Mission Daybreak and VA are grateful and inspired to see the outpouring of interest from the VA employee community. We firmly believe that the continued engagement and support for this challenge from across VA will be critical to its success. While VA employees are unable to submit a solution to the challenge due to Federal law, there are many other ways to engage with this effort and other innovation initiatives across VA as a whole.
- Contribute time and expertise as a Mission Daybreak reviewer
VA employees can participate with Mission Daybreak by joining the panel of reviewers that will evaluate Phase 1 submissions. If you would like to be considered for the review panel, please complete the Mission Daybreak review panel form to indicate interest. Panel members should be available from June 30 to July 25, and will be asked to assess up to seven concept papers of 10 pages or less.
- Discover other internal initiatives
In addition to participating as a Mission Daybreak reviewer, there are a number of initiatives available to support innovation within VA. Below find a list of opportunities for your consideration:
- The Exchange is a unique monthly video panel event hosted by the VHA Innovation Ecosystem. Each month features a fresh new topic and panel, curated just for you, by an arm of the VHA Innovation Ecosystem such as the Innovators Network (iNET), Diffusion of Excellence, and more. The Exchange is open to any VA employee who has a passion for innovation or improvement and is seeking to spark some inspiration, indulge in curiosity, combat VA silos, connect with like-minded creatives, and gain exposure to new ways of thinking.
- iNET will launch the annual Incubator Series again this October. The Incubator Series introduces iNET’s fundamentals and innovation strategies so anyone, anywhere within VA can gain an innovator’s mindset. Participants will be led through sessions consisting of a combination of lectures, workshops, and panels from employee innovators, external partners, and VA staff. Tools and templates will be shared with participants to help them refine or start designing and developing their own solutions.
- The Diffusion Marketplace is a discovery and collaboration tool that curates promising clinical, operational, and strategic innovations from VA. This program allows VA employees to submit innovations and promising practices to be hosted on the Marketplace. The Marketplace was recently made available to the public, meaning that anyone — whether VA employee or not — can search through innovations and be connected to innovation champions through this site.
- The XR Network is the go-to source for knowledge sharing, staff training, and clinical evaluation related to extended reality (XR) use in VHA. As a force multiplier, the XR Network brings together subject matter experts to provide guidance, distill best practices and contribute to the quality, safety, standardization, and utilization of XR technology across VHA — all in the name of transforming how VA cares for Veterans and staff.
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