and build relationships with 

them as our clients. 

3. Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their 

families, our 

employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently 

and effectively.

(a) Anticipate and proactively prepare for the needs of Veterans, their families, and 

our employees.

(b) Recruit, hire, train, develop, deploy, and retain a diverse VA workforce to meet current and 

future needs and challenges.

(c) Create and maintain an effective, integrated, Departmentwide management capability to 

make data-driven decisions, allocate resources, and manage results.

(d) Create a collaborative, knowledge‐sharing culture across VA and with DoD and other 

partners to support our ability to be people‐centric, results‐driven, and forward‐looking at 

all times. 

(e) Manage physical and virtual infrastructure plans and execution to meet emerging needs. 

2] In accordance with VA convention, clients refers to Veterans and their families

3] In accordance with VA convention, customers refers to internal users
Page 36 |

Department of Veterans Affairs

 |
Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015 Page 37

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan 

The strategy will be executed through a set of 16 Major Initiatives, representing the 

highest priorities for the Department, and a further set of Supporting Initiatives, where 

each component of the Department will contribute to the integrated strategy. These 

initiatives have been developed through Departmentwide and organization-specific 

collaborative working sessions, all within the Department’s integrated strategic framework.

These initiatives are aspirational; they are intended to represent what VA will achieve 

over the next five years to strengthen our ability to meet the needs of Veterans and their 

families and improve our services. Each initiative is supported by one or more operating 

plans, aligned with the overall initiative and representing the concrete progress in FY 2010, 

the first year of the original plan. 

Major Initiatives

There is particular urgency around Major Initiatives related to the claims processing 

backlog, Veteran homelessness, health care access, and emergency preparedness. Success 

in each and every one of the Major Initiatives, however, will be important to VA’s future 

progress. Ten of the 16 represent efforts to improve the way we serve Veterans and 

their families; the other 6 are critical to building internal capabilities and our capacity to 

perform to the highest level. 

Each of these Major Initiatives is ambitious, balanced, relentlessly client-focused, and 

requires collaboration from all parts of the Department. In executing these initiatives 

together, VA will provide our Veterans, their families, and stakeholders inside and 

outside the Department with an example of the kind of organization we want to be 

– Veteran advocates.
Page 38 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Eliminate Veteran homelessness.

President Barack Obama and Secretary Eric K. Shinseki are committed to ending 

homelessness among Veterans by marshalling the resources of Government, business and 

the private sector. Those who have served this Nation should never find themselves on the 

streets, living without care and without hope. VA will not tolerate homelessness among 

Veterans and is committed to making available treatment, assistance, and services to every 

eligible homeless Veteran.

VA’s efforts provide services and assistance to treat and house Veterans by leveraging 

the best health care and benefits provided by VA. VA’s efforts also depend on significant 

involvement by community providers, state and tribal governments, and other Federal 

partners.

While the estimated number of homeless Veterans on any given night has decreased since 

2005, even one Veteran sleeping without shelter is one too many. VA aspires to eliminate 

Veteran homelessness over the next 4 years.
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 39

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• Systematic efforts: VA’s approach will rigorously define the root causes 

of homelessness, cast a wide net to learn what has worked to reduce 

homelessness in other places and among other populations, expand existing 

services, develop and pilot a set of solutions, and make systematic those that 

work. The Homelessness Plan will be built upon 6 strategic pillars, including 

Outreach/Education, Treatment, Prevention, Housing/Supportive Services, 

Income/Employment/Benefits, and Community Partnerships.

• New approaches to Veteran services: Our success in this area to date suggests 

an opportunity for further investment. We will explore significantly enhanced 

integration with social service providers outside VA. We will never consider 

working in isolation, but we will be the Veteran’s guide and advocate in 

locating the full complement of services he or she needs.

• Robust management system: We will hold ourselves accountable with a system 

to monitor outcomes of individual Veterans as well as the outcomes of our 

programs so that the homeless are not nameless to us.

In stark terms, Veteran homelessness means that there are Veteran men and women whose 

most basic needs are not being met. VA is committed to the well-being of Veterans. We 

will build on that mission-driven commitment to bring new and sustained energy to this 

challenge, and we will not tolerate a single homeless Veteran1] on our streets.

1] On June 22, 2010, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) released Opening Doors, the Federal 

Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. The first-ever, comprehensive Federal commitment to end 

homelessness includes expanding programs to secure housing for homeless Veterans.
Page 40 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Enable 21st century benefits delivery and services.

VA is responsible for administering programs that provide benefits and services to 

Veterans and their families in recognition of their service to the Nation. We seek to serve 

as a leading advocate for Veterans, Servicemembers and their families, while delivering 

client‐centered benefits and services that honor their service, enhance their lives, and 

engender their full trust.

However, increasing volume and complexity of claims and increasing benefit coverages 

have driven a processing backlog that must be eliminated. At the outset of FY 2010, the 

nationwide average number of days to complete rating-related claims was 161. To get and 

stay ahead of future system demand, VA needs to redouble efforts to ensure best‐in‐class 

execution of benefits delivery. This requires nothing short of a transformational change in 

how we help Veterans get the benefits they are owed.

To address this need for change, VA has developed a benefits business transformation 

strategy to analyze and significantly improve its current way of doing business. This 

business transformation strategy is designed to leverage past successes and lessons 

learned to develop a business model that is less reliant on paper documents, providing 

flexibility across the organization to ensure that the most timely, high quality services are 

provided to Veterans and their families.

Our end goal is a smart paperless, IT-driven system which empowers our VA employees 

and engages our Veterans. While we work to develop this system, we are making 

immediate changes to improve our business processes and simultaneously incorporating 

the best of those changes into the larger effort, our signature program, the Veterans 

Benefits Management System (VBMS).

This effort is designed to complement and integrate with other Major Initiatives described 

in this section. This Major Initiative will help to improve Veterans’ experience with VA 

by allowing them to interact using multiple communication channels through the VRM 

effort, reducing the need to submit paper documents and providing a secure, accessible 

means to obtain benefits. This capability, combined with the VLER, will in turn help claims 

decisions to be made more quickly, decreasing the time needed to provide Veterans 

their benefits.
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 41

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• Enabling technologies: VA will create self-serve capabilities (e.g., electronic 

claims submissions); drive automated decision support to improve accuracy 

and consistency of claims decisions; improve interoperability within the claims 

IT infrastructure; promote e-knowledge management; and seamlessly link 

claims IT and the VRM program for a “paperless” claims environment.

• Process excellence: Technologies without an end-to-end redesign will not drive 

real transformation. To capture efficiencies and improve effectiveness, VA 

will streamline processes to reduce wasted time and effort, utilize skill‐based 

routing based on claim types and tasks, and balance workload across functions 

and geographies.

• Mindsets, culture, and capabilities: VA will create a culture of advocacy in which 

employees proactively work to understand and meet Veterans’ current and 

future needs. We will support all personnel in addressing the needs of the 

whole client – clarifying what constitute best practices, removing barriers, 

and providing proactive benefit guidance and advocacy. VA will work to build 

Veterans’ trust that VA employees are fully committed to their well‐being and 

that their claims are receiving timely, fair, and equitable consideration.

• Streamlining the appeals process: VA will create a more efficient appeals process 

that will render higher quality final appeals decisions more promptly.

• Measurement of success: Throughout this effort, we will assess progress and 

success based on accuracy, speed, and Veterans’ satisfaction.

In addition, VA will institute best practices to generate continuous improvement, develop 

scale economies through centers of excellence, streamline our operating footprint and 

push for creative ways to enhance performance and increase productivity, while managing 

succession planning for managers and expert decisionmakers.
Page 42 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Automate GI Bill benefits.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill creates a robust enhancement of VA’s education 

benefits, evoking the World War II GI Bill of Rights. The Act went into 

effect in August 2009, and provides education benefits for Veterans, 

Servicemembers and current and previously activated National Guard 

and Reserve members who have served on active duty for 90 or more 

days since September 11, 2001. Because of the significant opportunities the Act provides 

to Veterans and their families in recognition of their service, and their particular value in 

the current economic environment, the benefits in this Act must be delivered effectively 

and efficiently, with a client-centered approach. Because of its complexity, the Bill requires 

new processing procedures and IT systems. Due to the generosity of the new benefit and 

the extension of additional benefits to eligible Veterans’ families, the volume of claims 

applications is expected to be significantly higher than for existing programs.

In response, VA plans to create a fully-automated claims processing IT system for Post-9/11 

GI Bill benefit claims. This will improve timeliness of claims processing and payments to 

beneficiaries and schools. It will also maximize client service resources by reducing the 

burden of manual processing. The flexibility of an automated system will prepare VA for 

future benefit changes or new initiatives.

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• New technology systems: VA will develop a completely automated IT platform 

as a long-term solution for efficiently and accurately processing Post-9/11 

GI Bill benefit claims. Development of this system will be phased to ensure 

robustness and stability.

• Creation of a model for future programs: The Post-9/11 GI Bill will provide a 

framework for how VA can enhance other education programs by moving away 

from traditional IT systems. VA will build on this foundation and institutionalize 

lessons learned during implementation to drive improvements across all 

education programs.

In undertaking this Major Initiative, VA must ensure that benefits remain available as we 

change our systems to create long-term improvements. 

We must ensure strong 

client service and outreach 

to beneficiaries and 

other stakeholders.
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 43

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Create Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record by 2012.

Each year, more than 150,000 active and reserve Servicemembers separate from the 

military, becoming Veterans. This transition currently includes electronically sending some 

personnel, patient administrative, and medical records from DoD to VA. If the Veteran 

is not eligible for VA medical care, the Veteran must carry paper copies of their health 

record to their new chosen health care provider. The current process is not convenient, 

comprehensive, nor inclusive of Veteran needs. It also fails to include their personal 

review of their own information. In order to ensure 

that no Veteran information is lost or mishandled, 

and that all information on a Servicemember or 

Veteran can be easily accessed by service providers, 

VA and DoD have embarked on an ambitious effort to 

develop a completely integrated, electronic personal 

information capability that will span the lifetime of 

the Veteran and Servicemember. This capability will 

feature an electronic record that initiates at the point 

of accession, may contain information from birth, 

accompanies every Servicemember throughout 

the life of their service, and continues beyond their 

separation until the last benefit is realized.

The strategic framework or architecture for creating VLER must be a design that allows all 

caregivers, adjudicators, and other service providers access to the information needed 

to more efficiently and effectively accomplish their duties, often in a faster engagement 

than has previously been available. An extensive and comprehensive baseline for all 

Departmental operational business processes and an accounting of the capabilities 

of the systems supporting those processes must be created. From this baseline to the 

desired end state, the transition plan for moving the Department to the achievement of 

VLER must be created by 2012. This transition plan will establish the multi-year funding 

for investments in systems development and modernization. The business process 

reengineering necessary to transform the Department from a stovepiped benefits delivery 

organization, to one where seamless integration of all the information is available, must 

also be conducted. This same transformation leverages the work being accomplished by 

the e-Benefits Program to synchronize and make available to Servicemembers and Veterans 

their information in a secure and accessible manner.

Building on the position of leadership that VA has established in the medical health 

information field, and in order to ensure that comprehensive health information about 

each Veteran is available for their care and use, VA and DoD are currently developing, 

with multiple partners, the first important capability of VLER. This is called the VLER 

Health Communities Program. The VLER Health Communities Program will enable 

“Seamless transition is our 

concept of universal registration, 

where Servicemembers’ 

personnel and medical records 

are duplicated in VA, even while 

they still serve in uniform. That 

way, there is no air gap in the 

transfer of those records when 

the uniforms come off at the end 

of their military service.” 

Secretary Eric K. Shinseki
Page 44 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

the exchange of health data and patient information between public partners, 

private third party providers, and VA, in a secure and authorized way, utilizing 

the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). In the VLER Health Communities 

Program, VA and DoD have joined to collaborate on developing adapters to connect 

their individual electronic health systems to the NHIN. Pilot demonstrations of this 

data exchange are being conducted in various locations around the United States near 

VA Medical Centers (VAMC). VA plans to deliver additional capabilities in 6-month 

increments to each pilot. VA also intends to roll out the VLER Health Communities

capability to all VAMCs while incrementally adding additional health data elements 

and system capabilities. VA has established the milestone of the end of FY 2012 as the 

timeframe for when the Department intends to be positioned to be a unconstrained 

member of the NHIN. This is also the timeframe for a national production roll-out of the 

health components of VLER.

The ultimate goal is for a substantial exchange of health information that will enable 

the entire military treatment record to be delivered over the NHIN to VA. It is at this 

point that many legacy systems can be retired and health information can be seamlessly 

delivered for disability determinations. Additional projects aligned to meet the goal 

of VLER will incorporate all the necessary administrative elements required for the 

remainder of benefits delivery. In addition, there are other Major Initiatives of the 

Department that focus specifically on the client-facing view as part of the fulfillment 

of achieving a virtual lifetime electronic record. These follow-on VLER initiatives will 

ultimately ensure the seamless integration of all the information necessary to efficiently 

and effectively deliver health care and benefits to eligible Veterans, Servicemembers, 

and their families.

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• Process and workflow re-engineering: VA will examine mission requirements 

and enabling technologies to ensure that investments drive program 

outcomes. VA will also engage with our partners at DoD, other Federal 

agencies, and the private sector to support them in doing the same.

• Shared framework for medical, administrative, and benefits related 

information: VA, along with DoD, other Federal agencies, and the 

private sector will identify, manage, and configure the critical pieces 

of personal information required to create a holistic picture for each 

Servicemember or Veteran. We will develop a framework based on medical 

and other data interoperability standards to ensure that health care providers 

and other benefit providers have the right information at the right time to 

make the best possible decisions for Veterans.
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 45

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

• Information management processes: VA, along with DoD, other Federal 

agencies, and designated private sector entities, will establish and 

implement common standards and processes for collecting, publishing, 

transmitting, and reconciling medical, administrative, and other benefits 

information while ensuring privacy and security are not compromised.

• Enabling technologies: VA and DoD have already made progress in securing 

network gateways that will provide the bandwidth required to share electronic 

information quickly and easily. Continued technology efforts will focus on 

IT infrastructure; building additional bandwidth, storage, and processing; 

ensuring system interoperability; and developing the IT user interfaces 

required to make the system user-friendly. VA must also ensure legacy 

systems are prepared to engage in this interoperability initiative until these 

systems can be replaced or refreshed.

• Management capacity and capabilities: The VLER Enterprise Program 

Management Office (EPMO), located under the Assistant Secretary for 

Information and Technology, will represent the interests of all business 

stakeholders. The joint VA/DoD Interagency Program Office, accountable 

for implementation and management of joint interoperability initiatives, 

in collaboration with the VLER EPMO, will ensure that facilitation and 

coordination occurs between VA and DoD. 

When fully implemented, this capability will provide rapid access to all information 

necessary to determine a Veteran’s eligibility for benefits and services, and to provide 

care. Servicemembers and Veterans will receive more timely access to services and 

benefits while enjoying a simpler and more convenient experience. Once provided, 

information will be recorded accurately and permanently, giving the Veteran secure 

access to his or her information. Because of the interoperability with third-party 

health care providers, the VLER Health Communities Program will help ensure informed 

health care decisions, regardless of provider, enable an increase in the quality of care, 

improve efficiencies in the delivery of that care, and improve client satisfaction with the 

experience. This interoperability will ensure continuity of care for those Veterans seen in 

VA facilities, other Federal facilities, or the private sector. 

VLER will enable quicker and easier access to benefits while on active duty and after 

separation and assist with a smoother transition from military to civilian life for Veterans 

and their families. Ultimately, VLER will allow caregivers, clinicians, and benefits providers 

to view all relevant information about the Veteran securely, regardless of where it was 

documented, in a single, secure, electronic record and provide the Servicemember and 

the Veteran access to that same information.
Page 46 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Improve Veterans’ mental health.

The mental health of Veterans is a more important issue now than ever before. Increasing 

numbers of Veterans are being diagnosed with mental health conditions, often coexisting 

with other medical problems. More than 1.5 million of the 5.5 million Veterans seen last 

year in VA had a mental health diagnosis. This represents about a 31 percent increase 

since 2004.2] OEF/OIF Veterans rely on mental health care from VA to a greater degree 

than earlier groups of Veterans. Diagnosis of PTSD is on the rise, as the changing nature of 

warfare increases the chance for injuries that affect mental health and the challenges that 

Veterans face upon returning home remain significant. The potential negative results of 

mental health issues, such as homelessness and suicide – more than 107,000 Veterans are 

homeless on any given night, and an average of 18 Veterans die by suicide each day3] – 

make effectively addressing mental health one of our most important challenges.

In order to address this challenge, VA has significantly invested in our mental health care 

workforce, hiring more than 6,000 new mental health 

care workers since 2005. The Department has also 

established high standards for the provision of mental 

health care services through the recent publication of 

our Handbook on Uniform Mental Health Services in 

VAMCs and clinics. Still, there is more to do.

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• A national, patient-centered mental health system:

VA must provide Veterans with meaningful 

choices among effective treatments, balancing 

biological and biomedical approaches to care 

with psychological and psychosocial strategies. 

VA also must go beyond a narrow view of 

mental health to include psychological and 

behavioral interventions for problems such as 

pain and insomnia. Moreover, a true national 

system requires increased monitoring of services 

provided and of their effect on Veterans, with a systematic approach to 

correcting problems, and the identification and correction of inefficient uses 

of resources.

2] Data Source: NEPEC National Mental Health Program Performance Monitoring System: Fiscal Year 2009 

Draft Report.

3] Center for Disease Control (CDC) data demonstrate that 20 percent of suicides in America are Veterans. 

http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html. According to CDC (published July 2009): More than 33,000 

suicides occurred in the U.S. This is the equivalent of 91 suicides per day; one suicide every 16 minutes or 10.95 

suicides per 100,000 population. So, 20 percent of 91 suicides per day is a little over 18 per day. 

“The psychological wounds of 

war affect every generation of 

Veterans. We must aggressively 

diagnose and treat these unseen 

wounds to address other portions 

of the downward spiral that 

often result in severe personal 

isolation; dysfunctional 

behaviors; losses of identity, 

confidence, and personal 

direction; shattered relationships; 

depression; and substance 

abuse. We know this cycle; we’ve 

watched it for years. We are not 

going to let this happen to this 

generation.” 

Secretary Eric K. Shinseki
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 47

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

• Innovative research that informs service delivery: VA, along with DoD, is uniquely 

positioned to lead the field in identifying and developing the most effective 

practices for addressing mental health issues associated with military service. 

In partnership with DoD’s medical research teams, the Department will 

continue to explore new approaches to diagnosing and treating mental health 

issues – basing our research on advances that arise from psychology and 

neuroscience, and on other sources, including complementary and alternative 

medical treatments. Intervention research will include random clinical trials 

and, increasingly, important comparative effectiveness studies based on 

clinical and administrative data.

• Reaching Veterans where they live: VA will continue to work to ensure that all 

enrolled Veterans have access to the appropriate mental health services for 

which they are eligible, regardless of their geographic locations. In addition 

to enhancing contract and fee-based services for Veterans in rural areas, VA 

will expand on our success with virtual service provision, such as the Veterans’ 

Suicide Prevention Chat Line and increasing the numbers of consultations on 

real time clinical video‐conferences through telemental health to find flexible 

ways to deliver the best of mental health services to our Veterans.

• Partnerships with other agencies and with Veterans’ families: We recognize that 

mental health is not only a function of medical care, but also of the quality and 

connection to communities in which Veterans live. VA will work to connect 

Veterans proactively with the full range of support they require, both within VA 

and in their communities so they can successfully reintegrate from the point 

of separation from service. In this, VA will work with DoD, community service 

providers, social service providers, and clergy to make connections on the basis 

of the Veteran’s needs, values, and preferences. VA will work with families to 

support Veterans and their readjustment and with Veterans to address family 

issues related to deployment and return.

The Department has made significant progress in all of these areas over the past few years. 

Now, through a comprehensive and programmatic approach that links efforts across 

innovative research, access expansion, and community partnership, we hope to accelerate 

this progress, to lead the field in improving Veterans’ mental health.
Page 48 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Build VRM capability to enable convenient, seamless interactions.

The types of client service interactions that are common to Veterans and their families in 

society are changing rapidly, along with their expectations for service levels. VA has an 

obligation to change as well. We must offer Veterans and their families the experiences 

they seek, leveraging technological advances to learn more about the needs and 

preferences of our clients and becoming more proactive in serving them in an integrated 

fashion. Technology has quickly developed to support extensive self-service and many 

customers’ preferences are evolving toward these systems. It is most important that VA 

provide consistent information, access, and service levels. VRM will provide on-demand 

access to comprehensive VA services and benefits in a consistent, user-friendly manner 

through a multi-channel4] client relationship management (CRM) approach.

This framework will enable clients to find consistent information about VA’s benefits and 

services regardless of which access channel they choose; complete their transactions with 

VA; be identified by VA quickly, without having to repeat information; and seamlessly 

access multiple VA service lines (e.g., health, compensation, education).

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• Consistent information, anytime anywhere: VA will increase access and efficiency 

by facilitating anytime, anywhere access to accurate and consistent information 

on benefits and services through one knowledge base. This knowledge base 

will facilitate the ability to capture, store, share, and search for information on 

general benefits and services across all VA organizations .

• Unified approach to managing Veteran-specific knowledge: VA will maintain a 

shared record of contacts between VA organizations and our clients through 

state-of-the-art CRM to achieve better understanding of our clients’ needs, 

improve our ability to measure service quality, and provide personalized 

experiences and superior customer service. This data will be subject to 

rigorous client privacy and security protections.

• Completely integrated service processes and systems: VA will provide a unified 

desktop approach with access to integrated information management among 

VA organizations to ensure continuity of service and to better resolve issues. 

VA will integrate major VA organizations’ contact centers, allowing for a call 

received at one to be seamlessly resolved at another without losing the context 

of the issue. Finally, VA will allow Veterans to receive care quicker and easier 

in VAMCs, CBOCs, and other for previous authorized fee‐based care centers 

4] In this case, multi-channel refers to alternative means of communication with Veterans, including e-mail, 

phone, mail, and other alternatives.
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 49

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

through the implementation of a single standard beneficiary identification 

card.

• Seamless client service access across channels: VA will ensure that the channels 

through which Veterans choose to access VA services are convenient, easy to 

use, and provide the same high‐level of quality service. VA will modernize our 

telephone services to enhance the experience of Veterans who together make 

30 million phone calls to VA annually. VA will introduce identity and access 

management processes and systems to enhance our Internet interactions and 

provide additional client service functionality.

Implementing the VRM program and supporting processes is a critical component in the 

Department’s efforts to create a Veteran-centric operating model. The success of this 

effort should lay the foundation for continued integration across the organization and our 

partnerships and support innovation in meeting Veterans’ needs.
Page 50 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Design a Veteran-centric health care model to help Veterans navigate 

the health care delivery system and receive coordinated care.

The VA delivery system has many strengths (e.g., cost effectiveness, the use of technology). 

However, shifts in health care across the Nation and the evolving needs of Veterans call for 

a more fundamental reassessment of VA’s approach to health care delivery, funding, and 

coordination. We need to adapt our service delivery model to address these and other 

potential changes.

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• Developing a PACT with the Veterans to provide the best care anywhere:

5] The 

Patient-Centered Medical Home model has become a front runner for health 

care reform and the delivery of health care in the private sector. VHA’s PatientCentered Medical Home model, known as Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT), 

is an interdisciplinary, team-based healthcare delivery model that focuses on 

providing timely, comprehensive, coordinated care to Veterans. The PACT 

consist of a core team that works closely with many other disciplines in order to 

make sure the Veteran receives the care they need and when they need it.

• We will re-engineer our Primary Care teams to provide a “patient aligned 

care team” for Veterans, offering first contact, comprehensive, coordinated 

care: Based upon the documented value of primary care to achieve better 

health outcomes, improve patient experience, and deploy resources more 

efficiently, these health care teams will work collaboratively to improve access, 

communication, coordination, quality, and safety. 

• Prevention of disease progression: Because chronic conditions such as diabetes 

and hypertension are increasingly prevalent in the Veteran population, the 

cornerstone of VA’s care will be health maintenance and chronic disease 

management. VA will develop comprehensive health promotion and 

preventive care programs that encompass both healthy behavior coaching and 

promotion of psychological wellness and resilience.

• Ensuring timely and appropriate access: Veterans have earned access to quality 

health care. VA must continue to adapt our delivery model to be available to 

enrolled Veterans, particularly through “virtual” channels and partnerships. 

Since many Veterans live in more remote rural areas, we will expand our use 

of new approaches like telehealth and teleradiology. VA will also deepen and 

develop new partnerships with other public and private sector providers to 

ensure timely access to high quality services.

5] Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) is VA’s patient-centered medical home model.
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 51

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

• Increasing usage: Informed by a thorough, fact-based understanding of Veteran 

needs, VA will align its approach to care to meet those needs and enhance 

the health care experience. By embracing a PACT model we will re-craft the 

relationship between patient, provider, and setting to form a comprehensive, 

patient-centered approach. This model will help our providers proactively 

assess and meet Veteran health care needs.

• Enhanced use of non-hospital care: While the hospital system must be 

maintained to provide complicated interventions, more appropriate delivery 

of both primary and specialty service can often be provided in other contexts, 

ranging from CBOCs to telemedicine and home-based care. 

• A world class right-sized infrastructure: Many VA facilities have aging 

infrastructure and technology that are progressively more obsolete. Changing 

demographics have led to geographic mismatches between VA facilities 

and the Veterans they are intended to serve. VA will develop a systematic, 

value-driven approach to major capital decisions – in addition to organizing 

functional experts across individual facilities – to ensure the provision of 

optimal care for all enrolled Veterans where they live.

The VA health care system must be a system of care that optimizes quality, access, and 

value for Veterans. Unique among direct care systems in America, VA reaps the benefits of 

preventive and chronic care management, because once they are enrolled, we have the 

opportunity to treat Veterans for their lifetimes. VA also has several strategic assets that 

can be leveraged, including ubiquitous, longitudinal Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and 

a large database on bio-information and comparative effectiveness. VA will exercise these 

strengths to build a system that meets Veteran needs, engages the larger Federal and 

private health care systems in the most effective way, and creates a sustainable model for 

the 21st century.
Page 52 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Enhance the Veteran experience and access to health care.

Of the 23.4 million Veterans in this country, roughly eight million are enrolled in the VA for 

health care. Under our current delivery system, VA provides care to more than 5.5 million 

Veterans each year at over 1,100 locations, including 

inpatient hospitals, health care centers, and CBOCs. 

We want to ensure that all enrolled Veterans receive 

the health care they have earned through their 

service. 

VA seeks to proactively reach out to Veterans who 

may be eligible but are not enrolled in the VHA system 

today to explain our services and the quality of our 

health care system, making certain that any Veteran 

who can benefit from VA services knows about the 

range of services available to them and how to get 

them. We will strive to eliminate disparities in access 

to care wherever they exist within our system. Finally, 

through our patient aligned care team model we will 

ensure that all enrolled Veterans get the most out of 

their VA health care. 

This Major Initiative includes the following: 

• Expanding outreach to all Veterans: VA will provide Veterans with patient-centric 

information about options and offerings to empower them and connect them 

with the best available care. In particular, we will seek to enroll Veterans who 

are eligible to receive care within the VHA system. In addition, we will develop 

the capability to be a navigator not just of VA services, but also of services 

outside the VA system.

• Creating a culture of patient-centered care: VA will develop a patient centered 

culture within the VA health care system, where a fully engaged partnership 

– of Veteran, family and patient aligned care team – will establish continuous 

relationships in optimal healing environments in order to improve the Veteran’s 

experience of care, along with better health outcomes. This will require a 

sustained multiyear effort to transform the current organizational culture, 

re-engineer our clinical and business processes, reshape the workforce, and 

redesign our physical plants to attain these ideals. 

• Becoming the national benchmark for quality, safety, and transparency of health 

care and advice: VA will cultivate areas of distinctiveness where other providers 

“Chronically ill Veterans who 

qualify for remote monitoring 

have been provided telehealth 

connectivity so that they don’t 

have to travel to our hospitals or 

clinics to have their conditions 

checked. Through the power 

of technology, they can be 

monitored in their own homes 

from a distant station – better 

monitoring 24 hours a day 

without exposure to the risks one 

encounters in hospital emergency 

rooms. This is part of what we 

mean about increasing access to 

VA care and services.” 

Secretary Eric K. Shinseki
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 53

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

are not addressing Veterans’ needs, such as PTSD and polytrauma. By using 

advanced analytical techniques to understand demand and outcome trends, 

VA will substantially address variability currently present in the system. Finally, 

VA will be a navigator and coach for all enrolled Veterans to ensure they have 

the best information available to make informed choices about their health.

• Recognition and elimination of disparities: Demographic shifts (e.g., increasing 

numbers of women Veterans) and shifts in where Veterans live (e.g., higher 

proportion of Veterans in rural communities) call for continued realignment of 

the delivery system with the needs of all Veterans enrolled in our health care 

system. VA will analyze the nature of disparities wherever they exist and align 

our infrastructure and human capital to eliminate them. We will build on the 

success of our virtual channels (e.g., myHealtheVet) to provide world‐class 

communications between patients, providers, and care coordinators. VA 

will also continue to innovate and adopt best practices in virtual real-time 

medicine such as telemedicine to bring expertise to less populated areas and 

to all groups of Veterans. VA will also deepen and develop new partnerships 

with other public and private sector providers to ensure timely access to 

high‐quality services for underserved populations.

VA has already transitioned some of its care from inpatient to outpatient settings where 

technology solutions safely permit, through telemedicine, in-home care and other delivery 

innovations. We will continue to focus on the gaps for underserved populations, and on 

expanding access so that every Veteran can get the care they need – at the right place and 

at the right time.
Page 54 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Ensure preparedness to meet emergent national needs. 

VA remains committed to building and maintaining the capabilities required to serve 

Veterans and their families in times of crisis. In addition, VA is assigned a critical mission 

essential to the security of the Nation: to serve as a primary backup to the DoD Military 

Health System during war or national emergency, and to assist other Federal agencies 

in providing medical and other services during natural disasters or terrorist attacks. The 

Department is uniquely situated to play this role because of our sheer size and footprint 

– nearly 300,000 full and part time employees; as many as 800,000 affiliates including 

contractors and volunteers; 1,600 sites across the country – as well as our expertise in 

medical and other social service provision. As a key leader and integral member of a 

Federal interagency network of health care, benefits and service providers, VA must also 

ensure that we have confidence in the suitability of our employees, contractors and 

affiliates to serve Veterans and their enrolled family members. VA will ensure that the 

identification issued to employees, contractors and affiliates meets the Federal standards 

of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) and, in a phased approach, 

require the use of standard Federal identification to gain physical access to federally 

controlled facilities and logical access to federally controlled information systems.

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• Clear roles and responsibilities: VA will review authorities, mandates, and spans 

of control for each organization within VA and make changes where necessary.

• Inventory of assets: VA will take a full inventory of assets, capture those results 

so that assets can be easily managed in time of need, and establish procedures 

for refreshing and maintaining that inventory.

• Preparedness at every level of management: VA’s organizations will take on 

ongoing emergency preparedness responsibilities, including contributing to 

a Department‐wide Comprehensive Emergency Management Program that 

includes an All Hazards Emergency Preparedness Planning Program; Continuity 

of Operations Plan; and a Test, Training, and Evaluation Program. 

• Integrated Operations Center (IOC): The IOC will facilitate critical and timely 

decisionmaking by providing situational awareness and fully coordinated 

recommendations to senior leadership regarding the development of potential 

emergencies. The IOC will be continuously staffed with subject matter experts 

from across the Department with analytical skills to predict and analyze as well 

as operational response expertise. This staff will be prepared to coordinate VA’s 

integrated response with Federal partners and other stakeholders.
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 55

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

• HSPD-12 Implementation: The President signed HSPD-12 “Policy for a Common 

Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors” on August 

27, 2004, requiring a mandatory, government-wide standard for secure 

and reliable forms of identification for Federal employees and contractors. 

Successful implementation of HSPD-12 will increase the security of VA facilities 

and information systems. VA will ensure 100 percent compliance with HSPD-12 

no later than October 1, 2011. 

VA must always keep in mind our principal mission: to serve Veterans and their families. 

But we must also see ourselves as an asset in the larger mission of seeking the national 

good under the President’s leadership. HSPD-12 implementation will enable access to 

VA facilities and information systems by properly credentialed employees, contractors, 

and affiliates with reciprocal uniform access to broader Federal interagency facilities and 

information systems. By using all of our assets and capabilities, we will continue to play 

an essential role in an emergency. We will cultivate within our Department a culture of 

commitment to VA’s mission of preparedness.
Page 56 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Develop capabilities and enabling systems to drive performance 

and outcomes. 

The best run organizations in the world vigorously maximize value by ensuring efficiency, 

effectiveness, and the appropriate allocation of scarce resources. By value, we mean 

outcomes that are measurable and show return on the various inputs (e.g., people, time, 

funding) for a task or a process. This approach helps to not only identify best practices 

so that they can be propagated across the system, but allows us to promote appropriate 

resourcing decisions.

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• Definition of outcome-based metrics: VA will develop a shared enterprise‐wide 

framework to present metrics that will aid in the analysis of its business 

activities. We will develop a common approach for identifying costs from 

which all parts of the organization will contribute data to ensure that corporate 

and organizational leaders have the information they need to monitor 

performance and allocate resources.

• Data capture and transfer: VA will use its extensive data libraries to populate 

our shared, enterprise-wide framework and present meaningful data across 

the Department.

• Data analytics and synthesis: VA will develop a set of analytics around the data 

to identify outliers, locate best practices among positive outliers, and find gaps 

that may need more resources. VA will establish the capability to report and 

refresh these analytics.

To do this, VA will be inspired and guided by our mission to provide the best outcomes for 

Veterans and their families. VA’s organizations are technology‐enabled in many of their 

business processes and already have extensive data libraries. The challenge is to integrate 

these data across VA and establish common measures that the agency can manage. 
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 57

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Establish strong VA management infrastructure and integrated 

operating model. 

VA aspires to have a strong management infrastructure and integrated operating model 

(IOM) that focuses on improving the integration and management within and across VA’s 

major corporate management functions. VA’s five major operating functions are:

• Acquisition and Logistics

• Construction and Facilities Management

• Financial Management

• Human Resources Management

• Information Technology

The senior leaders within each of the five major operating functions are the key 

stakeholders in the IOM management framework. Their joint participation and leadership 

within the IOM will streamline corporate communication, decisionmaking, oversight, 

and governance and result in increased coordination, accountability, and visibility within 

and across the major corporate functions. In turn, the IOM seeks to leverage the scale 

and expertise within each of the major corporate functions into higher levels of service 

delivery, customer service, efficiency, and innovation across VA.
Page 58 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• Enhanced decisionmaking: By enhancing our situational awareness across 

the Department, collocating decision rights with the information required, 

and providing reliable, timely data to decisionmakers at the corporate and 

local levels.

• More effective operations: By increasing communication and collaboration 

across organizations, improving internal customer service, sharing best 

practices, and identifying and addressing opportunities for performance 

improvement.

• More efficient operations: By reducing duplicative efforts and the rework 

associated with variable standards; and by taking advantage of economies of 

scale across the Department in areas such as purchasing, service contracts, 

construction and facilities management, and recruiting and developing 

genuine, long-term partnerships between organizations.

• Optimal allocation of resources: By developing and deploying talent, funding, 

and other critical assets across the Department in the right places at the 

right time.

• Improved risk management: By installing and adhering to the appropriate 

internal controls to ensure the Department continues to receive a clean 

audit opinion.

Though organization specific activities will vary, the IOM will ensure that the key corporate 

management functions also share a common direction and will:

• Identify and provide access to information that should be shared at the 

enterprise level.

• Set policies that clearly delineate decision rights and responsibilities in support 

of enhanced performance.

• Provide training and build capabilities that meet the specific evolving needs of 

the Department to ensure consistently high levels of performance.

• Streamline systems and processes to enable enhanced execution.

• Improve the quality of governance within and across these functions in 

the Department.

• Identify opportunities for economies of scale and skill by pooling resources and 

focusing on coordination and alignment.
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 59

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Transform human capital management.

VA’s employees are central to achieving our goals and our primary goal is for VA to become 

the best place to work. To accomplish this, VA will invest in developing our people, in 

helping them reach their full potential, and in creating programs to increase health 

and wellness throughout the workforce. We will also strengthen accountability among 

managers for the development and well being of their employees and make sure they 

have the skills and support they need to do so. Projected retirements over the next 5 years 

will require the Department to undertake significant hiring, creating challenges and 

opportunities to refresh our overall workforce. We will accomplish this in accordance with 

the VA’s new Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan which is VA’s framework for creating and 

sustaining a diverse workforce and inclusive work environment. 

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• Improved recruiting, hiring and retention: VA will engineer new approaches to 

recruitment, hiring and retention by exploring new sources of human capital; 

streamlining hiring; improving the hiring experience; and addressing the 

issues that have the greatest impact on retention of key professional groups. 

In addition, VA will clearly define our approach to competing for well qualified 

employees in “hard-to-fill” employment areas.

• Investment in people development: VA will meet the need for leadership training 

– from Senior Executive Service (SES) to frontline management – to establish 

a more robust leadership competency model and address gaps in leadership 

capabilities. The Department will promote excellence in the education of the 

future workforce to drive health care innovation and continuous improvements 

in operations. Finally, VA will invest in technical training in the occupations 

that are most central to executing VA’s strategy and provide professional 

development to the non‐supervisory workforce of VA.

• Management of VA’s executive and senior professional assets: Centralized 

life-cycle management of VA’s leadership cadre, including members of 

the SES, title 38 SES equivalents, Senior-Level (SL) employees, to deliver 

a cadre of people‐centric, results-driven, and forward-looking executives 

and senior professionals able to work collaboratively across internal and 

external boundaries to set the standard in health, benefits and service to our 

Nation’s Veterans.

• Broad set of HR capabilities: VA will invest in our people and HR systems to 

support higher value-added roles for the HR function. HR will become a better 

partner and coach to managers in developing and executing recruiting, hiring, 

development, and retention strategies (e.g., train HR professionals to consult 

more effectively with managers); improve systems interoperability to create 
Page 60 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

more effective links and transparency among all the sites where HR functions; 

and implement new data infrastructure to support learning management 

VA-wide.

In October 2009 the Secretary established the Corporate Senior Executive Management 

Office (CSEMO). CSEMO applies an enterprise-wide approach to SES management, 

including recruiting, retaining, developing, training, and rewarding our senior executives. 

CSEMO provides “one-stop” services, to include benefits counseling and employee relations 

advice and assistance. 

Initiatives underway to improve executive management and service delivery to 

VA’s leadership include streamlining and standardizing the hiring process; ensuring 

consistency in processes and procedures; partnering with OPM to address executive/

leader assessments; using executive search firms to attract outside talent; driving a culture 

of continuous learning for executives; overhauling the SES leader development program; 

providing executive coaches; developing a robust on-boarding process; delivering 

performance management training and a performance management system that focuses 

on the Secretary’s priorities and encourages and rewards creativity, innovation, intelligent 

risk-taking, critical thinking, and results; implementing automated tools and processes; 

and providing succession management and workforce planning. CSEMO’s vision is a 21st

century Leadership Team transforming VA into an agile, adaptive organization capable of 

leading change and delivering results.
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 61

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Perform research and development to enhance the long-term health 

and well‐being of Veterans.

Health care today is both an art and a science. Much innovation is needed to consistently 

deliver the right care, at the right place, at the right time. Embedding research within a 

large-scale, integrated health care system with a longitudinal electronic health record 

creates a national laboratory for the discovery of health care innovations. Because 

clinical care and research occur together under one roof, VA brings scientific discovery 

from the patient’s bedside to the laboratory and back, making this program one of VA’s 

most effective tools for improving the care of Veterans. VA will play a leading role in the 

advancement of clinical medical knowledge, particularly in those health issues associated 

with military service, by excelling in research and development of evidence-based clinical 

care and delivery system improvements to enhance the long-term health and well-being 

of Veterans.

This Major Initiative includes the following: 

• Investment in a balanced portfolio of research projects: VA’s fundamental goal 

in research and development is to create the capabilities to address the needs 

of the Veteran population. This means VA must balance its research and 

development resources across a variety of needs and opportunities, from those 

affecting aging Veterans (e.g., diabetes and obesity, cardiovascular disease, and 

stroke), to those affecting younger Veterans with injuries from recent conflicts 

(e.g., traumatic brain injury, PTSD, amputation, and pain), using cutting-edge 

imaging and epidemiologic, clinical, and genetic methods.

• Commitment to evidence-based results: With 30 years of electronic health record 

data and comparative effectiveness research, the Department is committed to 

leveraging this asset for identifying evidence-based clinical care protocols and 

delivery system improvements. VA will work closely with emerging Federal 

Government comparative effectiveness efforts with a special focus on leading 

in those areas relevant to Veterans.

• Legal and other support: VA will ensure that research protocols and practices 

adhere to stringent legal and ethical standards. The development of model 

Cooperative Research and Development Agreements and contractual vehicles 

will help to ensure timely legal assistance and resolution of issues in this area.

In FY 2010, VA supported nearly 2,350 research projects ranging from preclinical studies 

to health services research to multi-site clinical trials. VA will use our medical investments 

to build on our strong research legacy to ensure continuous improvement of long-term 

health care outcomes for Veterans and their families.
Page 62 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Optimize the utilization of VA’s Capital Portfolio by implementing and 

executing the Strategic Capital Investment Planning (SCIP) process.

To fulfill our mission of caring for Veterans and their families, VA must develop a rational 

and data-driven strategic capital investment plan to close identified gaps between 

facilities’ current conditions and Departmentwide standards. The gaps include access, 

utilization, space, facility condition, energy, safety, security, parking, privacy, and 

IT deficiencies.

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• Improving VA infrastructure: The purpose of this initiative is to capture the full 

extent of VA infrastructure and service gaps and develop both capital and 

non‐capital solutions to address these gaps by FY 2021. The SCIP process is 

a 21st century transformative tool which will enable VA to deliver the highest 

quality health care, benefits, and memorial services to our Nation’s Veterans 

through investing in the future and improving efficiency of operations.

• Enhancing Capital Investment Planning efforts: SCIP will integrate VA’s various 

capital investment planning efforts for major construction, minor construction, 

non-recurring maintenance and leasing into one process. This process will lead 

to the creation of a Departmentwide 10-year Strategic Capital Plan to address 

each of the identified gaps. Capital projects will be prioritized based on need; 

addressing the most critical gaps first and emphasizing Major and Supporting 

Initiatives, such as life safety, and security. This 10-year Strategic Capital Plan 

will inform the FY 2012, 2013, and subsequent capital budget requests to OMB.

• Reducing the Facility Condition Gap: The condition gap is defined as an estimate 

of dollars needed to address deficiencies at facilities. These deficiencies are 

identified via facility assessments and critical issues are assigned correction 

dollar estimates. Most of the SCIP data is accumulated from existing systems; 

however, there is a need to automate data integration.  Efforts underway in 

2011 will evaluate the requirements needed, and the feasibility of, creating an 

automated system.

• Reducing the Space Gap: The space gap is defined as the amount of square 

footage needed to meet a facility’s demand. Facilities have either positive 

(excess) or negative (deficit) space gaps. The need for space has different 

drivers and classifications for each organization. In cases of excess space, 

disposal or reuse of space should be considered as a method of addressing 

the gap. Most of the SCIP data is accumulated from existing systems; however, 

there is a need to automate data integration to ensure data reliability and 

efficient reporting. Efforts underway in 2011 will evaluate the requirements 

needed, and feasibility of, creating an automated system.
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 63

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Health Care Efficiency: Improve the quality of health care while 

reducing cost.

Health care costs across the United States are accelerating without significant evidence of 

increased health care delivery value and VHA faces similar circumstances. Many current 

systems in VHA have not been optimized for cost effectiveness. Cost Savings: The purpose 

of this initiative is to coordinate and accelerate the ongoing cost savings initiatives with 

new initiatives to allow VA to enhance services to clients.

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• Reduce operational costs and streamline program deployment to enhance 

program efficiency.

• Achieve cost savings through consolidated purchasing.

• Reduce non-VA care coordination clinical and business practice variability.

• Reduce cost per patient transported in the Beneficiary Travel Program.

• Reduce the number of programs funded using specific purpose funding.
Page 64 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Transform health care delivery through health informatics.

VA’s transition from a medical model to a patient-centered PACT model of care requires 

cultural, informational, and technological paradigm shifts to implement a sophisticated 

electronic health management platform that supports cognition, communication and 

workflow of patients, clinicians and population-health practitioners while assuring 

compatibility with other systems such as those from DoD and Indian Health Service (IHS).

This Major Initiative includes the following:

• Support Health Care Delivery: Coordinate, champion and implement elegant 

electronic health management platforms, information sharing tools and 

knowledge content systems and principles to optimally support health care 

delivery and management in a wide variety of settings.

• Modernization of VA’s Electronic Health Record: Migrate VA’s Computerized 

Patient Record System to a modern, Web-based Electronic Health Record.

• Pilot methodologies to streamline software development and delivery: 

Establish a collaborative software development model based on rapid and 

iterative prototyping.

• Improve Veteran-centric and Population Health Outcomes: Improve outcomes 

in terms of access, quality and safety while improving provider efficiency and 

satisfaction with the electronic health platforms.

Strategic Targets:

• Improve health (systems) outcomes: Improve outcomes by FY 2015, through 

implementation of electronic Health Management Platforms that embrace:

• Participatory medicine demonstrated through increased patient and 

family involvement in their care related decisionmaking

• Evidenced-based care for preventive and chronic 

disease management

• Evolving Electronic Health Record based on Web technologies

• Collaborative, iterative, and rapid software 

development methodologies

• Standardized terminology

• Incorporation of clinical decision support tools that are 

knowledge‐driven, context sensitive and that maximize 

patient‐specific computable data
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | M ajor I nitiatives Page 65

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

• Collection of health data and documentation as a by-product of 

workflow processes

• Integration with workflow 

• Advancement of predictive modeling which facilitates risk 

identification, characterization of relevant factors, and determination 

of methods to improve outcomes

• Shared coordination and improved continuity of care

• Interoperability with other Federal and non-Federal health 

care providers.

• Improve patient and provider satisfaction: Improve the satisfaction of patients 

and providers by FY 2015, in health care delivery through:

• Improved access to and sharing of health information amongst the 

patient aligned health care team, Veteran and Veteran’s family

• Efficient and effective tools to support health care delivery.

• Reduce Health Care Costs: Reduce the cost of health care delivery by FY 2015 

through: 

• Leveraging health informatics to decrease medical errors

• Improved staff efficiencies and productivity

• Improved utilization of resources

• Reduction of unnecessary tests, procedures and other interventions.
Page 66 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan |

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs
Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 67

INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and empower 

Veterans and their 

families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Supporting Initiatives

The following Supporting Initiatives are led by individual organizations within VA. The 

execution of these Supporting Initiatives depends on collaboration and support from other 

organizations. Some of these initiatives also support the 16 Major Initiatives and are aligned 

and organized by Integrated Objectives and Strategies.
Page 68 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Veterans and their families 

are the centerpiece of our 

mission and of everything 

we do. Equally essential 

are the people who are 

the backbone of the 

Department—our talented 

and diverse workforce.

RESULTS-DRIVEN

We will be measured by our 

accomplishments, not by 

our promises.

FORWARD-LOOKING

We will seek out 

opportunities for 

delivering the best 

services with available 

resources, continually 

challenging ourselves to 

do things smarter and 

more effectively.

STRATEGIC GOALS

 Improve the quality and 

accessibility of health 

care, benefits, and 

memorial services while 

optimizing value.

 Increase Veteran client 

satisfaction with health, 

education, training, 

counseling, financial, 

and burial benefits 

and services.

 Raise readiness to 

provide services and 

protect people and 

assets continuously and 

in time of crisis.

 Improve internal 

customer satisfaction 

with management 

systems and support 

services to make 

VA an employer of 

choice by investing in 

human capital.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Integrated objectives Integrated strategies

1. Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

1(a) Improve and integrate services across VA to increase reliability, speed, 

and accuracy of delivery.

1(b) Develop a range of effective delivery methods that are convenient to 

Veterans and their families.

1(c) Improve VA’s ability to adjust capacity dynamically to meet changing 

needs, including preparedness for emergencies.

1(d) Provide Veterans and their families with integrated access to the most 

appropriate services from VA and our partners.

1(e) Enhance our understanding of Veterans’ and their families’ 

expectations by collecting and analyzing client satisfaction data and 

other key inputs.

2. Educate and 

empower Veterans and 

their families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

2(a) Use clear, accurate, consistent, and targeted messages to build 

awareness of VA’s benefits amongst our employees, Veterans and their 

families, and other stakeholders.

2(b) Leverage technology and partnerships to reach Veterans and their 

families and advocate on their behalf. 

2(c) Reach out proactively and in a timely fashion to communicate with 

Veterans and their families and promote Veteran engagement.

2(d) Engage in two‐way communications with Veterans and their families 

to help them understand available benefits, get feedback on VA 

programs, and build relationships with them as our clients. 

3. Build our 

internal capacity 

to serve Veterans, 

their families, our 

employees, and other 

stakeholders efficiently 

and effectively.

3(a) Anticipate and proactively prepare for the needs of Veterans, their 

families, and our employees.

3(b) Recruit, hire, train, develop, deploy, and retain a diverse VA workforce 

to meet current and future needs and challenges.

3(c) Create and maintain an effective, integrated, Departmentwide 

management capability to make data‐driven decisions, allocate 

resources, and manage results. 

3(d) Create a collaborative, knowledge‐sharing culture across VA and with 

DoD and other partners to support our ability to be people‐centric, 

results‐driven, and forward‐looking at all times. 

3(e) Manage physical and virtual infrastructure plans and execution to 

meet emerging needs 
INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive 

the right benefits, 

meeting their 

expectations for 

quality, timeliness, 

and responsiveness.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 69

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Directory of Objective 1 Supporting Initiatives

Integrated Strategy 1(a)

Improve and integrate services across VA to increase reliability, speed, and accuracy 

of delivery.

Initiative Title VA Lead(s) Page

Redesign the Expedited Claims Adjudication (ECA) process. BVA/VBA 70

Ensure national cemeteries are maintained as national shrines. NCA 71

Improve the timeliness and responsiveness of legal services 

in the areas of personnel law, ethics, procurement, torts, and 

research to support VA’s transformational initiatives and missioncritical responsibilities.

OGC 72

Maximize Medical Care Collections Fund (MCCF) collection 

revenues and efficiencies.

OGC 73

Enhance relationships with Congress by improving 

responsiveness and communicating more effectively.

OCLA 74

Integrated Strategy 1(b)

Develop a range of effective delivery methods that are convenient to Veterans and 

their families.

Initiative Title VA Lead Page

Expand Veterans’ access to a burial option in national or state 

Veterans cemeteries.

NCA 75

Update technology and expand videoconferencing capability for 

hearings at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, regional offices and 

beyond.

BVA 76
INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive 

the right benefits, 

meeting their 

expectations for 

quality, timeliness, 

and responsiveness.

Page 70 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives

Department of Veterans Affairs

Redesign the Expedited Claims Adjudication (ECA) process.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEADS: BVA, VBA

Statement of the Challenge or Problem:

Each year, VBA and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) are charged with adjudicating tens 

of thousands of appeals, and this number continues to rise.

Purpose of the Initiative:

In order to issue appellate decisions most efficiently, BVA and VBA jointly developed a 

2-year pilot ECA initiative through published regulations to accelerate claims and appeals 

processing at four VA facilities, based on voluntary participation by eligible claimants. In 

its current form, the ECA pilot will expire in December 2010. Several time saving provisions 

set forth in the ECA have been incorporated into pending legislation. BVA and VBA will 

proceed with the development of a nationwide plan based on successful aspects of the 

ECA, commencing in 2011.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

BVA and VBA will continue to work collaboratively to reduce appeals processing times 

by introducing a modified version of the ECA in 2011, which incorporates some strategic 

targets. 

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Reduce processing time between the receipt of the Notice of Disagreement 

and the issuance of the Statement of the Case.

Strategic Target: 120 days by the end of FY 2015.

• Reduce processing time between the Substantive Appeal Receipt to 

Certification and Transfer of the appeal to BVA (not including Board hearing 

cases, which must remain at the RO pending the hearing).

Strategic Target: 200 days by the end of FY 2015.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

1(a)

Improve and integrate 

services across VA to 

increase reliability, 

speed, and accuracy 

of delivery.
INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive 

the right benefits, 

meeting their 

expectations for 

quality, timeliness, 

and responsiveness.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 71

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Ensure national cemeteries are maintained as national shrines.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: NCA SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: OIT, OALC

Statement of the Challenge or Problem:

Families generally come to national cemeteries to visit the gravesite of a loved one. 

The appearance of the gravesite is perhaps the most important aspect of the visit, and 

cemetery appearance is a key predictor of visitors’ satisfaction with the national cemetery.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to improve and maintain the appearance of gravesites, 

buildings, and other cemetery structures, and to maintain exceptional levels of client 

satisfaction. VA will identify buildings and structures in need of repair, and use this 

information to develop annual minor construction, major construction, and non‐recurring 

maintenance operating plans.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

The purpose of the initiative is to ensure that graves and other cemetery facilities are wellmaintained. Well-maintained facilities demonstrate respect and concern for the safety of 

visitors and employees.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Percent of gravesites that have grades that are level and blend with adjacent 

grade levels. 

Strategic Target: 95 percent by the end of FY 2015.

• Percent of headstones, markers, and niche covers that are clean and free of 

debris or objectionable accumulations. 

Strategic Target: 95 percent by the end of FY 2015.

• Percent of headstones and/or markers in national cemeteries that are at the 

proper height and alignment. 

Strategic Target: 90 percent by the end of FY 2015.

• Percent of national cemetery buildings and structures that are assessed as 

“acceptable” according to annual Facility Condition Assessments. 

Strategic Target: 90 percent by the end of FY 2015.

• Percent of respondents who rate national cemetery appearance as excellent

Strategic Target: 100 percent by the end of FY 2015.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

1(a)

Improve and integrate 

services across VA to 

increase reliability, 

speed, and accuracy 

of delivery.
INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive 

the right benefits, 

meeting their 

expectations for 

quality, timeliness, 

and responsiveness.

Page 72 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives

Department of Veterans Affairs

Improve the timeliness and responsiveness of legal services in the areas 

of personnel law, ethics, procurement, torts, and research to support VA’s 

transformational initiatives and mission-critical responsibilities. 

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: OGC SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: VHA, OIT

Statement of the Challenge or Problem: 

VA’s law office, the Office of General Counsel (OGC) does not drive transformation, but 

contributes to VA’s transformation efforts through core legal advice and service. Strong 

legal support is, however, critical to the success of each and every transformational 

initiative. Moreover, the transformation process will directly and necessarily increase 

OGC’s workload. As VA’s workforce increases, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) 

complaint filings rise. As more Veterans entrust themselves to VA for their health care, the 

chance of adverse medical outcomes rises, and with it the number of medical malpractice 

tort claims for OGC to adjudicate. As work processes are automated or otherwise 

transformed, OGC must provide more advice and support to the management officials 

tasked with negotiating those changes with the labor unions. To continue to provide 

timely and responsive service in the face of rising workloads and static staffing, OGC must 

prioritize its limited human capital resources by focusing on those areas of service that 

its organizational clients value most: personnel law, ethics, procurement, and medical 

research (referred to hereinafter as “focus areas”). Through this initiative, OGC will leverage 

technology (including but not limited to OGC’s automated case management system, 

GCLAWS) to standardize and expedite case processing procedures in all focus areas. More 

specifically, OGC will identify and automate the incremental steps inherent in effective, 

efficient legal service - for example, a litigation plan in an EEO case or a legal sufficiency 

review checklist in a procurement matter – to ensure that all cases are completed in a 

proactive, efficient, and client-centric fashion.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to support VA’s transformation initiatives and 

mission‐critical responsibilities by improving the timeliness and responsiveness of legal 

services in focus areas.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

Proactive, efficient, and client-centric legal services will improve employee satisfaction 

within OGC, improve client satisfaction among OGC’s organizational clients, and improve 

legal service to Veterans and their families.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Improved weighted measure of timeliness of service to Veterans, client 

satisfaction, and employee satisfaction with the timeliness and responsiveness 

of legal service provided by OGC Strategic Target: 95.6 by the end of FY 2014.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

1(a)

Improve and integrate 

services across VA to 

increase reliability, 

speed, and accuracy 

of delivery.
INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive 

the right benefits, 

meeting their 

expectations for 

quality, timeliness, 

and responsiveness.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 73

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Maximize Medical Care Collections Fund (MCCF) collection revenues 

and efficiencies.

ORGANIZATIONAL: OGC SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: VHA, OIT

Statement of the Challenge or Problem: 

VA sometimes provides medical care to Veterans for non-service-connected conditions 

that are covered by other insurance carriers. In these cases, VA bills the appropriate carrier 

for the cost of care. In the past, many of these carriers have not met their legal obligations. 

In recent years, VA has become more aggressive in identifying and pursuing these cases. 

Funds collected are deposited in a MCCF that supplements appropriated funds for health 

care, increasing VA’s ability to provide care. Improved recoupment of these costs from 

private insurers and other third parties supplement the funding available for the delivery 

of health care and services to Veterans, thereby increasing the level of resources available 

for Veterans’ medical care.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of MCCF 

collection efforts and improve the recoupment of recoverable health care costs from 

private insurers and other third parties.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

This initiative will increase the percent of third party funds collected, resulting in higher 

revenues for VA.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Revenue collected in MCCF claims through the efforts of the Regional Counsel. 

Strategic Target: $47.5 million per year by the end of FY 2014.

• Percent of available MCCF dollars collected through the efforts of OGC. 

New measure – Strategic Target: 50 percent.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

1(a)

Improve and integrate 

services across VA to 

increase reliability, 

speed, and accuracy 

of delivery.
INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive 

the right benefits, 

meeting their 

expectations for 

quality, timeliness, 

and responsiveness.

Page 74 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives

Department of Veterans Affairs

Enhance relationships with Congress by improving responsiveness and 

communicating more effectively.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: OCLA SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: ALL VA ORGANIZATIONS

Statement of the Challenge or Problem: 

Effectively communicating with Congress is essential for VA in its work on behalf of our 

Nation’s Veterans. Congress is a key stakeholder, and VA takes very seriously its oversight 

responsibilities. It is incumbent upon VA to forge a partnership with Congress to ensure 

our Nation’s Veterans receive the benefits and care they so rightfully deserve. 

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to review the processes and procedures VA uses for 

communicating with Congress, and to provide information to Members of Congress, 

committees, and professional and personal office staff in a timely and proactive manner. 

VA communicates with Congress via hearings, briefings, meetings and calls, written 

communications, questions for the record, oversight visits, and reports.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

When fully implemented, VA will have more effective and responsive communications 

with Congress. VA’s improved communications will result in enhanced relationships with 

Members, committees, professional and personal office staff and further strengthen 

the partnership between VA and Congress. These relationships are critical to obtaining 

appropriate resources and legislative initiatives needed to support our Nation’s Veterans.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Percent decrease in time required to process congressional 

communications Departmentwide. 

The baseline will be established in FY 2011. Strategic Target: 35 percent 

reduction by the end of FY 2015.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

1(a)

Improve and integrate 

services across VA to 

increase reliability, 

speed, and accuracy 

of delivery.
INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive 

the right benefits, 

meeting their 

expectations for 

quality, timeliness, 

and responsiveness.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 75

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Expand Veterans’ access to a burial option in national or state 

Veterans cemeteries.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: NCA

Statement of the Challenge or Problem:

VA must be responsive to the preferences and expectations of the Veteran community by 

adopting or accommodating new burial practices, and by ensuring access to burial options 

in national, state, and tribal government-managed cemeteries.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to improve access to VA burial benefits by continuing to 

open new1] national cemeteries in currently un-served areas with a Veteran population 

of at least 80,000, expanding burial options in heavily populated urban areas currently 

served by a burial option, exploring new and emerging burial practices, continuing to 

promote the establishment of new state and tribal government-managed cemeteries to 

complement the national cemetery system.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

This initiative will result in comprehensive information and recommendations for VA 

leadership regarding the establishment of new national cemeteries in currently un-served 

areas of the country with a minimum Veteran population threshold of 80,000, and in 

large urban areas that are currently served but are in need of expanded burial options. 

This initiative will also inform VA leadership on new burial options or types of cemeteries 

that should be considered to meet the emerging needs and expectations of Veterans. In 

addition, this initiative will enable VA to work collaboratively and proactively with state 

Departments of Veterans Affairs and tribal governments to establish new state‐managed 

Veterans cemeteries.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Percent of Veterans served by a burial option within a reasonable distance 

(75 miles) of their residence. 

Strategic Target: 94 percent by the end of 2015.

1] New burial policies as described in the Department’s FY 2011 budget submission are listed below; further 

detail can be found in the budget.

Establish a new Veteran population threshold of 80,000 Veterans within 75 miles of a potential location 

 for determining the location of new national cemeteries

Establish an urban initiative to provide enhanced service in densely populated locales where existing 

 cemeteries are far from the urban core

Explore new burial practices and methods

Source: Pages 1C-3-5, FY 2011 Budget Submission, Volume 3, Benefits and Burial Programs and 

Departmental Administration.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

1(b)

Develop a range of 

effective delivery 

methods that are 

convenient to Veterans 

and their families.
INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive 

the right benefits, 

meeting their 

expectations for 

quality, timeliness, 

and responsiveness.

Page 76 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives

Department of Veterans Affairs

Update technology and expand videoconferencing capability for 

hearings at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, regional offices and beyond.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: BVA SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION: OIT

Statement of the Challenge or Problem:

Every year, VA conducts more than 10,000 hearings, the majority of which require Veterans 

Law Judges to travel around the country. This results in longer waiting times for Veterans 

and fewer hearings being conducted in a timely manner.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to update technology in order to expand VA’s ability to 

adjudicate appeals.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

The adoption of new technology will reduce the average amount of time Veterans 

must wait for adjudication of their appeals, and by reducing travel time, increase the 

productivity of Veterans Law Judges.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Percent of videoconference hearings out of the total number of 

hearings conducted. 

Strategic Target: 35 percent by the end of FY 2014.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

1(b)

Develop a range of 

effective delivery 

methods that are 

convenient to Veterans 

and their families.
INTEGRATED

OBJECTIVE 1.

Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive 

the right benefits, 

meeting their 

expectations for 

quality, timeliness, 

and responsiveness.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 77

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015
INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and 

empower Veterans 

and their families 

through proactive 

outreach and 

effective advocacy.

Page 78 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives

Department of Veterans Affairs

Integrated objectives Integrated strategies

1. Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

1(a) Improve and integrate services across VA to increase reliability, 

speed, and accuracy of delivery.

1(b) Develop a range of effective delivery methods that are 

convenient to Veterans and their families

1(c) Improve VA’s ability to adjust capacity dynamically to meet 

changing needs, including preparedness for emergencies

1(d) Provide Veterans and their families with integrated access to the 

most appropriate services from VA and our partners

1(e) Enhance our understanding of Veterans’ and their families’ 

expectations by collecting and analyzing client satisfaction data 

and other key inputs

2. Educate and 

empower Veterans and 

their families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

2(a) Use clear, accurate, consistent, and targeted messages to build 

awareness of VA’s benefits amongst our employees, Veterans and 

their families, and other stakeholders

2(b) Leverage technology and partnerships to reach Veterans and 

their families and advocate on their behalf 

2(c) Reach out proactively and in a timely fashion to communicate 

with Veterans and their families and promote Veteran 

engagement 

2(d) Engage in two‐way communications with Veterans and their 

families to help them understand available benefits, get feedback 

on VA programs, and build relationships with them as our clients 

3. Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and other 

stakeholders efficiently 

and effectively.

3(a) Anticipate and proactively prepare for the needs of Veterans, 

their families, and our employees

3(b) Recruit, hire, train, develop, deploy, and retain a diverse VA 

workforce to meet current and future needs and challenges

3(c) Create and maintain an effective, integrated, Departmentwide 

management capability to make data‐driven decisions, allocate 

resources, and manage results 

3(d) Create a collaborative, knowledge‐sharing culture across VA 

and with DoD and other partners to support our ability to be 

people‐centric, results‐driven, and forward‐looking at all times 

3(e) Manage physical and virtual infrastructure plans and execution to 

meet emerging needs 
INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and 

empower Veterans 

and their families 

through proactive 

outreach and 

effective advocacy.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 79

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Directory of Objective 2 Supporting Initiatives

Integrated Strategy 2(b)

Leverage technology and partnerships to reach Veterans and their families 

and advocate on their behalf. 

Initiative Title VA Lead Page

Enable a 21st century Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment 

(VR&E) program.

VBA 80

Expand small business participation in Federal procurement 

opportunities through aggressive OSDBU research, enhanced 

verification, analysis, outreach, training, program modernization, 

and IT enhancements.

OSDBU 81

Integrated Strategy 2(c)

Reach out proactively and in a timely fashion to communicate with 

Veterans and their families and promote Veteran engagement.

Initiative Title VA Lead Page

Increase Veteran participation in VA programs through outreach 

to, and partnerships with, faith-based, non-profit, community, and 

non‐governmental organizations.

CFBNP 83

Educate and empower minority Veterans and their families 

through proactive outreach and effective advocacy.

CMV 84

Engage and empower women Veterans through effective targeted 

outreach, education, and monitoring of VA’s provision of benefits 

and services for women Veterans.

CWV 85

Integrated Strategy 2(d) 

Engage in two‐way communications with Veterans and their families to 

help them understand available benefits, get feedback on VA programs, 

and build relationships with them as our clients. 

Initiative Title VA Lead Page

Enhance VA’s advocacy role through Voice of the Veteran client 

satisfaction surveys.

VBA 86
INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and 

empower Veterans 

and their families 

through proactive 

outreach and 

effective advocacy.

Page 80 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives

Department of Veterans Affairs

Enable a 21st century Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment 

(VR&E) program.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: VBA SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION: OIT

Statement of the Challenge or Problem: 

Many disabled Veterans do not take advantage of the training, employment counseling, 

and job search assistance available to them through VA’s VR&E program.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to re-engineer the VR&E program to better address 

the transition and reintegration needs of disabled Veterans. VA will re-brand VR&E as 

VetSuccess, and market it more aggressively through a variety of communication channels, 

including initial orientation, the Disabled Transition Assistance Program (DTAP), and 

Web‐based applications. VA will also revamp the VR&E IT system, redesign the 

VetSuccess.gov Web site to expand employment resources, and simplify intake processes 

to expedite services.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

The intended outcomes are to increase participation in VR&E services, improve employment 

outcomes for enrolled Veterans, and to provide for a smoother transition from military to civil‐

ian life through training and employment assistance.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

The VetSuccess project will be completed in FY 2014. Applicable performance 

measures include:

• Increase the number of eligible Veterans applying for Chapter 31 benefits. 

Strategic Target: 20 percent by 2014.

• Increase the number of VR&E eligible applicants provided initial career 

counseling. 

Strategic Target: 75 percent by 2014.

• Increase the number of Veterans accessing VetSuccess.gov benefits 

(as measured by registrations on VetSuccess.gov Web site) 

Strategic Target: 20 percent by 2014. 

• Increase the number of Veterans completing VR&E services and entering 

suitable employment. 

Strategic Target: 15 percent by 2014.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

2(b)

Leverage technology and 

partnerships to reach 

Veterans and their 

families and advocate on 

their behalf.
INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and 

empower Veterans 

and their families 

through proactive 

outreach and 

effective advocacy.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 81

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Expand small business participation in Federal procurement 

opportunities through aggressive OSDBU research, enhanced 

verification, analysis, outreach, training, program modernization, and IT 

enhancements.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: OSDBU SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: OALC, OIT

Statement of the Challenge or Problem: 

President Obama is strongly committed to expanding opportunities for our nation’s small 

businesses to participate in Federal Government contracting. VA OSDBU is able to impact 

a broad range of small business related service activities. Additionally, there is opportunity 

to reach a greater number of stakeholders with targeted training programs for both 

Federal contracting officers and business owners and thereby support the President’s small 

business agenda. 

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to enhance services provided by VA OSDBU that will 

have favorable impact on Federal small business procurements. By enhancing OSDBU’s 

infrastructure, service delivery, outreach, and training, the share of the VA procurement 

dollars awarded to small businesses should increase.  On-line training for VA procurement 

personnel will focus on increasing awareness of legal requirements for contracting with 

Service‐Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), Veteran‐Owned Small 

Businesses (VOSB), and other small business entities.  Training for small business owners 

will be designed to help them understand Federal contracting, respond competently 

to solicitations, and perform successfully once they have been awarded a contract.  

Enhancements to research, analysis, and improvements to the verification process will 

facilitate OSDBU service delivery improvements.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

When fully implemented, this initiative will result in a better informed cadre of VA 

acquisition professionals, a small business community better equipped to meet the Federal 

Government’s contracting needs, and greater access to a variety of business resources that 

will result in small businesses earning a greater share of VA procurements.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Achievement of the VA Secretary’s annual internal goal for procurements to 

small businesses. 

Strategic Target: 35 percent by the end of FY 2012. 

• Achievement of the VA Secretary’s annual internal goal for procurements to SDVOSBs.

Strategic Target: 12.0 percent by the end of FY 2012.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

2(b)

Leverage technology and 

partnerships to reach 

Veterans and their 

families and advocate 

on their behalf.
INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and 

empower Veterans 

and their families 

through proactive 

outreach and 

effective advocacy.

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Department of Veterans Affairs

• Achievement of the VA Secretary’s annual internal goal for procurements to VOSBs. 

Strategic Target: 14 percent by the end of FY 2012.

• Percent of initial verification applications in the Vendor Information Page 

database that are processed and decided within 90 days of receipt.2]

Strategic Target: 99 percent by the end of FY 2013.

• Percent of renewal verification applications in the Vendor Information Page 

database that are processed within 60 days.

Strategic Target: 99 percent by the end of 2013.

• Percent of counseled business owners who rate the training provided by 

OSDBU as either Good or Excellent preparation for small business interests 

as measured against total respondents. OSDBU will collect baseline data 

in FY 2011.

Strategic Target: 75 percent by the end of FY 2014.

• Percentage of VA procurement personnel who complete an on-line training 

module that includes information on the Veterans First Contracting Program. 

Strategic Target: 60 percent by the end of FY 2013.

• Percent of small business owners counseled by OSDBU who are able to 

complete all technical requirements to engage procurement actions.

Strategic Target: 75 percent by the end of FY 2013.

2] Favorable initial verification decisions become effective almost immediately, unfavorable initial verification 

determinations may require an additional 90 days for legal review. 
INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and 

empower Veterans 

and their families 

through proactive 

outreach and 

effective advocacy.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 83

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Increase Veteran participation in VA programs through outreach 

to, and partnerships with, faith-based, non-profit, community, and 

non‐governmental organizations.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: CFBNP SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION: OPIA

Statement of the Challenge or Problem:

Faith-based and other community-based organizations are a key component of VA’s 

strategy for reaching out to Veterans. VA will be working with these organizations to more 

effectively provide Veterans with information on VA programs. The purpose of this initiative 

is to monitor and measure the effectiveness of our outreach programs. The Center for 

Faith‐based and Neighborhood Partnerships (CFBNP) will coordinate aspects of our outreach 

efforts with the Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs (OPIA), specifically in the area 

of communications.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to: 

• Increase the number of faith-based and secular organizations that participate in VA 

CFBNP outreach forums (for example, VA CFBNP and VR&E Veterans’ roundtables, 

Congressional faith-based symposiums, State DepartmentS of Veterans Affairs 

workshops, and White House faith-based conferences); 

• Increase the percent of participating Veterans who have received VA benefit 

information from faith-based and secular organizations; and 

• Increase the percent of faith-based and secular organizations that are registered with 

VA as a result of becoming a grantee or joining VA Voluntary Services.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

When this initiative is fully implemented, more faith-based and secular organizations will 

be actively engaged with VA in disseminating information to Veterans, their families and 

survivors about benefit programs for which they may be eligible.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Percent increase in the number of faith-based and secular organizations participating in 

VA outreach forums. Strategic Target: 10 percent per year.

• Percent increase in the number of Veterans, their families and survivors who report 

receiving benefit information from CFBNP organizations. 

Strategic Target: 10 percent per year.

• Percent increase in the number of faith-based and secular organizations that are 

registered with VA. Strategic Target: 10 percent per year. 

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

2(c)

Reach out proactively 

and in a timely fashion 

to communicate with 

Veterans and their 

families and promote 

Veteran engagement.
INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and 

empower Veterans 

and their families 

through proactive 

outreach and 

effective advocacy.

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Department of Veterans Affairs

Educate and empower minority Veterans and their families through 

proactive outreach and effective advocacy.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: CMV SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION: OPIA

Statement of the Challenge or Problem:

In November 1994, Public Law 103-446 established the Center for Minority Veterans 

(CMV) under the Office of the Secretary in the Department of Veterans Affairs. The CMV 

is charged with identifying barriers to service and health care access, as well as increasing 

awareness of minority Veteran-related issues by developing strategies for improving 

minority Veteran participation in existing VA benefit programs and services.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The primary purpose of this outreach initiative is to increase awareness of minority 

Veteran-related issues among VA staff. To increase outreach efforts to minority Veterans, 

this initiative will initiate and support activities that educate and sensitize VA staff to the 

unique needs of minority Veterans, target outreach efforts to minority Veterans through 

community networks, and advocate on behalf of minority Veterans by identifying gaps in 

services and make recommendations to improve service delivery.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

The intended outcomes of this initiative are: VA programs better designed to be responsive 

to the needs of minority Veterans, increased awareness of VA benefits and services among 

minority Veterans, increased use of VA benefits and services by minority Veterans, and 

increased client satisfaction.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Average number of Veterans attending outreach programs conducted by 

Minority Veterans Program Coordinators and CMV staff.

FY 2011 Baseline: 100; Strategic Target: 130 by the end of FY 2014.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

2(c)

Reach out proactively 

and in a timely fashion 

to communicate with 

Veterans and their 

families and promote 

Veteran engagement.
INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and 

empower Veterans 

and their families 

through proactive 

outreach and 

effective advocacy.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 85

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Engage and empower women Veterans through effective targeted 

outreach, education, and monitoring of VA’s provision of benefits and 

services for women Veterans.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: CWV SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION: OPIA

Statement of the Challenge or Problem:

In November 1994, Public Law 103-446 established the Center for Women Veterans (CWV) 

in the Department of Veterans Affairs under the Office of the Secretary. The primary 

mission of CWV is to review VA programs and services for women Veterans, and ensure that 

women Veterans receive benefits and services on par with male Veterans, and are treated 

with a respect, dignity, and understanding by VA service providers.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to empower women Veterans by promoting recognition 

of their contributions, to ensure that VA programs are responsive to the needs of women, 

and to educate women about VA benefits and services, enabling them to make informed 

decisions about applying for, and using, VA benefits and services. As part of this initiative, 

CWV will increase participation in collaborative events, meetings, and forums to advocate 

for a cultural transformation, both within VA and in the general public, to increase 

recognition of the contributions of women Veterans and women in the military.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative

The intended outcomes of this initiative are: VA programs better designed to be responsive 

to the needs of women, increased awareness of VA benefits and services among women 

Veterans, increased use of VA benefits and services by women Veterans, and increased 

client satisfaction.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Establish a baseline for client awareness in FY 2010.

• Improved awareness of entitlement to VA benefits and services. 

FY 2011 Baseline: 65 percent. Strategic Target: 95 percent by 2014.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

2(c)

Reach out proactively 

and in a timely fashion 

to communicate with 

Veterans and their 

families and promote 

Veteran engagement.
INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and 

empower Veterans 

and their families 

through proactive 

outreach and 

effective advocacy.

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Department of Veterans Affairs

Enhance VA’s advocacy role through Voice of the Veteran client 

satisfaction surveys. 

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: VBA SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: OPP, OIT

Statement of the Challenge or Problem: 

To continuously improve the level of services provided to Veterans and their families, VBA 

needs to re-establish regular customer satisfaction surveys covering all business lines. The 

results of these surveys will enable VA to assess clients’ overall experiences, and take any 

necessary steps to improve the timeliness and quality of benefits and services.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to provide VA with ongoing, actionable information 

with which to identify improvement opportunities, and take action on them to increase 

client satisfaction.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

When fully implemented, VA will be able to:

• Measure clients’ overall satisfaction with benefits and services.

• Assess the Department’s effectiveness in delivering benefits and services.

• Implement evidence-based improvements (e.g., training, procedure, and 

process changes).

• Provide feedback to stakeholders.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

2(d)

Engage in two‐way 

communication with 

Veterans and their 

families to help them 

understand available 

benefits, get feedback on 

VA programs, and build 

relationships with them 

as our clients.
INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 2.

Educate and 

empower Veterans 

and their families 

through proactive 

outreach and 

effective advocacy.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 87

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target,* and Estimated Completion Date:

• Overall satisfaction rate (percent) of compensation clients. 

 *Strategic Target: TBD percent by the end of FY 2014.

• Overall satisfaction rate (percent) of pension clients. 

*Strategic Target: TBD percent by the end of FY 2014.

• Percent of clients highly satisfied with Insurance services. 

Strategic Target: 95 percent by the end of FY 2014.

• Percent of participating Veterans satisfied with the Vocational Rehabilitation 

and Employment Program. 

*Strategic Target: TBD percent by the end of FY 2014.

• Percent of beneficiaries very satisfied or satisfied with VA’s handling of their 

education claims. 

*Strategic Target: TBD percent by the end of FY 2014.

• Percent of beneficiaries who rate VA educational assistance as very helpful or 

helpful in the attainment of their educational or vocational goal. 

*Strategic Target: TBD percent by the end of FY 2014.

• Percent of Veterans satisfied with VA’s Loan Guaranty Program. 

Strategic Target: 97 percent by the end of FY 2014.

* Strategic Targets for these measures are pending deployment of the survey instruments. Surveys were last 

completed in either 2004 or 2005, so we do not have recent data to determine baselines and strategic targets at 

this time.
Page 88

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our 

internal capacity 

to serve Veterans, 

their families, our 

employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

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Department of Veterans Affairs

Integrated objectives Integrated strategies

1. Make it easier for 

Veterans and their 

families to receive the 

right benefits, meeting 

their expectations for 

quality, timeliness, and 

responsiveness.

1(a) Improve and integrate services across VA to increase reliability, 

speed, and accuracy of delivery

1(b) Develop a range of effective delivery methods that are 

convenient to Veterans and their families

1(c) Improve VA’s ability to adjust capacity dynamically to meet 

changing needs, including preparedness for emergencies

1(d) Provide Veterans and their families with integrated access to the 

most appropriate services from VA and our partners

1(e) Enhance our understanding of Veterans’ and their families’ 

expectations by collecting and analyzing client satisfaction data 

and other key inputs

2. Educate and 

empower Veterans and 

their families through 

proactive outreach and 

effective advocacy.

2(a) Use clear, accurate, consistent, and targeted messages to build 

awareness of VA’s benefits amongst our employees, Veterans and 

their families, and other stakeholders

2(b) Leverage technology and partnerships to reach Veterans and 

their families and advocate on their behalf 

2(c) Reach out proactively and in a timely fashion to communicate 

with Veterans and their families and promote Veteran 

engagement 

2(d) Engage in two‐way communications with Veterans and their 

families to help them understand available benefits, get 

feedback on VA programs, and build relationships with them as 

our clients 

3. Build our internal 

capacity to serve 

Veterans, their families, 

our employees, and other 

stakeholders efficiently 

and effectively.

3(a) Anticipate and proactively prepare for the needs of Veterans, 

their families, and our employees

3(b) Recruit, hire, train, develop, deploy, and retain a diverse VA 

workforce to meet current and future needs and challenges

3(c) Create and maintain an effective, integrated, Departmentwide 

management capability to make data‐driven decisions, allocate 

resources, and manage results 

3(d) Create a collaborative, knowledge‐sharing culture across VA 

and with DoD and other partners to support our ability to be 

people‐centric, results‐driven, and forward‐looking at all times. 

3(e) Manage physical and virtual infrastructure plans and execution 

to meet emerging needs 
Page 89

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our 

internal capacity 

to serve Veterans, 

their families, our 

employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 89

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Directory of Objective 3 Supporting Initiatives

Integrated Strategy 3(a)

Anticipate and proactively prepare for the needs of Veterans, their families, and 

our employees.

Initiative Title VA Lead Page

Modernize the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD). VBA 90

Integrated Strategy 3(b)

Recruit, hire, train, develop, deploy, and retain a diverse VA workforce to meet 

current and future needs and challenges.

Initiative Title VA Lead Page

Develop an employee health and wellness program. OHRA 91

Integrated Strategy 3(c)

Create and maintain an effective, integrated, Departmentwide management 

capability to make data-driven decisions, allocate resources, and manage results.

Initiative Title VA Lead Page

Enhance capabilities in VA’s Data Governance process 

to strengthen strategic, data‐driven, Departmentwide 

decisionmaking.

OPP 92

Enhance VA’s transformation through the VA Innovation Initiative 

(VAi2)

OSVA 94

Integrated Strategy 3(d)

Create a collaborative, knowledge-sharing culture across VA and with DoD and 

other partners to support our ability to be people-centric, results-driven, and 

forward-looking at all times.

Initiative Title VA Lead(s) Page

Establish enterprise energy cost reduction and implement 

VA‐wide greenhouse gas initiative to address VA’s carbon 

footprint — Greening VA.

OM/OAEM 95

Establish a world-class VA/DoD partnership that delivers 

seamless, cost‐effective, quality services to beneficiaries and 

value to our Nation.

OPP 98

Create innovative public‐private partnerships that enhance 

services to Veterans.

OM 99
Page 90

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our 

internal capacity 

to serve Veterans, 

their families, our 

employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

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Department of Veterans Affairs

Modernize the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD).

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: VBA SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: VHA, BVA, OGC

Statement of the Challenge or Problem: 

The VASRD needs to be updated periodically to reflect the monetary consequences of 

disability, disease, or injury on Veterans, taking into account changes in the number and 

types of conditions that are covered, and advances in medical treatment.

Purpose of the Initiative:

Create the structure for ongoing review of each of the body systems in the VASRD to 

incorporate the most recent medical and economic knowledge concerning the impact of 

disability on Veterans’ earnings.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

The initiative will ensure that, through regular updating, the VASRD accurately reflects 

estimated earnings loss for each disability contained in the schedule and provides 

evaluation criteria that reflect the most advanced medical science. Veterans’ monthly 

benefit payment amounts will accurately reflect the average impairment in earning 

capacity due to service connected disability, disease, or injury.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Publish proposed regulations for the updated evaluation of the endocrine 

system, hemic-lymphatic system, and musculoskeletal disorders in FY 2011.

• Conduct future reviews of other body systems.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

3(a)

Anticipate and 

proactively prepare 

for the needs of 

Veterans, their 

families and 

our employees.
Page 91

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our 

internal capacity 

to serve Veterans, 

their families, our 

employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 91

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Develop an employee health and wellness program. 

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: OHRA SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION: OIT

Statement of the Challenge or Problem: 

Work-based health and wellness programs have the potential to decrease work‐related 

injuries and sick days, increase productivity and job satisfaction, and reduce health care 

costs. They can also help employers compete for the best and the brightest workers.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to implement a VA-wide, Web-based employee health 

and wellness program with customizable features to assist employees in identifying and 

monitoring health issues and risks, and promote participation in a personalized fitness 

and health program. Additional features will include incentive programs, personal health 

coaches, and active program coordinators.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

The expected outcome of this initiative is a healthier workforce. Studies have shown that 

such programs can return as much as $16 for each $1 invested in the program by lowering 

health care costs, reducing work-related injury rates and sick days, increasing productivity, 

and reducing turnover.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Percent of all employees who participate in a VA health and wellness program. 

Strategic Target: 25 percent by the end of FY 2015.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

3(b)

Recruit, hire, train, 

develop, deploy, and 

retain a diverse VA 

workforce to meet 

current and future 

needs and challenges.
Page 92

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our 

internal capacity 

to serve Veterans, 

their families, our 

employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

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Department of Veterans Affairs

Enhance capabilities in VA’s Data Governance process to strengthen 

strategic, data‐driven, Departmentwide decisionmaking.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: OPP SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: VHA, VBA, NCA, OIT, OM, OHRA, OSP

Statement of the Challenge or Problem:

VA is a large and complex organization, administers benefits and services to millions of 

Veterans across the country, and requires a formal process for managing, using, improving, 

and protecting its organizational information. Data Governance is an emerging discipline 

that organizations use to establish a system of decision rights and responsibilities for 

information-related processes. These systems are typically executed according to a 

governance model that describes who can take what action with information, when, 

under what circumstances, and using what methods. In the past, VA Data Governance was 

fragmented along organizational and geographical lines that reflected the decentralized 

structure of the Department. A key challenge of an improved Data Governance Strategy 

is to enable the Department to seize new opportunities to improve services to Veterans, 

increase efficiency, and enable leadership to make decisions based on more complete and 

reliable data. 

Purpose of the Initiative:

VA’s internal operations generate large volumes of data that mostly exist within 

program‐specific stovepipes. In order to capture the full value of its investment in data, 

better understand its clients, fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities, and make better business 

decisions, VA needs to establish common standards, policies, and processes for collecting, 

storing, accessing, securing, and sharing data. These common VA-wide practices will help 

to strengthen strategic, data-driven, Departmentwide decisionmaking and improve its 

data accuracy, timeliness, accessibility, and relevance. 

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

Data Governance is a set of processes that ensures that important data assets are 

formally managed throughout the Department. The intended outcome of the Data 

Governance effort is a set of processes developed through intense Departmental 

collaboration. This collaborative outcome will ensure greater transparency and visibility 

to stakeholders, greater data security, increased compliance with law and regulations, 

improved accountability and risk management, increased sharing and integration of data 

throughout the Department, and improved confidence in the data. It will also increase 

operational efficiency by standardizing data definitions and protocols, which will reduce 

duplication and redundancy. In addition, an effective Data Governance process will 

improve alignment of existing data systems and provide critical support to the systems 

being developed under key Major Initiatives in this strategic plan, including VLER, VRM, 

and VBMS.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

3(c)

Create and 

maintain an 

effective, integrated, 

Departmentwide 

management 

capability to make 

data‐driven decisions, 

allocate resources, and 

manage results.
Page 93

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our 

internal capacity 

to serve Veterans, 

their families, our 

employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 93

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Identify or develop tools to estimate the accuracy, timeliness, accessibility, 

and relevance of VA data. Identify or develop metrics in FY 2011. In FY 2012, 

develop baseline estimates of accuracy, timeliness, accessibility and relevance; 

Strategic Target: Achieve at least 10 percent improvement in each of the areas 

identified by the end of FY 2015.

• Percent of internal customers who indicate they are satisfied or very satisfied 

with the Data Governance process and outcomes. Baseline: TBD in FY 2011; 

Strategic Target: 80 percent by the end of FY 2014.

• Improve the VA Data Governance Maturity Attainment Level3] from Level 1 to 

Level 3 by the end of FY 2013.

3] The four levels of data governance maturity are defined as follows:

1. Undisciplined – in this stage, there are few defined rules and policies about data quality and integration. 

There is much redundant data, differing sources, formats and records. The existing threat is that bad data and 

information will lead to bad decisions, and lost opportunities.

2. Reactive – This is the beginning of data governance. There is much reconciliation of inconsistent, 

inaccurate, unreliable data. Gains are experienced at the department level.

3. Proactive – It is a very difficult step to move to this level. The enterprise understands the value of a unified 

view of information and knowledge. The enterprise begins thinking about Master Data Management (MDM). 

The organization is learning and preparing for the next level. The culture is preparing to change.

4. Governed – Information is unified across the enterprise. The enterprise has a sophisticated data strategy 

and framework. A major culture shift has occurred. People have embraced the idea that information is a key 

enterprise asset.
Page 94

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our 

internal capacity 

to serve Veterans, 

their families, our 

employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

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Department of Veterans Affairs

Enhance VA’s transformation through the VA Innovation Initiative (VAi2)

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: OSVA SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: VBA, VHA, NCA, OIT, OALC, OPP, OM, OPIA

Statement of the Challenge or Problem:

The importance, the scope, and the complexity of VA’s mission instills significant interest 

on the part of employees, private sector companies, entrepreneurs and academic leaders 

to contribute to improving services to Veterans and their families. Yet many of their best 

ideas for innovation remain untapped. These potentially transformative ideas could 

result in increasing Veterans’ access to VA services, improving the quality of services 

delivered, enhancing the performance of VA operations, reducing or controlling the cost of 

delivering those services that Veterans and their families receive. The challenge is to create 

a structured process for tapping into this substantial reservoir of interest and creativity 

to produce tangible benefits and improvements in access and services for Veterans and 

their families.

Purpose of the Initiative:

VAi2 is a Departmentwide program to identify, prioritize, fund, test, and deploy the most 

promising solutions to VA’s most important challenges. This would be accomplished by 

effectively engaging industry innovators, leaders in academia, and VA employees on the 

front-line serving Veterans.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

The intended outcome of VAi2 is to introduce innovative solutions that enhance VA’s 

ability to meet the challenges of a 21st century organization. This outcome is achieved 

when a significant percentage of the ideas and concepts resourced through VAi2 result in 

significant benefits and improved services to Veterans and their families.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Percent of VAi2 awards being fully or partially implemented and being 

evaluated on schedule. Baseline: TBD in FY 2011; Strategic Target: 90 percent.

• Track project-specific metrics to estimate the value of VAi2 funded 

innovations, taking into account one or more of the following: access, quality, 

cost control/reduction, and Veteran satisfaction. Baseline: TBD in FY 2011; 

Strategic Target: TBD.

• Percent of internal customers (i.e. members of the VAi2 Executive Selection 

Board and other select end-users) who indicate they are satisfied or very 

satisfied with the VA Innovation Initiative process and outcomes. Baseline: TBD 

in FY 2011; Strategic Target: 90 percent of respondents by the end of FY 2015.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

3(c)

Create and 

maintain an 

effective, integrated, 

Departmentwide 

management 

capability to make 

data‐driven decisions, 

allocate resources, and 

manage results.
Page 95

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our 

internal capacity 

to serve Veterans, 

their families, our 

employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 95

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Establish enterprise energy cost reduction and implement VA‐wide 

greenhouse gas initiative to address VA’s carbon footprint — 

Greening VA.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEADS: OM, OAEM SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: VHA, VBA, NCA, OGC, OALC, 

OCLA, OIT, OS, OHRA

Statement of the Challenge or Problem:

VA faces mission-specific challenges in meeting sustainability goals. Some of the 

challenges related to reducing greenhouse emissions are: 

• Hospital Energy Requirements

• Providing cutting-edge health care requires an increasing amount of 

energy‐intensive equipment and processes.

• Many health care facility standards, such as standards for indoor air quality, 

are more complex than for other facility types. Air-handling and sterilization 

requirements are particularly strict.

• Water Requirements

• Hospital infection control protocols are water-intensive.

• Hospitals use steam for sterilization and large amounts of hot water for laundry 

operations.

• Water reuse in health care settings is particularly difficult.

• Maintaining cemetery grounds appropriately to memorialize and respect 

Veterans is traditionally water intensive.

• Expanding Mission

• VA is increasingly delivering services to Veterans at their homes.

• Increased outreach and services are being provided to women Veterans.

• VA is also serving new Veterans returning from OEF/OIF.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The energy reduction and greenhouse gas (GHG) initiative intends to optimize 

energy investments and explore innovative ways to minimize the environmental and 

energy‐related impact of VA’s facilities by reducing VA’s carbon footprint. 

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

3(d)

Create a collaborative, 

knowledge‐sharing 

culture across VA 

and with DoD and 

other partners to 

support our ability 

to be people‐centric, 

results‐driven, and 

forward‐looking at 

all times.
Page 96

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our 

internal capacity 

to serve Veterans, 

their families, our 

employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

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Department of Veterans Affairs

This initiative is consistent with the Executive Order (EO) 13514 Federal Leadership in 

Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, which requires Federal agencies to set 

targets for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions while complying with sustainability 

goals identified in statutes, regulations, and other executive orders.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

• Restoration and Improved Quality of Life for Disabled Veterans: Improved 

environmental quality is consistent with VA’s goal to provide the best quality 

health care.

• Smooth Transition to Civilian Life: While VA is responsible for vocational 

rehabilitation and employment, it has also found that non-recurring 

maintenance (NRM) projects for energy, water, and environmental 

improvements at VA facilities are often good opportunities for service-disabled 

Veteran-Owned small businesses and Veteran-Owned small businesses.

• Contributing to the Nation’s Well-Being: At the same time VA provides vital 

medical research for improving the Nation’s health care, VA can also contribute 

to the Nation’s goals of reducing environmental and energy-related impacts.

• VA/DoD Collaboration: Working Together to Serve our Veterans: DoD has 

concluded “while climate change alone does not cause conflict, it may act as 

an accelerant of instability or conflict, placing a burden to respond on civilian 

institutions and militaries around the world.” By contributing to a reduction in 

the impacts of climate change through sustainable practices, VA hopes to help 

reduce that burden.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Achieve 30 percent reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 

FY 2020.

• Scope 1 GHG emissions are direct emissions.

• Scope 2 GHG emissions are indirect emissions from the consumption 

of purchased electricity, heat, or steam.

• Achieve a 10 percent reduction in Scope 3 GHG emissions by FY 2020.

• Scope 3 emissions for which agencies must account are those related 

to (1) employee travel and commuting and (2) electricity transmission 

and distribution losses.

Reducing emissions from VA employee commuting poses a particular 

challenge, given the size and location of VA’s workforce and its 

potential for growth in order to meet the demand for Veterans’ care 

and services.
Page 97

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our 

internal capacity 

to serve Veterans, 

their families, our 

employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 97

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Strategic Target: 

VA projects that it will achieve a 26 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 

meeting FY 2015 mandates established for all Federal agencies, including increased use of 

alternative fuel vehicles, petroleum consumption reduction, decreases in energy and water 

intensity, and increased use of renewably generated electricity.

The 10 percent reduction in Scope 3 emissions target is expected to come from a 

combination of strategies and technology advances that include meeting existing targets 

(such as energy intensity and pollution prevention); improving fuel economy based 

on Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards; implementing innovative commuting 

strategies; and developing an action plan that will address non-commuting emissions, 

such as telework and alternate work schedules.

Alternative Approaches: 

Facility - and regional-level strategies include energy and water conservation measures, 

building retro-commissioning, alternative fueling station installations, and on-site 

renewable electricity generation. Projects funded at the Department level include 

additional alternative fueling stations, additional on-site renewable electricity generation 

through technologies such as solar, wind, and geothermal, and renewably fueled 

combined heat and power systems.

Preliminary Estimates:

• Preliminary Estimate of IT Resources Required: $500,000 in software licenses for 5 

employees for project tracking and performance FY 2011.

• Preliminary Estimate of Acquisition Support Required: VHA Program Contracting 

Activity/Central – National Energy Business Center – This specialized center 

provides the required expertise for the negotiation and acquisition of energy 

and other green management projects for VA nationwide.
Page 98

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our 

internal capacity 

to serve Veterans, 

their families, our 

employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Page 98 Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives

Department of Veterans Affairs

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

3(d)

Create a collaborative, 

knowledge‐sharing 

culture across VA 

and with DoD and 

other partners to 

support our ability 

to be people‐centric, 

results‐driven, and 

forward‐looking at 

all times.

Establish a world-class VA/DoD partnership that delivers seamless, 

cost‐effective, quality services to beneficiaries and value to our Nation.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: OPP SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: OIT, VHA, VBA

Statement of the Challenge or Problem:

VA and DoD serve the same population at different times over the course of their lifetimes. 

In the past, however, each Department had its own separate processes, making the 

transition from Servicemember to Veteran more difficult and contributing to delays in 

access to needed benefits and medical care for Veterans and their families.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health 

care services and benefits for Veterans, Servicemembers, military retirees, and eligible 

dependents.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

• Increased flow of information, such as the Psychological Health and Traumatic 

Brain Injury screening information between medical providers; 

• Increased sharing of Veteran beneficiary eligibility information to 

Servicemembers;

• Efficient and effective benefits programs such as an improved Disability 

Evaluation System; 

• Streamlined secure sharing of health, personnel and benefits information 

between VA and DoD; and 

• Increased beneficiary access to care through Federal partnerships such as the 

VA-DoD Medical Facility in North Chicago.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Percent of VA/DoD actionable recommendations from the VA/DoD Joint 

Strategic Plan that have achieved the projected milestones and performance 

metrics by the end of the next fiscal year. 

FY 2012 Target: 50 percent; Strategic Target: 75 percent.4]

4] VA/DoD Collaboration Service success is not necessarily having a collaborative relationship with DoD but 

is found in the implementation of joint recommendations resulting in better/quicker services and benefits for 

Veteran and Servicemembers. Because of the complexity of recommendations and joint actions required to 

implement them, joint actions may require five years to be implemented. There are external factors which can 

control/delay implementation to involvement of external stakeholders, such as: Congress, Department of Labor, 

and Department of Health and Human Services.
Page 99

INTEGRATED 

OBJECTIVE 3.

Build our 

internal capacity 

to serve Veterans, 

their families, our 

employees, and 

other stakeholders 

efficiently and 

effectively.

Chapter 3: Executing the Plan | Suppor ting I nitiatives Page 99

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Create innovative public‐private partnerships that enhance services 

to Veterans. 

ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD: OM SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: VHA, VBA, NCA, OGC

Statement of the Challenge or Problem:

The challenge is to create innovative public-private partnerships that enable VA to increase 

services to Veterans and their families, maximize the use of underutilized property, and 

further community goals.

Purpose of the Initiative:

The purpose of this initiative is to use VA’s enhanced-use lease authority (EUL) to enter 

into cooperative arrangements in which underutilized VA properties are exchanged for 

monetary and/or in-kind consideration that further VA’s mission. These arrangements will 

provide new services for Veterans by leveraging underutilized VA assets, and improving the 

allocation and use of available resources.

Intended Outcome of the Initiative:

When this initiative is fully implemented, VA will have entered into innovative community 

partnerships to develop underutilized VA assets into assisted living communities, housing 

for homeless Veterans and their families, alternative energy cogeneration projects, joint 

projects with other Federal agencies, and campus realignments to provide better and 

more efficient services to Veterans in modern facilities closer to where they live.

Initiative Performance Measure, Strategic Target, and Estimated Completion Date:

• Reduce VA’s underutilized building inventory (based on the total inventory 

of underutilized VA-owned buildings) using EUL as a tool to help achieve 

this initiative. 

Strategic Target: 0.5 percent per year.

• Use EUL to develop transitional or permanent housing for homeless or at-risk 

Veterans and their families in order to reduce homelessness, moving VA closer 

to its goal of eliminating homelessness. 

Strategic Target: 10 EULs total, with at least 4 focusing on transitional and 

permanent housing projects to address homelessness by the end of 2014.

• Use EUL to develop renewable energy projects. 

Strategic Target: 6 EUL by the end of 2014.

INTEGRATED 

STRATEGY

3(d)

Create a collaborative, 

knowledge‐sharing 

culture across VA 

and with DoD and 

other partners to 

support our ability 

to be people‐centric, 

results‐driven, and 

forward‐looking at 

all times.
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Department of Veterans Affairs

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Page 101

VA Strategic Plan FY 2010 – 2014

Appendices
Page 102 Appendices | Suppor ting I nitiatives

Department of Veterans Affairs
Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015 Page 103

Appendix A: VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015

VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015

The VA Strategic Plan FY 2010-2014 continues to provide a roadmap for the upcoming years 

as we allocate resources, improve overall performance and ensure we are delivering results. 

The VA’s Departmentwide strategic management process includes 6 key elements:

ApplyData To

DecisionMaking

Develop

Strategy

Align

Resources Execute

Activities

Measure

Results

Plan

Activities

Strategic

Management

Process

Learn fromexperience to

improve each step of the

process in an iterative cycle 

Management of

achievement of

milestones and

progress toward

performance targets 

VA leadership and projectteams carry

out planned activities 

Funding, HR, IT,

acquisition, and capital resources

to support VA strategy and operations

Plans at the

operational level to

execute VA strategy

Department-wide high-level long-range

strategy, objectives, and priorities

As demonstrated above, the VA strategic planning process cycle includes a continuous, 

rolling Refresh process. As we refreshed the VA Strategic Plan FY 2010-2014, lessons 

learned and recommendations received over the past several months have been 

incorporated. One key objective in this first VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015 is 

to develop clearer and more succinct Major and Supportive Initiatives. We will continue 

this process as we develop the VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2012-2016. In addition, as 

part of this VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015 process, VA will be strengthening its 

outcome‐oriented performance measures and strategic targets and showing how they 

contribute to the strategic goals.
Page 104 Appendices | Appendix A: VA Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2011-2015

Department of Veterans Affairs

The result will be a more streamlined and straightforward document that will simplify 

Department and Administration operating plans and better support the budget process 

which allocates resources. The new Strategic Plan Refresh for FY 2012-2016 will have better 

key performance measures to help gauge the achievement of results that matter.

The Strategic Plan Refresh process begins with a call for data from stakeholders. A review 

of the Major and Supporting Initiatives from the FY 2011-2015 Strategic Plan Refresh will 

be undertaken. The objective of this review is a critical analysis of the initiatives. Some 

initiatives will be revalidated and carried forward into the Refresh for FY 2012-2016 as 

continuing initiatives. Others may be added deleted, or modified based on the experience 

gained in 2010. Information requested for the Strategic Plan Refresh includes initiative 

descriptions, alternative approaches being considered, rough order of magnitude (ROM) 

cost estimates, outcome-oriented performance measures, and ROM estimates of IT, HR, 

and Acquisitions requirements.

The Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011-2015 reaffirms our commitment to our mission and our 

top priorities demonstrated by our 4 strategic goals while confirming that our Strategic 

Plan is built around our three guiding principles to be: people-centric, results-driven, and 

forward-looking.
Appendices | Appendix B: SCIP Per formance M easures and Suppor ting Data Page 105

Strategic Plan Refresh FY 2011 – 2015

Appendix B: SCIP Performance Measures and Supporting Data

• SCIP Strategic Targets

Strategic Gap Reduction Targets for 2021

Gap Organization Percentage Goal Over 

10 Years

Space/Capacity VA-Wide 95%

Condition VA-Wide 95%

** Strategic Initiative Targets assume full funding**

• SCIP Annual Targets for Base Budget Year

Annual Target for Base Budget Year

Year Baseline 2012 2013 2014

2015 Strategic 

Initiative

Percent 

of Facility 

Condition 

gap 

addressed

0.0% 9.5% 19.0% 28.5% 38.0%

Percent 

of Space/

Capacity 

gap 

addressed

0.0% 9.5% 19.0% 28.5 38.0%

** Strategic Initiative Targets assume full funding**
Page 106 Appendices | Appendix B: SCIP Per formance M easures and Suppor ting Data

Department of Veterans Affairs

• SCIP Preliminary Schedule

Preliminary Schedules

SCIP Yearly Budget Steps for completing yearly Budget Process

Workstreams, Milestones, 

and Deliverables

Planned Start Planned Completion

Call Memo to 

administrations and staff 

offices

November November

Action Plans due from 

administrations and staff 

offices

January February

Action Plan reviewed by 

SCIP Panel

March March

Business Case memo 

sent to administration 

and staff offices

March May

Prioritization of Projects June June

Internal Budget Hearings Late July/Early August August

OMB Budget Submitted September September

SCIP IT Requirements

Additional IT Needs for the SCIP 

Process (Long-Term)

Short Term Solution – Requirements 

Development

May 2010 September 2011

Long Term Solution – Procurement 

Package Development

October 2010 March 2011

Hardware and Software Acquisition February 2011 May 2011

Solution Development May 2011 August 2011

Testing August 2011 September 2011

Deployment September 2011 September 2011

Training October 2011 November 2011
Page 107

VA Strategic Plan FY 2010 – 2014
Department of Veterans Affairs

Office of Policy and Planning

810 Vermont Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20420

www1.va.gov/op3