Description
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking innovations in suicide prevention through a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). The VA Innovation Ecosystem (VHAIE) is looking for ideas that can help prevent suicide among veterans, with a focus on seven primary topic areas: promoting secure firearm storage, implementing community collaborations, expanding crisis intervention services, tailoring prevention services to veteran subpopulations, advancing suicide prevention in non-clinical support services, increasing access to mental health services, and integrating suicide prevention within medical settings. The BAA is open to all responsible sources, including private sector companies, non-profits, and institutions of higher learning.
• The VA is looking for innovative solutions that can be developed, piloted, and evaluated within a 12-24 month period.
• The BAA consists of two stages: an open concept paper stage and an invitation-only full proposal stage.
• The VA is seeking solutions that can significantly increase veteran access to services, reduce or control costs, enhance the performance of VA operations, and improve the quality of service that veterans and their families receive.
• The BAA is focused on finding solutions that can be implemented in a variety of settings, including clinical and non-clinical environments.
• The VA is encouraging the use of open source software solutions and is looking for proposals that can demonstrate a clear understanding of the technical and operational requirements of the VA.