VA Announces Industry Innovation Competition

$80 Million Available for Private Sector Innovations

WASHINGTON (June 7, 2010) - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki announced today the opening of the Industry Innovation
Competition by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the most recent
effort under the VA Innovation Initiative.  With this competition, VA
seeks the best ideas from the private sector to address the department's
most important challenges.

"At VA, we are continually looking for new ways to improve the care and
services we deliver," said Secretary Shinseki. "Engaging the private
sector to tap its expertise and find ways to leverage private-sector
innovations, we can improve the quality, access and transparency in
service to our Nation's Veterans."

The VA Innovation Initiative (VAi2) is a department-wide program that
brings the most promising innovations to VA's most important challenges
by involving employees and the private sector in the creation of
visionary solutions in service to Veterans.

"Innovation is more than simply a collection of ideas," said Jared
Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon University. "It requires close
collaboration between academia, industry and government to produce
solutions that make a meaningful impact on society.  VAi2's programs
bring about exactly that kind of fruitful collaboration."

"Creativity in the private sector generates a wealth of technology
capability that can help drive VA forward," said Dr. Peter Levin, senior
advisor to the secretary and VA's chief technology officer. "By
targeting innovations that are nearing commercialization, the Industry
Innovation Competition provides a bridge between creative ideas in the
private sector and real-world deployments that improve the services we
deliver."

Public and private companies, entrepreneurs, universities and
non-profits are encouraged to participate in the competition, which
targets advancements in:

*       Innovative Housing Technology to Address Veteran Homelessness:
Eliminating Veteran homelessness is a top VA priority.  New design and
construction techniques, materials and building technology can enable VA
to use existing buildings and unused space to rapidly create highly
functional, energy efficient and affordable housing.

*       Telehealth: VA is a leader in telehealth implementation and
currently serves many thousands of Veterans with solutions such as home
health monitoring.  Potential applications for telehealth solutions are
broad and varied and department officials are interested in pursuing
integrated solutions that improve their ability to provide the right
treatment at the right place and at the right time.

*       New Models of Dialysis and Renal Disease Prevention: VA
currently provides dialysis for more than 10,000 Veterans annually, at
both VA and community-based medical facilities.  Alternative treatment
strategies and dialysis technology can extend and improve our ability to
provide quality care in a patient-preferred setting.

*       Improvement of Polytrauma Care: VA provides comprehensive,
inter-disciplinary rehabilitation care to Veterans and returning Service
members with multiple injuries, or polytrauma.  Solutions in areas such
as the application of dynamic treatment algorithms, home monitoring of
diverse and complex symptoms and assistive technologies can help the
broad advancement of polytrauma care.

*       Reduction of Adverse Drug Events: The development and deployment
of strategies to prevent patient harm from adverse drug events is an
on-going priority at VA.  Tools that can integrate with VA records and
systems and provide an increased ability to continuously monitor for
at-risk situations can enhance dramatically the quality and safety of
care provided by VA.

*       Integrated Business Accelerator: A wide array of services and
benefits are available to assist Veterans, and Service Disabled Veterans
in particular, in starting and sustaining new businesses. However, an
integrated, long-term approach that assists Veterans in accessing
existing resources and provides services that aid in the launch and
maintenance of startup businesses can help insure the long-term success
of Veteran-owned businesses.

VAi2 identifies, funds, tests and deploys new efforts that significantly
improve the access, quality, performance and cost of VA services.  For
more about VAi2 please visit www.va.gov/vai2.  Please go to
www.FedBizOpps.gov <http://www.fedbizopps.gov/>  to learn more about
federal opportunities for businesses.